Sandy Koufax

Sandy Koufax (born Sanford Koufax; December 30, 1935) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-season career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. A left-handed power pitcher known for his blazing fastball and sharp curveball, Koufax transformed from an inconsistent early-career performer into one of the most dominant hurlers in baseball history during a five-year peak from 1962 to 1966, leading the National League in earned run average for four consecutive seasons and setting single-season records for strikeouts.

Koufax's most notable achievements include winning the Cy Young Award three times (1963, 1965, and 1966—the only pitcher to win it unanimously each time before the award expanded to both leagues), the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1963, and four no-hitters, one of which was a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs on September 9, 1965. He also played a key role in the Dodgers' World Series victories in 1959, 1963, and 1965, posting a 0.95 ERA across four World Series appearances. In 1965, despite opting out of Game 1 due to its coincidence with Yom Kippur—the holiest day in Judaism—Koufax pitched complete-game shutouts in Games 5 and 7 to clinch the championship for Los Angeles.

Sandy Koufax was born Sanford Braun on December 30, 1935, in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, New York, to Evelyn (née Lichtenstein) and Jack Braun, both of Sephardic Jewish descent. His parents divorced when he was three years old, after which his mother married Irving Koufax, an accountant who adopted him and from whom he took the surname Koufax. The family resided in a working-class Jewish neighborhood, where Koufax was raised amid the urban environment of mid-20th-century Brooklyn.

Koufax was born Sanford Braun on December 30, 1935, to Jewish parents Evelyn and Jack Braun in Brooklyn, New York; his parents divorced when he was three, and he was adopted by his Jewish stepfather Irving Koufax, taking his surname. Raised in secular Jewish households in Brooklyn and later Long Island, he grew up in Jewish neighborhoods and celebrated major holidays like Passover and Hanukkah, but was not devoutly observant or affiliated with a synagogue in his youth.

This act, rather than stemming from strict orthodoxy, reflected a personal commitment to Jewish identity amid cultural pressures, transforming Koufax into an enduring symbol of Jewish pride and achievement in American sports, particularly as one of few prominent Jewish athletes in MLB at the time. He has rarely discussed his beliefs publicly, maintaining privacy post-retirement, but the episode challenged stereotypes of Jews as unathletic and affirmed that Jewish observance could coexist with professional excellence. In 2010, he attended a White House event for Jewish American Heritage Month, underscoring his recognized cultural role.