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Whitey Ford |
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Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford (born October 21, 1928) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.
A native of Queens, New York City, Ford was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1947, and played his entire career in a Yankees uniform. He was given the nickname "Whitey" while in the minor leagues for his exceptionally blond hair. Ford began his Major League Baseball career on July 1, 1950, with the Yankees. In 1951 and 1952 he served in the Army during the Korean War. He rejoined the Yankees for the 1953 season, and the Yankee "Big Three" pitching staff became a "Big Four," as Ford joined Allie Reynolds, Vic Raschi and Eddie Lopat. Eventually Ford went from the No. 4 pitcher on a great staff to the universally acclaimed No. 1 pitcher of the Yankees, becoming known as the "Chairman of the Board" for his ability to remain calm and in command during high-pressure situations. He was also known as "Slick" for his craftiness on the mound, necessary because he did not have an overwhelming fastball, but being able to throw several other pitches very well gave him pinpoint control. Nonetheless, Ford was an effective strikeout pitcher for his time, tying the then-AL record for six consecutive strikeouts in 1956, and again in 1958. Ford pitched 2 consecutive one-hit games in 1955 (he never pitched a no-hitter) to tie a record held by several pitchers. Ford made a spectacular debut midway through the 1950 season, winning his first nine decisions before losing a game in relief. Ford even got a handful of lower-ballot MVP votes, despite throwing just 112 innings. He was voted Sporting News AL Rookie of the Year (Walt Dropo was BBWAA Rookie of Year choice). In 1955, he led the American League in complete games and games won; in 1956 in earned run average and winning percentage; in 1958, in earned run average; and in both 1961 and 1963, in games won and winning percentage. In 1961 he broke Babe Ruth's World Series record of 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings (the record would eventually reach 33 2/3, and stood for four decades until Mariano Rivera broke it in 2000). Ford won the 1961 World Series MVP as well as the Cy Young Award. Ford won 236 games for New York (career 236-106), still a franchise record. Red Ruffing, the previous Yankee record-holder, still leads all Yankee right-handed pitchers, with 231 of his 273 career wins coming with the Yankees. Other Yankee pitchers have had more career wins (for example, Roger Clemens notched his 300th career victory as a Yankee), but amassed them for multiple franchises. David Wells tied Whitey Ford for 13th place in victories by a lefhander on August 26, 2007. Among pitchers with at least 300 career decisions, Ford ranks first with a winning percentage of .690. Among those with at least 200 decisions, only Pedro Martinez ranked ahead of him; at the end of the 2006 season, Martinez stood at .691. His won-loss percentage of .690 is not just due to being on a fine team. The Yankees were 1,486-1,027 during his 16 years. Without his 236-106, they had 1,250 wins and 921 losses, for a won-loss of .576. Ford was thus .114 higher than his team's record net of his record. When Ford got his 100th win in 1958, his career record stood at 100-36, the best ever. Some of Ford's numbers were also depressed by Casey Stengel, the Yankees manager. Stengel viewed Ford as his top pitching asset, and often "saved" his ace lefthander for more formidable opponents such as the Tigers, Indians and White Sox. When he became manager in 1961, Ralph Houk promised Ford he would pitch every fourth day, regardless of opponent. Ford, who had only exceeded 30 starts once in his nine seasons under Stengel, had 39 in 1961. A career-best 25-4 record ensued, along with the Cy Young Award, but Ford's season was overshadowed by the scintillating home-run battle between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Ford set a record in 1961 by pitching 243 innings without allowing a stolen base. Ford likely would have won the 1963 AL Cy Young, but this was before the institution of a separate award for each league, and Ford could not match Sandy Koufax's numbers for the Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League. He would also have been a candidate in 1955, but this was before the Cy Young Award was created. Ford's status on the Yankees was underscored by the World Series. Ford was New York's Game One pitcher in 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964. In 1960, Stengel altered the strategy by holding Ford back until Game Three, a decision that angered Ford. The Yankees' ace won both his starts in Games Three and Six with complete-game shutouts, but was then unavailable to relieve in the last game of a surprising Yankees loss. Ford always felt that had he been able to appear in three of the games instead of just two, the Yankees would have won. Upper management may have agreed; Stengel was fired following the Series. For his career, Ford had 10 World Series victories, more than any other pitcher. Ford also leads all starters in World Series losses (8) and starts (22), as well as innings, hits, walks, and strikeouts. Ford appeared on eight AL All-Star teams between 1954 and 1964. One NL batter who was always happy to see him was Willie Mays, who at one point had seven consecutive hits off Ford. Ford's 2.75 earned run average is the lowest among starting pitchers whose careers began after the advent of the Live Ball Era in 1920. Ford's worst-ever ERA was 3.24. (Hoyt Wilhelm, primarily a reliever during his career, leads all post-1920 pitchers in ERA at 2.52.) Ford had 45 shutout victories in his career, including eight 1-0 wins. Ford never threw a no-hitter, but had back-to-back one-hitters in 1955. Ford ended his career in declining health. In August 1966, Ford underwent surgery to correct a circulatory problem in his throwing shoulder. He lasted just one inning in what would be his final start in May 1967, and announced his retirement at the end of the month. Ford wore number 19 in his rookie season. Following his return from the army in 1953, he wore number 16 for the remainder of his career. He was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1974 with his longtime pal and Yankee teammate Mickey Mantle. At that time, the Yankees retired his number 16. On August 2, 1987, the Yankees dedicated plaques for Monument Park at Yankee Stadium for Ford and another left-handed pitcher who reached the Hall of Fame, Lefty Gomez. Ford's plaque calls him "One of the greatest pitchers ever to step on a mound." After his career ended, Ford admitted to occasionally cheating by doctoring baseballs in various ways. Of particular note among his methods was the "mudball". The "mudball" could only be used at home in Yankee Stadium; Yankee groundskeepers would wet down an area near the catcher's box where Yankee catcher Elston Howard was positioned. Pretending to lose balance on a pitch while in his crouch and landing on his right hand (with the ball in it), Howard would coat one side of the ball with mud. Ford would sometimes use the diamond in his wedding ring to gouge the ball, but he was eventually caught by an umpire and warned to stop. Howard then sharpened a buckle on his shinguard and used it to scuff the ball. In 1999, Ford ranked number 52 on The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players, and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. TriviaIn 1977, Ford was part of the broadcast team for the first game in Toronto Blue Jays history. [1]In 1994, a road in Mississauga, Ontario (Canada) was named Ford Road in Ford's honour. This was in the north-central area of Mississauga known informally as "the baseball zone", as several streets in the area are named for hall-of-fame baseball players. [1] In a 1997 episode of The Simpsons, "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson", an animated Ford was knocked unconscious by a barrage of pretzels at a baseball game after a controversial prize giveaway angered fans. Homer later suggested that Marge call her pretzels "Whitey Whackers." In 1998 rapper turned rocker, Everlast scored great success with his CD entitled "Whitey Ford Sings the Blues". Since then he is being nicknamed "Whitey Ford"/"White E. Ford" or just "Whitey" as well. In 2001, Ford was portrayed by Anthony Michael Hall in the HBO movie, 61*, a Billy Crystal film centered around Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle's 1961 quest to break Babe Ruth's single-season home-run record. In 2003, Ford was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame. Whitey Ford Graduated from Aviation High School. See also
References1. ^ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.94, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
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National Team, was the Angels' first-round draft pick in 2004, and last year became the first American League rookie since Whitey Ford in 1950 to win his first nine decisions. We have no idea where the announcers got their Whitey Ford story and came to their conclusions. Whitey Ford was still on the mound humming fast balls and side arm sliders to Elston Howard catching hell for being one of the first coloreds behind the plate |
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Whitey Ford