Whitey Ford
Edward Charles " Whitey " Ford ( born October 21, 1928 in New York ) is a former American professional baseball player in Major League Baseball. His nickname as a player were The Chairman of the Board or slick.
Biography
Whitey Ford was born in New York and drafted by the New York Yankees as a pitcher in 1947. On 1 July 1950 he made his debut in Major League against the Boston Red Sox as Einwechselwerfer. Already on July 17, he celebrated his first victory as a pitcher, the other eight hits in the next few games followed. In his first year Ford also came in the World Series for use. In the fourth game, he threw 8 2/ 3 innings and the Yankees secured the title. The next two years were spent Ford then the military.
In 1953 he returned to the Yankees and continued his great career as an athlete. Eight times in his career Ford was appointed to the All Star and won the 1961 Cy Young Award. To date, he is left-handed the Yankees as a pitcher with the most wins (236). Although Roger Clemens celebrated his 300th victory as a Yankee, but won for New York only 77 games. Red Ruffing, who leads this list of Yankees right-handed, won his 237 wins 231 for the team from the Bronx.
Ford, who was given because of his blond, almost white hair, the name Whitey, was a brilliant pitcher who by his deliberate game and his great litter repertoire always caused great difficulties to hitters.
Up to end of his career, the Yankees won with Ford 11 titles in the American League and six times the World Series. In the World Series in 1960, 1961 and 1962 he was in 33 consecutive innings to any points of the opponent and improved the record set by Babe Ruth, the latter had placed in his Boston time with 29 2/ 3 innings.
In his first year Ford wore the shirt number 19, after his return from the military, the number 16, this number is no longer assigned by the Yankees since 1974, the same year Ford was taken with his teammate Mickey Mantle in the Baseball Hall of Fame. On August 2, In 1987 he built the Yankees a plaque in Monument Park at the Yankee Stadium with the words on it: One of the greatest pitchers ever to step on a mound.
When MLB All- Star Game 2008, he threw together with Yogi Berra, Rich Gossage and Reggie Jackson the ceremonial first pitch.