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Hall of Famer Whitey Ford, a mainstay of the New York Yankees dynasty of the 1950s and early '60s, was one of the greatest clutch pitchers of all time. The 10 time All-Star owned six rings for being on World's Championship squads in his 16 years with The Bronx Bombers. (During his time on the Yankees, he went to the fall classic a total of 11 times.) The left-hander put up a 236-106 career won-loss record with an earned run average of 2.75. His remarkable won-loss percentage of .690, third-best all-time, surpasses other all-time greats like 'Spud Chandler', Pedro Martinez, and Babe Ruth. (An outstanding left-handed pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, the Babe set a record for scoreless innings pitched in the World Series. When Ford broke that record during the '61 Series, the very same year that Roger Maris had broken The Sultan of Swat's all-time single-season record for home-runs, Whitey told the press, "It was a bad year for the Babe.")
Born Edward Charles Ford in Astoria, Queens on October 21, 1928, Whitey came up with the 1950 New York Yankees, going 9-1 and winning a game in the World Series. He spent the following two years in the military, then came back in 1953 to post a 18-6 record and lose one game in that year's fall classic. Though Ford only won 20 games twice in his career (going 24-4 in 1961 and 24-7 in '63), he was a consistent winner and more importantly, seldom lost. (Manager Casey Stengel, who oversaw the teams Ford played on from 1950 to 1960, was the man who developed modern concepts of how to use a bullpen, developing the idea of using top-notch relievers in key, situational roles rather in lieu of the old philosophy of using a broken-down starter as a mop-up man. In an era where a starting pitcher still was expected to finish what he had started, Ford averaged only 11 complete games a year, but he racked up 45 shutouts, putting him in the Top Twenty all-time when he retired.) From 1950 through 1962 (the last year that his Yankee dynasty scored their last World Series victory), he was a sterling 10-5 in the post-season, solidifying his reputation as one of the greatest clutch players in the game's history.
In 1966, he was bedeviled with circulatory problems in his left shoulder, necessitating surgery, and he retired after the 1967 season. At the close of his career, he was a two-time ERA champ and twice led the American League in wins. He had won the Cy Young Award in 1961 in a time where there was only one award given for both leagues. While still a player, Whitey served as the Yankees' pitching coach in the 1964 season under his former teammate (and new manager) Yogi Berra and again in the years 1974-75 under new owner George M. Steinbrenner III. He also served as the Yankees' first base coach in 1968, the year after his retirement.
Whitey Ford was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York in 1974 along with his long-time teammate and best friend Mickey Mantle. The Yankees promptly retired his playing number (#16). Thirteen years later, Whitey was given his own plaque in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park, the ultimate tribute to a Bronx Bomber.
