And he remains as splendid a human being as any who has graced the planet -- courteous, caring, generous and unassuming. By the way, Hendley allowed just one walk. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. [7]. Sandy Koufax baseball stats, biographical data, history, trivia, and research by Baseball Almanac. 097 in his career. By the spring of 1954 he was also pitching for the college baseball team, and doing quite well. James swung and launched a shot onto the pavilion roof in right for a grand slam. Still, neither is a regular occurrence, attesting to the difficulty of each. Ralph Terry, in relief, allowed Davis's RBI triple. Video: Doddgers Retired Number: No. Jon Weisman, Brothers in Arms: Koufax, Kershaw, and the Dodgers Extraordinary Pitching Tradition (2018), Triumph Books, 384pp. . . There were 21 guys who did this in 2022, setting a new MLB record. In a six-year big-league career, James hit 29 home runs. Now 76 and 15 years into his retirement from teaching, Hendley still lives in the Macon area, where he coached high school baseball, with his wife Runette. At Lafayette High, he became team captain and ranked second in division scoring. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Is that coincidence, or are we being punished (after the strike) for doing the wrong thing?". By 1965, he had almost unmatched cachet throughout the game. Tommy Thompson, Good Life of Baseballs No. When Stan Musial struck out looking and Ken Boyer flied out to left, it appeared Koufax had found his groove, but he walked Bill White, loading the bases. 1966 book Koufax by Sandy Koufax with Ed Linn. Jim Bouton, making his first World Series start, dueled Drysdale throughout, permitting only four hits in seven innings for a losing cause. L.A. Dodgers Sandy Koufax and John Roseboro celebrate on the field in L.A. after beating the Yankees to clinch the World Series, October 6,1963. The Los Angeles Dodgers would set a new low in 1966, two runs. 1963 World Series Video: Doddgers Retired Number: No. Phone: 602.496.1460 Use of his left arm was severely limited when he wasnt pitching. The next delivery was high and away. Others also saw a few weaknesses in Koufax. Dont Let Em Fool You; Koufax Wanted to Pitch, Los Angeles Times, March 31, 1966, p. B-1. And Koufax admitted in one interview to having a good bit of trouble with Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates, especially in 1963. The final out came on Joe Pepitone's drive that backed Dodger right fielder Ron Fairly up against the bullpen gate to make the catch of a ball that would have been a home run in Yankee Stadium. In consultation with the Dodgers team physician, Dr. Kerlan, he was told he would be lucky to pitch once a week and might eventually lose full use of his arm. Moreover, neither pitcher had the cachet of Koufax, and Scully didn't provide the play-by-play. The 22 coolest things that happened during the 2022 MLB season And in the post-WWII period the more modern era of baseball Koufax would be the only guy to win three Triple Crowns for pitching (see Triple Crown sidebar below). Click for copy. Boxscore. Yankee starter Al Downing, who would take the loss, went only five innings and charged with three runs. And Sandy needed to be perfect to gain that one victory. Comments to: jdoyle@pophistorydig.com. Artist's sketch of Sandy Koufax on the April 1964 cover of Sports Illustrateds baseball issue. Dick Groat, eight-time MLB All-Star and two-sport hall of famer in Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. In 114 career at-bats against him, Aaron hit .368, with an on-base percentage of .433. ", Hendley added to his description of the game last winter. The Yankees tied it on a Mickey Mantle home run in the top of the seventh. Gilliam almost scored again in the eighth off Hal Reniff, but was caught in an attempt to steal third. L.A. rightfully claimed him as its own. But a mutual respect is evident between Hendley and the master. Considering the deadline pressure, SportsChannel is doing a nice job condensing the weekday Giants and A's games into one-hour packages ("SportsChannel Light"), an especially rewarding treat if you haven't heard the score. Koufax struck out 14 of 27 batters; Hendley struck out three. Mickey Mantle was still playing then, and there were a number of other names, some just getting started, others in their prime Carl Yastrzemski, Harmon Killebrew, Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey, Whitey Ford, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda and others. On Sept. 21, 1962, at St. Louis, Koufax was making his first start in more than two months. make a donation to help support the research and writing at this website. amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; Clete Boyer was the only Yankees regular not to strike out. Indeed, Koufax's overall record, beginning with the 1962 season and running through 1965, was 84-25, three of the losses coming at the hands of Hendley (Curt Simmons beat Koufax three times as well). The Drysdale-Jim Bouton duel in Game 3 (a 1-0 final) was the greatest single day of pitching I've ever seen. The storyline isn't only that he pitched a perfect game 50 years ago tonight, but rather that the opposing pitcher, one Bob Hendley, pitched a one-hitter while Koufax was perfecting his resum. A number of his former players contacted him after Doyel's story appeared. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Hank Aaron, it seemed, was among the few hitters that had Koufaxs number. vs. PHI 9.0 IP, 7 H, 10 SO, 1 BB, 2 ER, W. Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1972. Lasorda w Koufax also tied a World Series record when he fanned the first five Yankees he faced. Frank Finch, Koufaxs Sore Finger Cause of Concern, Says Dodgers Bavasi,Los Angeles Times, July 10, 1962, p. B-1. us, High School: Lafayette HS (Brooklyn, NY), Schools: Columbia University (New York, NY), University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH), Last Game: Data Provided By Photo, Ben Olender / L.A. Times. The Cardinals right-hander had lost his last four consecutive decisions and was looking to finish on a high note in his final three starts of the 1962 season, beginning with the Friday night game against the Dodgers. Second baseman Dick Tracewski's single preceded a three-run home run by catcher John Roseboro to give the Dodgers a 40 lead. He had allowed eight walks combined in his three, earlier no-hitters. Indeed, Koufax's overall record, beginning with the 1962 season and running through 1965, was 84-25, three of the losses coming at the hands of Hendley (Curt Simmons beat Koufax three times as well). 097 in his career. Trouble was, said Brock, with Koufax on the mound, nobody got on base too often., To find more sports stories at this website, please visit the Annals of Sport category page, or Baseball Stories, a topics page with thumbnail sketches and links to 14 other baseball stories. And Koufax did, initiating a 30-inning run during which he walked one batter. Seldom has a person & pitcher pairing produced such excellence on both sides of the ampersand. As of mid-year 2010, Sandy Koufax was still active, appearing for example, at the May 27, 2010 White House reception in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month where he greeted President Obama who later joked with the audience that he and Sandy had something in common: We are both lefties, said the President. Gibson was replaced by Curt Simmons, a left-hander who had made one start since late August. Sandy Koufax makes final pitch of 63 World Series. Koufax was as magnificent a pitcher as any who ever has stood on a big league mound. The Dodgers had spotted Koufax a 4-0 lead in the first with the help of a triple by Willie Davis, singles by Tommy Davis and Frank Howard surrounding a walk, John Roseboros two-run double and a single by Larry Burright. Since then, no left-hander has had more wins in a season nor a lower ERA (Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton had 27 wins in 1972). from the SABR BioProject, More Sandy Koufax Pages at Baseball Reference, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Monday, May 1, 12:21AM. Former professional baseball player Sandy Koufax began his career in 1955 when he was signed by his hometown Brooklyn Dodgers. By the way, Hendley allowed just one walk. Other pitching performance have dazzled us over the years. "I was standing on the top step of the dugout, at the end. Gregg Doyel, one of the scholastic pitchers Hendley coached, became a sportswriter and eventually learned, via the board game Trivial Pursuit, of his coach's accomplishments. Click for copy. It was his second no-hitter. Koufax was named Sportsman of the Year for 1965 by Sports Illustrated. Hendley, pitching for the Cubs that night in Los Angeles, warrants none of the superlatives applied above. amzn_assoc_asins = "0061779008,147677630X,0316067156,0735215723"; Jack Olsen interview, Koufax On Koufax, Sports Illustrated, December 20, 1965. Martin showed up about 15 minutes before a game in Arlington, Texas, one night, a particularly embarrassing scene because the players were goofing around like kids with a substitute teacher, and coach Jackie Moore, fearing Billy might not make it at all, had assumed tenuous control of the club. In the American League, Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox won the hitting Triple Crown twice, in 1942 and 1947; Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees did it in 1956; To be the one best player in all three categories in a single season, whether hit- ter or pitcher, is a rare and distinctive honor, marking accomplished play.Frank Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles in 1966; and Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox was the last hitter to do so in 1967. The day Hendley allowed just one hit Runnels the Slugger . James swung and launched a shot onto the pavilion roof in right for a grand slam. Roscoe McGowen, Dodgers Top Pirates, 4-0; Koufax Blanks Pittsburgh; Brooks Need 7 for Pennant, New York Times, September 4, 1955. Later, however, the two pitchers discovered that each was being used in the sessions with Bavasi against the other, saying one was asking for more than the other. - AP photo. An old interview of Hall of Fame pitchers Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax made the rounds on social media Friday. But the losing pitcher in each of the seven instances surrendered at least two more hits than Hendley. Koufax struck out 14 of 27 batters; Hendley struck out three. More rookies than ever hit a home run for their first big league hit. The event they created, known as nothing more than "CHI at LA" before it began, stands among the most astonishing games ever played at any point of any baseball season. Koufax finished with just four strikeouts. Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax (cover story). And Sandy needed to be perfect to gain that one victory. The game is also featured in Jane Leavys 2002 biography of Koufax, Sandy Koufax: A Leftys Legacy. Did Sandy Koufax ever hit a homerun? - ABTC Wearing new spikes, Gibson participated in batting practice. Sandy Koufax Greatest Baseball Pitcher Ever And This was the first time that the Yankees were swept in a World Series in four straight (the 1922 World Series had one tie). Up 4-0, Koufax picked up where he left off, striking out Mantle and Maris, then getting Elston Howard on a foul pop up. BRUCE JENKINS -- Mantle vs. Koufax: A Homer to Remember Koufax pitched four no-hitters, won three Cy Young Awards -- each unanimously -- struck out all comers and routinely shrunk the biggest and baddest hitters to Eddie Gaedel proportions and turned their wooden bats into paper-mache replicas. 097 in his career. But this pinnacle performance of pitching wouldn't be a prominent part of our past if this oft-times pedestrian pitcher had permitted one more hit in his extraordinary eight innings. Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn became Hall of Famers, and they already had developed uncommon prestige within the game by July 2, 1963, when their Giants and Braves opposed each other in San Francisco. James hadnt hit a home run or driven in a run all month. He did have two home runs. It prompted these words from Koufax that night: "It's a shame Hendley had to get beaten that way.". The Dodgers scored first in the bottom of the fifth on a monumental Frank Howard home run into the second (Loge) level at Dodger Stadium. . The Drysdale-Jim Bouton duel in Game 3 (a 1-0 final) was the greatest single day of pitching I've ever seen.