This Day in History. Jun 30, 1962: Sandy Koufax pitches first no-hitter On June 30, 1962, Sandy Koufax strikes out 13 batters and walks five to lead the Brooklyn Dodgers to victory over the New York Mets 5-0 with his first career no-hitter. Koufax went on to throw three more no-hitters, including a perfect game on September 9, 1965, in which he allowed no hits and no walks. Sandy Koufax was a talented all-around athlete from Borough Park in Brooklyn, New York. His first love was basketball, and he attended the University of Cincinnati on a basketball scholarship. His impressive left arm, however, attracted the attention of major league ball clubs and in 1954 he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Despite his promising talent, Koufax won just 36 games to 51 losses from 1955 to 1961, and was incredibly inconsistent, blowing hitters away one game and walking runs in the next. Finally, advice from veteran catcher Norm Sherry turned Koufax around. As Koufax recounted in his autobiography, Sherry told him to take the grunt out of the fastball. From 1962 to 1966, Sandy Koufax executed what are arguably the five greatest seasons by a pitcher in baseball history. His newfound control limited his walks from 4.8 per game to just 2.1. His first no-hitter on this day in 1962 saw him walk five men, but after six innings he had already struck out 12 batters. He pitched a no-hitter every year after that until 1965 and led the Dodgers to World Series wins in 1963 and 1965 and the National League pennant in 1966. He won four World Series games, with a .95 earned run average and 61 strikeouts for his postseason career. Koufax won three Cy Young Awards (1963, 1965 and 1966), all of them unanimous. In 1965 he struck out 382 men, breaking Rube Waddell’s 1904 record of 350 by 32. According to longtime Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully, Koufax was so well-regarded that he would often receive a standing ovation from fans while just warming up for a game. Sandy Koufax retired after the 1966 season at just 30 years old because of arthritis in his elbow. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972. Also on June 30 1859 Charles Blondin crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope. 1921 The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was formed. 1922 Irish rebels in London assassinate Sir Henry Wilson, the British deputy for Northern Ireland. 1936 Margaret Mitchell’s book, Gone with the Wind, was published in New York City. 1950 U.S. President Harry Truman orders U.S. troops into Korea and authorizes the draft. 1952 CBS-TV debuted The Guiding Light. 1953 The first Corvette rolled off the Chevrolet assembly line in Flint, MI. It sold for $3,250. 1958 The U.S. Congress passed a law authorizing the admission of Alaska as the 49th state in the Union. 1971 The Soviet spacecraft, Soyuz 11, returned to Earth. The three cosmonauts were found dead inside. 1971 The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified when Ohio became the 38th state to approve it. The amendment lowered the minimum voting age to 18. 1971 The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the New York Times to continue publishing the Pentagon Papers. 1994 The U.S. Figure Skating Association stripped Tonya Harding of the 1994 national championship and banned her from the organization for life for an attack on rival, Nancy Kerrigan. 1998 Officials confirmed that the remains of a Vietnam War serviceman, buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, were identified as those of Air Force pilot Michael J. Blassie.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 10:08:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015