Sanford Koufax; the man the myth the legend. For five years from 1962-1966 he was the greatest pitcher who ever lived. He won the Cy Young Award three times becoming the first to ever do so and the only one to achieve the distinction when only one award was given out. Today the Cy is awarded in each league. Each of these Cy Young years he also won the pitching triple crown earned by having the most wins & strikeouts plus the lowest earned run average. During this stretch he threw a no-hitter in four consecutive years besting Bob Feller’s record of three and standing second only today to Nolan Ryan’s seven. He pitched in an era when 300 plus innings and 40 starts were the norm for the great ones. And a great one he was! In 1963 Koufax went 25-5 struck-out 306 and had an e.r.a. of 1.88 with 11 shutouts. He won the NL MVP award the World Series MVP award after the Dodgers swept the Yankees and the Hickcock Belt for the best athlete in any sport and was the first ever unanimous selection for the Cy Young Award. After seeing Koufax’s game one 1963 World Series performance Yogi Berra said “I can see how he won 25 games. What I don’t understand is how he lost five” to which shortstop Maury Wills responded “He didn’t. We lost them for him.”

But that was then. On August 27 1955 rookie Sandy Koufax was making his second ever start for the Brooklyn Dodgers. All he did that day was pitch a two-hit 7-0 complete game shut-out for his FIRST major league win. He would throw only 41 2/3 innings and garner only one other win that year (also a shut-out). Offered here is an original scorecard from that August 27 1955 game. Detailed scoring on the interior documents the day’s historic proceedings. The multi-page scorecard has some chipping at the spine a tear at the left edge of the cover and notable wear at the lower right corner. Overall GD but undiminished in its historical significance.

It would take six more years before he harnessed his control and fully delivered on all the great early promise that Dodger Scout Al Campanis had seen when he stood in the batter’s box and faced the young Sandy Koufax in an Ebbets Field tryout. Campanis said “There are two times in my life the hair on my arms has stood up. The first time I saw the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the second time I saw Sandy Koufax throw a fastball.”