Sandy Koufax.

Sandy Koufax. Sandy Koufax, born in 1935, American baseball player, Cy Young Memorial Award winner, and Baseball Hall of Fame member. Sanford Koufax grew up in New York City and earned a basketball scholarship to the University of Cincinnati. He also played baseball in college and eventually left school to sign a professional contract for that sport. In a career that was prematurely ended because of an arthritic condition in his left elbow, Koufax became the dominant left-handed pitcher in the major leagues. During his major-league years (1955-1966) he pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers, which later became the Los Angeles Dodgers, and won 165 games, lost 87, compiled an earned-run average of 2.76, and struck out 2396 batters in 2325 innings. During his last five seasons, he posted won-lost records of 14-7, 25-5, 19-5, 26-8, and 27-9. Koufax set major-league records by pitching four no-hit games and striking out 382 batters in one year (both records since broken by Nolan Ryan). He was voted the league's most valuable player (MVP) in 1963 and was the MVP of the World Series twice while leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to World Series championships in 1963 and 1965. Koufax won the Cy Young Memorial Award as the best pitcher in the major leagues in 1963, 1965, and 1966. In 1972 he became the youngest player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.