SANDY KOUFAX

Born December 30, 1935 in Brooklyn, NY 

Major League Baseball pitcher for his hometown team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, with whom he won the World Series in 1963 and ‘65.

Writer Jimmy Cannon said, “He was the greatest pitcher of his time,” as he won an amazing five straight NL ERA titles and 3 Cy Young awards. 

First left-handed pitcher in 85 years to throw a perfect game, his 2,396 strikeouts ranked 7th in Major League baseball history.

He chose to miss starts if they fell during the High Holidays or Passover, even famously missing game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur!

I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it.”