A pitcher whose blazing fastball and brilliant curve instilled fear in the hearts of professional baseball players, Sanford “Sandy” Koufax (1935– ) was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was signed by his hometown team while enrolled at the University of Cincinnati.

“To win. Nothing else matters, and nothing else will do,” he once said.

This man with the golden arm, often considered the greatest left-handed pitcher, signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954 and moved with the team to Los Angeles in 1958. A three-time Cy Young Award winner at a time when one award covered both leagues (1963, 1965, 1966), Koufax struck out 2,396 batters in a short, astonishing career.

“I used to try to throw each pitch harder than the last one,” he said. “There was no need for that. I found out that if I take it easy and throw naturally, the ball goes just as fast.” He found that his control improved, and strikeouts took care of themselves.

About hitting a Koufax pitch, Pirates slugger Willie Stargell said, “Trying to hit him was like trying to drink coffee with a fork.”

Dominance never defined him completely. In 1965, he sat out Game 1 of the World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. Integrity mattered more than his fastball that day.

Chronic arthritis forced Koufax’s 1966 retirement at age 31. “I didn't regret making the decision. I regretted having to make the decision. At the time, I was risking the use of my arm, the normal use of my arm,” he said. Six years later, he became the youngest player ever elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Looking back, Koufax observed, “In the end it all comes down to talent. You can talk all you want about intangibles, I just don't know what that means. Talent makes winners, not intangibles. Can nice guys win? Sure, nice guys can win, if they're nice guys with a lot of talent. Nice guys with a little talent finish fourth, and nice guys with no talent finish last.”

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