Sandy Koufax - The Game He Wouldn't Pitch

 

In 1965, Sandy Koufax was the best pitcher in baseball.

 

He was the ace of the Los Angeles Dodgers, at the height of his career, and scheduled to start Game 1 of the World Series against the Minnesota Twins.

 

Then the calendar intervened. Game 1 fell on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. Koufax chose not to pitch.

 

There was no press conference. No speech. He simply told the team he would sit it out.

 

When athletes were expected to play through anything—injury, illness, pressure—Koufax stepped aside for religious conviction. The Dodgers lost the opening game.

 

Koufax returned later in the series. He pitched brilliantly, throwing complete games and helping lead the Dodgers to a World Series victory.

 

The decision cost him nothing on the field. It earned him something else entirely.

 

He made a choice. And in doing so, he became more than a baseball legend.