Whitey Ford
From BR Bullpen
Edward Charles Ford (The Chairman of the Board or Slick)
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 5' 10", Weight 181 lb.
- High School Manhattan Aviation High School
- Debut July 1, 1950
- Final Game May 21, 1967
- Born October 21, 1928 in New York, NY USA
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1974
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Biographical Information
"(Ford) is always around the plate. He's so easy to catch I could do it sitting in a rocking chair." - Yogi Berra
Whitey Ford, who played his whole major league career for the New York Yankees, has one of the highest winning percentages of all time. He holds the record for highest winning percentage (.690) among pitchers with 200 wins. The similarity scores method sees the most similar pitcher as Juan Marichal, his contemporary. He started out 9-1 in 1950, and for his first 14 seasons he never had a losing record. He almost always won over two-thirds of his decisions.
Whitey was a native of New York City, and attended high school in Manhattan.
Ford lost two seasons (1951-1952) of his career to service in the army during the Korean War. He appeared in 11 World Series with an ERA of 2.71. He hurled two consecutive one-hit complete games in 1955 to share a record, but he never threw a no-hitter.
When he came to the majors in 1950, he was 21 years old and the youngest player on the team. Joe DiMaggio, in his second-to-last season, was 35, and Yogi Berra was 25. Mickey Mantle, who would be a long-time teammate in later years, was 18 years old in 1950 and playing for Joplin.
Ford was not an overpowering pitcher. He was 5 ' 10 " tall, not noteworthy by standards of the times (his contemporary Don Drysdale was 6 ' 6 "), and he never led the league in strikeouts (although he was second in 1961). Instead, he had a variety of pitches that he could throw with good control, and for years was among the leaders in giving up the fewest home runs per nine innings pitched.
In his last season in the majors, at age 38, he had an ERA of 1.64.
He was a coach for the Yankees in 1968, and 1974-75.
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on January 16, 1974 by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
He gave Pete Rose the nickname "Charlie Hustle". It was derogatory.
Ford's son Eddie Ford was a shortstop in the Boston Red Sox chain and a first-round draft pick.
Notable Achievements
- 8-time AL All-Star (1954-1956, 1958-1961 & 1964)
- ML Cy Young Award Winner (1961)
- 1961 World Series MVP
- 2-time AL ERA Leader (1956 & 1958)
- 3-time AL Wins Leader (1955, 1961 & 1963)
- 3-time AL Winning Percentage Leader (1956, 1961 & 1963)
- 2-time AL Innings Pitched Leader (1961 & 1963)
- AL Complete Games Leader (1955)
- 2-time AL Shutouts Leader (1958 & 1960)
- 15 Wins Seasons: 10 (1953-1956, 1959 & 1961-1965)
- 20 Wins Seasons: 2 (1961 & 1963)
- 25 Wins Seasons: 1 (1961)
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 11 (1953-1956, 1958, 1959 & 1961-1965)
- 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (1961)
- Won six World Series with the New York Yankees (1950, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961 & 1962)
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1974
| ML Cy Young Award | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1961 | 1962 |
| Vern Law | Whitey Ford | Don Drysdale |
Records Held
- Winning percentage, left-hander, career (minimum 100 wins), .690
- Most World Series wins, career, 10
- Most World Series starts, career, 22
- Most World Series Game 1 starts, career, 8
- Most World Series strikeouts, career, 94
- Most World Series innings pitched, career, 146.0
- Most World Series losses, career, 8
Further Reading
- Whitey Ford and Phil Pepe: Slick: My Life In and Around Baseball, William Morrow and Co., New York, NY 1987
- Miles Coverdale, Jr.: Whitey Ford: A Biography, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2006.
- Fay Vincent: "Whitey Ford", in We Would Have Played For Nothing, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2008, pp. 148-182.
