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Ed Gruver
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Koufax Hardcover – April 1, 2000

by Edward Gruver (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 27 ratings
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In Koufax, Edward Gruver tells the life story of Sandy Koufax, a man many consider to be the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time. Gruver includes extensive interviews with the player's childhood friends, Brooklyn Dodgers teammates, opponents, front office personnel, and sports journalists who covered his career.
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Taylor Trade Publishing
  4. Publication date
    April 1, 2000
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.03 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0878331573
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0878331574
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is the biography of legendary L.A. Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax, who for half a decade mesmerized hitters as few have ever done. Described by many as the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time, Koufax dominated batters in the National League, establishing a benchmark that most hurlers only dream about. Consider these stats: from 1962 to 1966, he won 111 games, lost only 34, tossed a no hitter, and also pitched a perfect game. His 1963 season was brilliantDan impressive 25-5 record with a 1.88 ERA, a world series championship, and an MVP award. It's too bad arthritis ended Koufax's playing days prematurely, at age 30. Award-winning sports writer Gruver (The Ice Bowl) has compiled what the publisher touts as the first book on Koufax in 30 years. Drawing on childhood friends, teammates, opponents, journalists, and Dodger management, Gruver has written a compelling story, complete with appendix of notable statistics. Recommended for all libraries. (Index not seen.)DLarry R. Little, Penticton P.L., BC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax may have had the best consecutive years of any pitcher ever from 1961 through 1966, winning 149 games while losing just 47 with a miniscule earned run average and more than one strikeout per inning. He retired at age 30 because of severe arthritis in his pitching arm. The reverential mystique enveloping Koufax to this day is based in equal parts on his magnificence; his retirement, caused by a tragic condition; and his subsequent Garboesque public persona. Gruver, the award-winning author of The Ice Bowl (1997), relies on mostly secondary sources to re-create Koufax's career and postretirement life. Older fans familiar with Koufax will learn little that wasn't common knowledge but can vicariously relive some of those great performances. Young fans can learn how a star could be humble, self-effacing, and gracious while still being as fierce and courageous a performer as the game has known. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Taylor Trade Publishing; First Edition (April 1, 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0878331573
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0878331574
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.18 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.03 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 27 ratings

About the author

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Ed Gruver

Ed Gruver

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Ed Gruver is an award-winning sportswriter and journalist with more than 30 years' experience on the staffs of daily newspapers. A member of the Society for American Baseball Research and the Pro Football Researchers Association, he is a contributing writer to both SABR and the PFRA. Gruver covered the Philadelphia Phillies' glory years from 2007-11 and has also reported on the Baltimore Orioles, MLB All-Star Games, playoffs and World Series. He was an NFL writer covering the Baltimore Ravens from 1999-2008 and has written on the NFL playoffs, NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs and championship boxing. Gruver was a contributing writer to Total Football I and II and has written nationally for the NFL Alumni magazine as well as MLB and NHL online sites. A native of north Jersey, he resides in Lancaster, PA with his wife Michelle. They have two daughters, Patty and Katie.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
27 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Blaine Greenfield
5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ for any baseball fan
Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2001
Verified Purchase
I was one of the 69,000 in attendance who jammed into Yankee Stadium to see Sandy Koufax top Whitey Ford in the World Series opener in 1963 . . . in doing so, he set a World Series record of 15 strikeouts . . . I also remember the game because Frank Howard hit the hardest ball I've ever seen . . . if memory serves me correctly, it hit the bottom of the center field fence on a fly . . . but I digress . . . I mention the preceding because i recently finished KOUFAX by Edward Gruver, the story of the
three-time Cy Young award winner and Jewish icon who refused to pitch on High Holy days . . . this is a MUST READ for any baseball fan . . . it provides insight into the elusive, enigmatic hero who left the spotlight at the height of his powers.
There were many memorable passages; among them:
Koufax was aware of the edge his fastball gave him in pitcher-batter confrontations, and he used it to his advantage. "The art of pitching," he said, "is to instill fear in a man by making him flinch."
Koufax enjoyed the confrontations with great hitters. Baseball, he said once, is a form of warfare. He never believed in fraternizing with opposing players, because the guys in the other uniforms represented the enemy. He never wanted to get to know an opponent well enough to feel anything towards them except, as he put it, "sheer hostility."
[on loss of income when he was forced to retire] ". . . let's put it this way. If there was a man who did not have the use of one of his arms and you told him it would coast a lot of money if he could buy back that use, he'd give every dime he had, I believe. That's my feeling, and in a sense, maybe this is what I'm doing. . . . I don't regret one minute of the last twelve years, but I think I would regret one year that was too many."
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4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not Great
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2015
A good book because of the subject matter but not as good as the books by Koufax himself or Jane Leavy.
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james kolak me
5.0 out of 5 stars everything
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2019
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Mr. William F. Reina
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2015
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A good look at the man, the athlete and his remarkable talent.
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robert g
1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing book
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2021
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This book is basically a summary of facts that could have been compiled using box scores and newspapers for quotes. It does not take us through Sandy Koufax’s life, as I would’ve expected. It bounces from game to game describing how many strikeouts he had and how many runs the other teams scored. I’ve read many sports biographies and this one is by far the worst. Halfway through I realized it wasn’t worth my time reading the second half which by flipping through I could see was more of the same. Sorry for the bad review, but I was very disappointed.
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Flying Scot
5.0 out of 5 stars Koufax, Martinez, Walter Johnson
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2002
Sandy Koufax, Pedro Martinez, and Walter Johnson are the three greatest pitchers in history. This book makes a strong case for Koufax as THE greatest. Certainly others -- Cy Young,Christy Mathewson,Lefty Grove, Bob Feller,Warren Spahn,Tom Seaver,and today's Maddux and Clemens,among others -- have had greater lifetime careers than Sandy,but has anyone been as good as he at their peak years? Maybe Martinez, maybe the two Johnsons,Walter and Randy.It's probably a flat-out dead heat. However, Koufax finished most of his games,something even the great Pedro and Randy seldom do. Also, Koufax frequently went extra innings -- 11,12,13 innings,something Pedro and Randy NEVER do.Koufax pitched for one of the weakest hitting championship teams of all time. From the time he matured into greatness, he became the sole deciding factor as to whether the Dodgers won the pennant or not;in 1962, with the Dodgers on top, Koufax goes out with a circulatory ailment sometime around midsummer and misses most of the rest of the season and the Dodgers lose the pennant.In '63, with a healthy Koufax all year, they win it.In '64, he goes out again in mid-summer with an arthritic arm, and again the Dodgers lose the pennant. In '65, a healthy Koufax leads them to another pennant. In '66, once again with a healthy Koufax, the Dodgers win the pennant. Do you start to see a pattern here? If the greatest measure of an athlete is how he helps his team win, then surely Koufax has to be at the top of anyone's list. If he'd been able to continue pitching,like Nolan Ryan he'd no doubt have been able to pitch at a master level til he was past 40 due to his work ethic and commitment to conditioning. With that scenario, how many games might he have won? How many pennants for the Dodgers? How many no-hitters? Let's see, at a conservatve estimate of 24 wins a year for 10 more years, that would give him 405 lifetime wins, more than anyone except Walter Johnson and Cy Young, both DEAD BALL pitchers. He pitched 4 no-hitters in his last 5 years.At that rate, he'd have pitched 8 more over the next ten years, for a total of 12, obliterating Ryan's mark of 7. He was the greatest clutch pitcher of all time. His World Series lifetime E.R.A. of 0.95 is the best ever for starting pitchers,eclipsing even the Dead Ball guys! When he retired, he was unbelievably still getting BETTER! He had just reached his all-time personal high in wins(27) and his personal best E.R.A.(1.73). In the last 26 days of his career, he started seven times, threw five complete-game wins, and had an E.R.A. of 1.07! Bill James's all-time favorite pitcher,Lefty Grove, can't match up with Koufax, Martinez, or either of the Johnsons; sorry, Bill. The all-time dream game: Koufax vs. Martinez in the seventh game of the Series. Result? The Dodgers in 13 innings,1-0.
More even than all this, Sandy Koufax is one of the most modest,unassuming athletes ever, a true gentleman. It's a shame today's kids don't have such role models.
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