Abramowitz Jacob 939838247 [e-mail] HIST 115 Final Paper Sandy Koufax The life of Sandy Koufax, arguably one of the greatest starting pitchers in Major League Baseball history, is defined not by his accomplishments on the field, but rather by his decision not to play one of the most important games of his life. He has had a great impact on modern American life because of everything he did during his career. He was a motivational and uplifting teammate. He is very humble with his words. He did not enjoy the spotlight like so many other professional athletes do. All he cared about was doing the right thing and being a good teammate and pitcher. During his playing days, Koufax was faced with many hardships, including struggles at the beginning of his career, dealing with the media, and anti-Semitism in America. He fought through all of this to become a dominant pitcher and influential figurehead for Jews and non-Jews alike. He showed by his actions that all of the greatness gained he from being a skilled baseball player means nothing compared to his heritage and values as a Jew and what it means to him. Born Sanford Braun in Brooklyn in 1935, Sandy grew up during a time of great turmoil in the United States. His parents divorced when he was three years old, and he took the surname of his step-father, Irving Koufax, when his mother remarried six years later. Soon after his mother's marriage, his family moved to Long Island where Sandy
was raised until ninth grade, when the family moved back to Brooklyn. Koufax attended Lafayette High School, and was better know for his ability on the basketball court than on the baseball diamond. High school sports were unavailable in New York due to teachers' refusal to supervise extracurricular activities without being paid, so Koufax began to play basketball for the local Jewish Community Center team. After labor negotiations were settled between the teachers and the school board, Sandy began playing basketball for his high school team. His senior year of high school he was team captain and was second in the division in scoring. During his high school days, he also played baseball in a youth league known as the "Ice Cream League." He started out as a catcher, and then moved to first base. Along with the recreational league, Sandy also played first base for his high school team. He was spotted by his teammate's father, the coach of the Coney Island Sports League's Parkviews, who saw that Koufax might have the ability to pitch, and recruited him to play for the Parkviews. Following his graduation from high school, Sandy attended the University of Cincinnati on a basketball scholarship. In 1954, he made the varsity baseball team at the university. His first season on the team, he had a 3-1 record with 51 strikeouts in 31 innings of play. After the season, Sandy tried out for the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates. During his workout with the Pirates, his pitches broke the thumb of his catcher. The general manager of the team commented that Koufax had the "greatest arm he had ever seen." The Pirates tendered a contract offer, but not until Sandy had committed to playing for the Dodgers after an excellent tryout at Ebbets
field. Al Campanis, then the scout for the Dodgers, was quoted as saying "there are two times in my life the hair on my arms has stood up: The first time I saw the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the first time I saw Sandy Koufax throw a fastball." Koufax was signed for a $6,000 salary with a $14,000 signing bonus which he put aside to use as tuition in case his baseball career failed. Receiving more than $4,000 for his bonus put Koufax in a category of players known as "bonus babies," and meant that he could not be optioned to the minors and had to stay with the major league club. Some of his teammates showed resentment to that especially since he was Jewish. "Being a Jewish bonus baby was a liability. There was an unspoken calculus: Moneyed and Jewish went together like left-handed and wild. With jobs at stake and World Series earning more than just pocket change, judgments could be fierce and unforgiving." This quote clearly explains the views of many of Koufax's peers at the time of his signing. Throughout his early career, he was under more pressure than any other player because he was a minority and had to work especially hard to prove himself. Teammates, though polite enough not to call him these things in front of him, referred to Koufax as "this kike" or "this Jew bastard" when talking about him behind his back. Don Newcombe, an African-American teammate understood the hardships that Sandy had to face, and he along with Jackie Robinson took Koufax under their wing to help him deal with the troubles that he faced in relation to discrimination. Koufax's debut in the major leagues was on June 24, 1955. He came in during the fifth inning with his team down 6 runs. The first batter he faced singled safely, and
the second batter, Hall of Famer Eddie Matthews bunted. Koufax fielded the bunt cleanly, but then threw the ball into center field attempting to get the force at second base. The next batter was none other than Hank Aaron, who Sandy walked on four straight pitches. After Aaron was Bobby Thomson, who became the first strikeout victim of Koufax's long and successful career. Koufax's struggles continued on July 6, his first major league start, where he lasted only 4 2/3 innings, allowing 8 walks. He did not start another game for nearly two months, with his next outing being much more successful than his first, throwing a two-hit, complete game shutout for his first win in the majors. The next year, despite showing signs of brilliance, Koufax continued to struggle, pitching less than 60 innings, with a 4.91 ERA. He was rarely allowed to work out of a jam, and if he threw several balls in a row, team manager Walter Alston would immediately begin warming up a relief pitcher in the bullpen. Teammate Jackie Robinson clashed with the manager over his handling of Koufax. Robinson saw that Sandy was talented and objected to Koufax being benched constantly. The next few seasons following, Koufax battled with injuries and was constantly in and out of the Dodgers starting rotation. In 1958, he led the league in wild pitches. These years were very difficult for Koufax, fighting for playing time and dealing with his injuries, and at the end of the 1959 season he requested a trade because he wasn't getting enough playing time. After a very bad 1960 season, he was contemplating retirement to devote his time to a business venture he had invested in. He threw his gloves and spikes in the trash, but the clubhouse supervisor retrieved the equipment to return to him or save for a new player if he did not return. Dealing with these struggles
at the beginning of his career shaped Koufax into a mentally tough and reliable baseball player, whose later years in the league began to shape his legacy into one of the greatest players of all time. I believe that the problems and adversity he faced early in his career reflect the struggles of Jews throughout the history of the United States. The treatment he received from his teammates parallels that of the treatment of Jews throughout the country, being discriminated against and not fully enjoying the opportunities of other people in the country. Koufax played in a time where there was a large influx of Jewish immigrants following World War II, and he stood as an inspiration for Jews with his commitment to not give up and to work as hard he possibly could to succeed as one of the only Jews in baseball. "He knew some of the players did not like him because he was not producing and he was also a Jew." The hatred that some of his teammates showed toward him fueled him to work harder and become a better player and person. During spring training in 1961, the Dodgers pitching coach found a hitch in Koufax's windup and they corrected it. That year he broke the National League record for strikeouts in a season. The following year the Dodgers moved from the LA Coliseum to Dodger Stadium, which dramatically helped Koufax's performance on the field. He had a stellar 1962 season as well, but was plagued with a hand injury late in the season where he again was ineffective. In however, 1963, he returned to form, winning the pitchers' Triple Crown, leading the league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA. That season he helped the Dodgers sweep the Yankees in the World Series, and was named World
Series MVP. He also won the Cy Young award as the league's best pitcher. He followed in 1964 with another great season, finishing the year with a 19-5 record. The 1965 season began with more injury problems for Koufax, this time an elbow ailment. Throughout the season he relied heavily on painkillers to be able to perform. Despite the constant pain, he led the Dodgers to another pennant and back to the World Series, again winning the pitchers' Triple Crown and added another Cy Young award to his repertoire. During the season he also broke the single season strikeout record, one which he held until 1973 when Nolan Ryan broke it. Along with this record, Koufax was the sixth pitcher of the modern era to record a perfect game. It was the fourth no-hitter of his career, another record which was eventually broken by Nolan Ryan. This was a season where the Dodgers' success was dictated by their pitching. Along with Koufax, the Dodgers had Claude Osteen and Don Drysdale to complete a dominant pitching staff. What would happen in the World Series against the Minnesota Twins, however, is what truly defined Koufax's career and his Jewish identity. The first game of the 1965 World Series was slated to be played on October 6 with Koufax to be the game one starter for the Dodgers. This game, however, happened to fall on Yom Kippur, and Koufax decided not to play in observance of the holiday. In fact, he did not even appear at the stadium to support his team. Fans and the media could not understand why Sandy would not play in one of the most important games of his career. Instead of playing, Koufax went to shul that day, and fasted like any other Jew. He did not hide and was not ashamed on his Jewishness. Instead, he did the exact
opposite: He embraced his Jewish roots and celebrated them by shocking the country and declining to play. Millions of Jews all over the country were proud of him and respected him for standing up for his beliefs as a fellow Jew. He taught pride to young Jews all over the country. His decision not to play was not meant to have an impact on others, but it had the greatest impact of all. The decision he made showed people that they should never be embarrassed when practicing their religion. It showed that religious identity should bring fulfillment and hope, more fulfillment than could ever be achieved on a baseball field. He showed great courage during an era where people preferred to discriminate those who are different rather than accepting them and understanding those differences. There are some people, however, that were not inspired by his decision not to play. Some people fail to understand the symbolism of his act and others have not found the true meaning in Yom Kippur and do not care enough to miss work on the holiest of Jewish holidays. Unfortunately, the fear some people hold of being seen as different still influences how they act. People act as if they are ashamed of their background as Jews and act only on how they perceive others think of them and not based on their cultural beliefs. After sitting out game one of the series, which his team lost, Koufax pitched six innings in another Twins victory, putting his team in a 0-2 hole returning to Los Angeles. The next three games in Los Angeles ended with the Dodgers returning to St. Paul with a 3-2 series lead. In the last game in Los Angeles, Koufax pitched a complete game shutout. The Twins won game six to force a seventh and final game, and on two days
rest, Koufax got the call to start. Pitching on fatigue and terrible pain in his shoulder, Koufax again shut out the Twins to clinch the series for the Dodgers. His performance in the series was enough for him to win a second World Series MVP honor. At the end of the year, he was named Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year. The next season, which would be Koufax's last, began with issues during contract negotiations. The Dodgers general manager meet separately with Drysdale and Koufax, pitting the two against each other by asking Koufax, "How come you want that much when Drysdale only wants this much?" Drysdale and Koufax met for dinner one night and discussed that the general manager was doing the same thing to both of them. They decided that they would demand $1 million in contract money to be divided equally between them for the next three seasons. They enlisted the help of an entertainment lawyer for their contract negotiations which had never been done before. With no new contracts, the two did not report to spring training, at which point the Dodgers began a public relations battle against them. Eventually Koufax told Drysdale to go ahead and negotiate new deals for both of them. At the beginning of the season, team doctors told Koufax that it was time to retire because his arm could not take another grueling season. He ignored the advice and pitched every fourth day for his team. In that season, he went 27-9, posting the most wins in a single season by a left-handed pitcher. The Dodgers went on to win the pennant again, and faced the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series. The Dodgers were swept in four games despite a great outing in game one by Koufax. After the series, Koufax announced his retirement from the game of baseball.
After his career, Koufax pursued an on-screen career as a broadcaster for NBC, but never felt comfortable and quit after six years on the job. In 1972, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility at only 36 years of age, the youngest player ever to be inducted. That same year, his number was retired along with other Dodgers legends Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson. In 1979, the Dodgers hired Koufax to be a minor league pitching coach, a position which he held until 1990, when he resigned saying he wasn't being paid enough. Many people however believe that the true reason was because of his uneasy relationship with Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, the player who was relieved of duty by the Dodgers in Koufax's rookie year to make room on the roster for him. Koufax resurfaced in the media in 2003, when the New York Post published a story about rumors regarding Koufax's sexual orientation, implying that he was gay. Although well after his career, this is just another example of the problems he faced from the media and the public. When the Dodgers came under new ownership in 2004, Koufax rejoined the team. Just this past year, he was an honorable selection as the last pick in the inaugural Israel Baseball League draft. "His selection is a tribute to the esteem with which he is held by everyone associated with this league," said Art Shamsky, the manager of the league that selected him. Forty-two years later, his decision not to play the World Series game is still acknowledged as an important date in Jewish history. This honorary selection is evidence that Jews, American or not, respect the pride Koufax showed in his religion by making the decision not to play that game.
For his career, Koufax ended with a 165-87 record, 2.76 ERA, with 137 complete games, 40 shutouts, and 2,396 strikeouts. He is second all-time in career no-hitters with 4, and is one of only 17 pitchers to record a perfect game. He has won three unanimous Cy Young awards, an NL MVP award, and two World Series MVP honors. His career World Series ERA is 0.95. In my opinion however, all of these numbers are overshadowed by the message he sent on October 6, 1965, when he sat out game 1 of the World Series on Yom Kippur. For most people, they will remember him for his numbers and outstanding pitching, but for any Jew, his legacy should be marked firstly by standing for his beliefs and the Jewish pride and courage he showed throughout his career, and secondly by his career achievements. He is a great inspiration and has sent a message that should be remembered by people of all religious backgrounds: your heritage is something that is more important than any achievements in work, and should be cherished. He overcame so much in his career, through all the discrimination and adversity he faced, and is a great role-model for Jews and non-Jews alike.