Universally recognized as one of the greatest pitchers in major league history, Sandy Koufax, an “aristocrat in spikes,” threw four no-hitters, dominated the major leagues for the first half of the 1960s, broke numerous strikeout records, and led the league in ERA for an unprecedented five consecutive years.
He was the first person to win the Cy Young award three times, each time by a unanimous vote and each time by winning the “pitcher’s “triple crown” (wins, strikeouts, and ERA). He won two World Series MVP awards, and he is still the only person to win the Hickok Belt (the award for professional athlete of the year) twice.
Much more can be written about Koufax’s baseball feats and records, but to Jews around the world he will always be remembered for his legendary decision not to pitch in the first game of the World Series against the Minnesota Twins on Oct. 6, 1965 because it was Yom Kippur.
His act of conscience was broadly seen as a moment of pride, sacrifice, and religious commitment, though Koufax himself was far from observant. As such, his moral act was not a reflexive response to his personal religious beliefs but rather an act of deference to, and respect for, the sensibilities of his fellow Jews.
Koufax’s place in the annals of American-Jewish history may have been best summarized by Jane Leavy in Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy: “He was the New Patriarch: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Sandy.”
As the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Minnesota emissary pithily advised him during a visit to his hotel room the next day, “Sandy, more Jews knew when Yom Kippur was this year because of you not pitching than who knew from a Jewish calendar.”
Cultural references to Koufax’s act are legion, but my personal favorite is a quote from film The Big Lebowski, where Judaism is characterized as “Three thousand years of beautiful tradition from Moses to Sandy Koufax.”
When Koufax first announced his decision, Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, a Roman Catholic, joked to reporters, “I’m going to ask the pope to see what he can do about rain.” Koufax’s teammates were essentially ambivalent but respectful of his decision, even after the substitute starter, Don Drysdale, lost the game. When manager Walt Alston removed him in the third inning after a very poor performance, Drysdale is said to have quipped, “I bet you wish I were Jewish, too.”
Call it divine intervention – or not – but Koufax, after losing Game 2, shut out the Twins in Game 5, came back to win the Series by pitching another shutout in the deciding Game 7, and was named the Series MVP. Interestingly, a year later, on September 25, 1966, he and Ken Holtzman, the two greatest Jewish pitchers in history, faced off against each other for the only time in their careers – the day after both had attended Yom Kippur synagogue services.
(Holtzman, who lost a bid for a no-hitter in the ninth inning, won the game, 2-1).
Though there have a number of media accounts concerning Koufax’s participation in Yom Kippur services that famous day in Minnesota in 1965, and though many Jews claimed to have seen him at various synagogues in Minneapolis, he actually never left his hotel room. (Although, by his own account, he did not view the game on television or listen to radio broadcasts.) As he later explained: “I’m Jewish. I’m a role model. I want them to understand they have to have pride.”
On the rare occasions he has commented on his decision to sit out the game, he claimed it was actually his customary practice and that he always observed the holidays by not pitching. For example, in his autobiography published in 1966, a year after he attained Jewish immortality, he wrote:
“There was never any decision to make…because there was never any possibility that I would pitch. Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish religion. The club knows I don’t work that day.”
In the 2010 documentary “Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story,” Koufax confirmed that “I had taken Yom Kippur off for 10 years. It was just something I’d always done with respect.” However, Koufax had “suited up” on Yom Kippur on at least two previous occasions, although he did not actually throw his first pitch until after sundown. On October 1, 1960, he pitched in relief against the Chicago Cubs and, on September 20, 1961, he started against the Cubs, throwing his first pitch mere moments after the end of Yom Kippur.
On August 11, 2014, I wrote to Koufax (in part): “Looking back on it today, is your decision to sit out the World Series because of Yom Kippur something that you are proud of, is it something you ever think about when you reminisce about your career? And were there any factors or issues that were particularly important to you in leading to your decision to take a moral and ethical stand?”
Koufax autographs are valuable, desirable, and very difficult to obtain; handwritten letters even more so; and correspondence relating to his sitting out the World Series on Yom Kippur is virtually unheard of. In his response to my letter, exhibited with this column, Koufax, consistent with the broad measures he takes to protect his personal life and privacy, does not elaborate on his reasons, but does confirm that his motive for sitting out the game was “respect,” presumably for Jewish tradition:
While I appreciate your interest, my motives & thoughts are private and will always remain so. Respect might be the one applicable word. A very happy new year.
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In the further spirit of the intersection of baseball with the Yomim Noraim, exhibited with this column is a fascinating and historic document evidencing an attempt by the New York Yankees early in the 20th century to reschedule a game falling on Rosh Hashanah. In this September 8, 1915 Western Union Telegram to B.B. (“Ban”) Johnson, president of the American League, Yankees co-owner Yankees Tillinghast L’Hommedieu (“T.L.”) Huston writes:
Tomorrow, Sept. 9th is big Jewish holiday in New York. If you will allow us to play Friday’s game as a double header tomorrow, I think it would be most advantageous to both clubs. Will appreciate immediate reply so if permission is granted I can give it out to papers this afternoon.
Obviously, Huston was not thinking about Orthodox Jews when he sought to reschedule Friday’s game, which fell on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, as a doubleheader on Thursday, the first day of yom tov. Presumably aware that few Jews stayed home from work on the second day of yom tov, Huston apparently sought to increase attendance on the first day of Rosh Hashanah by scheduling a twin bill for the day most Jews did stay home – and when even those who attended services in the morning could come out to the ballpark in the afternoon.
It is amusing to note how easy it was for the major leagues a century ago to reschedule a game on such short notice – in this case, a single day. Huston’s request was apparently granted by the American League because a doubleheader was played on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Thursday, September 9. The Washington Senators defeated the Yankees in both games, 5-3 and 4-1, and the New York team finished fifth that season (in an eight-team league) with a record of 69-83.
