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Website updated 12 Jul 2009
World Series Tickets * Dodgers Tickets
A prevailing philosophy claims that you can get too much of a good thing. In the case of Sandy Koufax,
however, you can never get too much simply because he won’t let you. This icon in baseball
history is an intensely private man, yet to someone like me, a Midwesterner who became a
Los Angeles Dodger fan in the 1960's primarily because of him, he is like an old friend that we don't see enough
of.
Not too long ago, I was browsing online for a some pictures of Sandy to use in a screen-
saver I was making for the birthday of my Dodger buddy, Carolyn. Besides the fact that
I had to work very hard to gather enough pictures, I was amazed that no one had developed a
Web site for Sandy ~ at least, not one that I stumbled upon through any of the search engines I was
using. I found several Web *pages* of biographical information, statistics, and memorabilia, but not
an entire site dedicated to the Hall of Fame pitcher who occupies a special corner of my Dodger-
blue heart.
When I was in junior high, I won an essay contest writing about Sandy. After a little behind-the-scenes
maneuvering from my mama, I was honored to receive from Sandy an autographed baseball
with the words "Best wishes, Vikki ~ Sandy Koufax" written in his familiar (at least to me) handwriting. Collectors
have since told me that the ball is devalued because Sandy wrote my name on it, too. However, to me, sentimental soul that
I am, the ball became instantly priceless not only because of the personalization but also because
this great man had taken the time to send it to me.
Sandy, if you are reading this, I apologize for the slight intrusion into your private world. I
promise I won't go too far. :) However, fans like me need a place where we can go to
recapture the baseball magic that you brought into our lives as we sat on our front porches
late into the summer night with our transistor radios pressed against our ears. The honeysuckle scent
and the muggy air enfolded me as I listened to Harry Caray and Jack Buck call the game you were pitching
against Bob Gibson. Golden voices in the velvet night, and two golden arms on the mound...
For me things haven't been the same since the O'Malleys sold the Dodgers. The Fox people
have managed to stomp a lifetime of Dodger blue out of my heart. As I gathered material for this
Web site, however, I remembered those good ol' baseball days, and for awhile at least, I am
bleeding Dodger blue again...
Wherever you are, Sandy, thanks for the memories...
Vikki L. Jeanne Cleveland
Salem, Illinois
Summer, 2000
Recommended Reading
 Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy by Jane Leavy ~ In an era when too many heroes have been toppled from too many pedestals, Sandy Koufax stands apart and alone, a legend who declined his own celebrity. As a pitcher, he was sublime, the ace of baseball lore. As a human being, he aspired to be the one thing his talent and his fame wouldn't allow: a regular guy. A Brooklyn kid, he was the product of the sedate and modest fifties who came to define and dominate baseball in the sixties. In Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy, former award-winning Washington Post sportswriter Jane Leavy delivers an uncommon baseball book, vividly re-creating the Koufax era, when presidents were believed and pitchers aspired to go the distance. (Amazon.com)
Vikki's Note (19 Jun 2004): I have read a whole lot of copy on Sandy Koufax over the years. Most biographies were disappointing because they did little more than regurgitate baseball stats and facts that any Sandy Koufax fan already knew.
Most of us know what an extremely private person Sandy is. He didn't even want this book to be written. However, Jane Leavy was a *persistent* lady, who was subsequently given permission to talk to many of Sandy's friends, who would never have spoken about him without his permission. Sandy inspires that kind of loyalty.
*Finally* here is a biography that tells me something more about the gentleman who was my first sports hero.
Those who have met him and those (like me) who have only watched from a distance seem to have at least one "Koufax memory" that is wrapped within cozy nostalgia for the way things used to be.
Thank, you, Jane Leavy. Like Sandy, you help us remember.
Excerpt of Jane Leavy's book, Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy
Interview Between Jane Leavy and PBS's Terence Smith
Audio of Interview Between Jane Leavy and Only a Game's Bill Littlefield
Buy Jane Leavy's Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy here!
Links to Articles and Photos
Sandy Koufax Photo Gallery
Sandy Koufax Baseball Card Images
Sandy Koufax Memorabilia
Sandy Koufax Returns to His Alma Mater (University of Cincinnati)
“Koufax’s Dominance Was Short but Sweet” by Larry Schwartz
: “Sandy Koufax Had Hall-of-Fame Pitching Career” by Rob Olds
“Yom Kippur and Sandy Koufax” by Sandor Slomovits
“Sandy Koufax: A Baseball Legend” by Seymour “Sy” Brody
“Koufax Unfairly Blindsided by Shoddy Journalism” by Hubert Mizell
“Sandy Koufax Signs with Steiner”
“A Pitcher and a Mentsh” by Jonathan Tobin
"A Tribute to My Hero" by Molly
“Koufax Returns to Dodgertown” (Associated Press)
“Koufax Visits Dodgers Camp” by Jason Reid
1965 Perfect Game Report
Vin Scully's Radio Call ~ 9th Inning of Sandy Koufax's Perfect Game (Transcript)
Audio of Vin Scully's Call
“A Half Century Announcer Announces the All-Century Team” by Ben Platt
Koufax Quotations
More Koufax Quotations
Links to Koufax Biographies and Stats
Baseball Historian
BaseballLibrary.com
BaseballPage.com
Baseball Reference
CNN/SI Pitching Stats
Hall of Fame Biography
Hickok Sports
Walter O’Malley’s Official Web Site
Wikipedia
Sandy Koufax is a memory of my past ~ and my family. While we are reminiscing about the baseball of our youth, maybe your curiosity about your *family* history is piqued?
Have you ever looked at a very old photograph and wondered just who was that person who looked exactly like you?
Hey, is that rumor about Uncle Chuck *really* true???
Maybe your last name is *Braun* or *Koufax,* and you want to know if you are somehow related to Sandy?
*You* can play historical detective and find out the answers to these questions ~ and more! But where to start?
My book, Rooting Out Your AnceStory: A Primer for Beginning Genealogy, gives you the basics for beginning your quest for your family’s roots. I share genealogy tips I have learned after nearly 30 years of research on my own family history ~ which can be traced back to 1066 in Northern England during the Anglo-Saxon times of my ancestors Thorkil de Cliveland and his son, Uctred.
This book has no delusions of grandeur. It doesn’t promise to be an in-depth instructional text on *all* secrets involved in the genealogical process. Instead, it is a quick-read primer that gives you some credit for being smart enough to find out things on your own once you have been told just where to look.
The fun is in the quest ~ not in reading the roadmap. So get your instructions and begin your journey *HERE.* Order a hardcopy to keep in your genealogy bookcase or a PDF (Adobe Acrobat) copy for *immediate* download into your computer!
Good luck in your quest! Click here to enjoy life in the *PAST LANE*!
It will be a heir-raising experience!
Also available at
Amazon.com and
Barnes and Noble!
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sandykoufaxfan(at)gmail.com
Lithograph photo courtesy of Angelo Marino and Pacific Time
Other graphics courtesy of Youth Leagues
Copyright 2000-2006 by Vikki L. Jeanne Cleveland
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