Edward Charles Ford, or simply “Whitey” to his friends and teammates, will turn 80 years of age in October. Ford, the little left-hander who was born in Manhattan, hasn’t thrown a baseball in more than four decades, but his fame and popularity has never ceased. He is what old-time Yankee fans like to refer as “the good old days,” and when he’s introduced at Old-Timers’ games, always receives thunderous applause.
Being a backer of the Bombers during this era usually meant October baseball was in their future, and they had a chance to add another World Series banner. Ford, who was 5-10 and 180 pounds, and his battery mate, catcher Yogi Berra, are two of the last remaining links to arguably the greatest Yankees dynasty ever. Beginning in 1950 and running through 1964, the Yanks appeared in 13 World Series and came away with eight titles. In four Series that the club lost, a seventh game decided the eventual winner.
The first Yankees’ pitcher to have his uniform number retired (No. 16), Ford is the Yankees’ all-time winningest pitcher with 236 victories, and holds the best winning percentage (.690) for hurlers with 200 wins. With the exception of 1951 and 1952 when Ford, who tossed 45 shutouts, was in the military, he was a mainstay on the mound, starting 30 games or more eight seasons. New York’s press corps nicknamed him “Slick,” but Ford, who posted a 2.75 lifetime earned-run average, was also known as “The Chairman of the Board.”
If the Brooklyn Dodgers were everyman’s team, the New York Giants a hit with the wealthy set, the Yankees were simply the biggest and grandest winners of all. At the tme, it was said that pulling for the Yanks was like rooting for United States Steel. This moniker didn’t always go over well with many citizens, but being a supporter of the Bronx Bombers meant it was okay to gloat, and many did just that.
A 10-time All-Star and a three-time starter, Ford mastered three pitches - a curveball, changeup and fastball. Ford was never a pure strikeout artist like the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax. Ford, who was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1974, was cunning and always about control. Like Tom Glavine today, Ford, who led the American League in wins three times and had the lowest ERA twice, preferred to move the ball on the outside portion of the plate, and then switch to the opposite side of the dish.
Batters were usually at a loss trying to figure out where Ford, who had 1,956 strikeouts over his 16-year career, was going to throw his next offering. Ford’s two best seasons were 1961, when he went 25-4 with a 3.21 ERA in 283 innings and 1963, when he finished 24-7 with a 2.74 ERA and 13 complete games. Ford won his only Cy Young award in 1961, and in the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, captured two games and didn’t allow a run over 14 innings. Ford was named the Series Most Valuable Player. Ford didn’t fare as well in 1963, losing twice to Koufax, as the Pinstripes were swept.
In 1950, Ford rattled off nine straight wins before finally losing to the Philadelphia Athletics. With a two-year break, Ford returned to action in 1953 and went 18-6 with a 3.00 ERA and three shutouts. Spanning the next dozen seasons, the fewest games Ford won was 11, but that was due to having 17 starts. Including that campaign in 1957 when Ford went 11-5, he managed to go 205-90.
Ford made his real impact in the playoffs, when the heat is always on, and the pressure is sometimes unbearable. He still holds the World Series record for most wins (10), strikeouts (94), innings (146), and games started (22). That’s his legacy, and it will live forever.
