sandy koufax

English - English

Definition of sandy koufax in English English dictionary

in full Sanford Koufax orig. Sanford Braun born Dec. 30, 1935, New York, N.Y., U.S. U.S. baseball pitcher. Koufax's mother divorced when he was young, and he took the name of his stepfather. In his youth he played sports at the Jewish community centres in his native Brooklyn, and in high school he was known more as a basketball player than as a baseball player. He attended the University of Cincinnati on a basketball scholarship before joining the Brooklyn (later Los Angeles) Dodgers in 1955 as a left-handed thrower with a blazing fastball and a sharp breaking curveball. Once he gained control of his pitches he set several season records for strikeouts (including 382 in 1965), and his career average of one strikeout per inning is a rare accomplishment. In 1965 he pitched his fourth no-hit game, until 1981 a major-league record; the fourth no-hitter was also a perfect game (no player reached first base). Despite his early retirement in 1966 because of arthritis, he is regarded as one of baseball's greatest pitchers

Hyphenation

san·dy koufax