12/31/2025
If you’ve never known the complete history of Sandy, I invite you to read up - great story of a great man. Happy 90th Birthday to a legend and a mensch! 🥳⚾️
Happy 90th Birthday to Sandy Koufax, The Legendary Jewish Southpaw Who Became Baseball’s Greatest Pitcher
On December 30, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, Evelyn, née Lichtenstein, and Jack Braun welcomed their son Sanford Braun into the world. This child would grow up to become Sandy Koufax, one of the most iconic figures in baseball history and a towering hero in the American Jewish community.
Born in the Borough Park neighborhood to a Jewish family, Sandy’s parents divorced when he was just three years old. He spent much of his early childhood with his maternal grandparents, Max and Dora Lichtenstein, who instilled in him Jewish values and culture. His mother, a certified public accountant, later remarried attorney Irving Koufax when Sandy was nine. Sandy took his stepfather’s surname, whom he always referred to as his father, and largely severed ties with his biological father.
Raised in a secular Jewish household, he did not have a bar mitzvah, Koufax was nevertheless deeply influenced by his heritage. He spent summers at a Jewish camp and played basketball at the Jewish Community House in Brooklyn. His grandfather Max often took him to Yiddish theater, embedding a sense of Jewish identity that would shine through in his life choices.
Koufax’s path to greatness began modestly. He was more passionate about basketball than baseball as a youth, but his raw talent soon emerged. After a standout tryout at the University of Cincinnati, he signed with his hometown Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954 as a bonus baby. He played his entire twelve season career, from 1955 to 1966, with the Dodgers, first in Brooklyn and later in Los Angeles, transforming from a wild talent into the dominant left hander known as the Left Arm of God.
From 1962 through 1966, Koufax was untouchable. He won three Cy Young Awards, unanimously when only one was given league wide, captured the 1963 National League MVP, led the league in ERA multiple times, threw four no hitters including a perfect game, and helped the Dodgers win World Series titles in 1959, 1963, and 1965. He retired at just thirty years old due to traumatic arthritis in his pitching elbow, but was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972 at age thirty six, becoming the youngest player ever inducted.
His most famous moment came during the 1965 World Series when Game 1 fell on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. Koufax, prioritizing his faith and heritage over the biggest stage in sports, chose not to pitch despite being the team’s ace. This act of principle made him a revered symbol of Jewish pride, shattered stereotypes about Jewish athletes, and earned admiration across generations. He returned for the remainder of the series and helped secure the championship.
Today, at ninety years old, Sandy Koufax remains a private legend whose legacy endures as both a baseball giant and a source of inspiration for Jewish excellence, resilience, and integrity. A true role model from Brooklyn to Cooperstown.
