Koufax no hitters

[Padres67]

Recently while playing Koufax threw a perfect game for me. I know in the 60's he threw 4 gems-was wondering if anybody on this site ever saw Koufax pitch in person. I saw him on television in 65 and 66 world series.

[stecropper]

Yes, I saw him and Drysdale pitch against the Colt .45's in Houston in '63 I think it was. Can't recall much other than the Colts lost both those games and won the next day which I had already returned home and missed. I do recall how skinny Koufax was compared to Drysdale and how both of them really had a heck of an arm motion. Wills hit a triple in the first game and stole like 4 bases over the two games. Neither pitcher went the distance and needless to say very few runs were scored by either team that weekend. Of course I was used to that with the Colts.

[Padres67]

Wow-what a great priviledge to have seen both those guys pitch on the same weekend. That was when pitchers threw over 300 innings and usually pitched most of the game. My dad saw Drysdale in '69 when the dodgers came to San Diego-the Dodgers won 19-0-Drysdale got the complete game shutout his last shutout-had maybe 2-3 more games and was never seen again because of arm problems

[JoeRudi26]

I agree. It definately must a been a priviledge to see that. My dad used to tell me stories (he was a Cards fan) about when he would go to St. Louis and watch Gibson pitch.

He said it usually went like this:

If Brock got on in the first inning, with Gibson on the mound, the Cards would at LEAST win 1-0. Brock would steal second, McCarver would (bunt) sac him to third, and Curt Flood would (fly) sac him home.

And then Gibson would shut the door for nine innings. I would have loved to seen him pitch as well.

[stecropper]

I think the most impressive baseball player I ever saw perform in person that I was absolutely in awe of was either Willie McCovey or Reggie Jackson. McCovey because of how hard those balls would come off his bat and how impressive it was when he swung and missed. Jackson because of his rifle arm from Right Field. Man that was something to see when he winged it to third from Right. I probably saw him gun down 3 or so runners at third. I saw him when he was with the A's and I guess that was in the early '70s. McCovey was in the late '60s. But the most memorable thing I ever saw was Willie Mays hitting a low liner just clearing the pitchers head directly into center field of the Astrodome then that sucker just kept rising & rising and sailed over the center field fence by at least a good 40 yards or more and I think it was still rising.

[Padres67]

The 50's,60's and 70's were the best years for baseball in my opinion-before steroids etc. People who got to see Mantle,Mays,Musial,and all the other greats of that era are truly fortunate. That's why we like this classic game mod-we can sometimes imagine that time again. The pitchers of the 60's were awsome-the innings they threw and the consistency is not seen today and will never be seen again-when was the last time a pitcher threw 335 innings like Koufax did in '65?Great era, great ballplayers-not like the million dollar babies playing today.

[JoeRudi26]

The 50's,60's and 70's were the best years for baseball in my opinion-before steroids etc. People who got to see Mantle,Mays,Musial,and all the other greats of that era are truly fortunate. That's why we like this classic game mod-we can sometimes imagine that time again. The pitchers of the 60's were awsome-the innings they threw and the consistency is not seen today and will never be seen again-when was the last time a pitcher threw 335 innings like Koufax did in '65?Great era, great ballplayers-not like the million dollar babies playing today.

Not to mention how Free Agency came along and dismantled any thing in it's path. In those days, when a player was drafted to a team, more often than not he stayed there. I grew up in the 70's, and there was such a thing called team pride. You knew who was going to be there everyday.

Granted, Free Agency is a player's right, and I don't disagree with it. Just like college basketball players leaving school early to grab the cash. I would want these rights as well.

But my point is, the guys that were born in the 70's and 80's really don't know any different, they haven't SEEN it. There wasn't a "thing" called pitch counts. Pitchers went out there for the long haul, and most of them endured it. But in another light, the way things are today, I AGREE with pitch counts. Free Agency has led to Mega Dollars and I sure wouldn't want to waste 5 mil wearing out a pitcher.

With all this being said, times change. I've gotten used to it, and I still love the game. But I can remember the days when a player was associated with HIS team.

I'm not trying to say the old days were better, just different.

[Padres67]

I am still a fan-but the mvp 2005 game and the one previous-I play the classic teams only-It was a different time. It was a time we will never see again. I'm glad we have these mods and this site to enjoy some images from the past.

[Denny]

My most fond memories as a kid were my trips with my dad to Detroit and Cleveland for baseball games in the late 50's and early 60's.

Cleveland games in those days were a riot because Jimmy Piersall (what a character) would warm up in centerfield acting like he was pitching, or run full speed from the dugout out to center field and jump over the fence, acting like he caught a fly ball. Unfortunately I missed his most famous stunt of running the bases backward after he hit a home run.

Also seeing Al Kaline, Rocky Colavito, Norm Cash, Paul Foytack, Frank Larry and Jim Bunning play in the famous (for old Tiger fans anyway) 1961 season is still my fondest memory. The Tigers won 101 games that year but lost the pennant to the dreaded (LOL) Yankee's who won 109 games. In my opinion one of the best Yankee teams ever.

How could the Mantle and Maris chase of Babe Ruth's home run record not rank them up there. Maris hit 61 and Mantle 54 even with a late season injury.

I never saw Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale or Bob Gibson pitch in person, but watch several World Series Games they pitched in on TV. I thought that was a real privilege. I also got to watch the World Series on TV while in school. A different time period (era) for sure. MVP Classics allows me to relive some of that excitement.

Yes the 50 and 60's were great baseball years.