Editing Sandy Koufax (section)

==Early life==
Koufax was born Sanford Braun to a [[American Jews|Jewish]] family on December 30, 1935, in [[Borough Park, Brooklyn]].<ref name="SABR Koufax">{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/sandy-koufax/ |title=Sandy Koufax (SABR BioProject) |work=Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref> His parents, Evelyn (née Lichtenstein) and Jack Braun, divorced when he was three years old. The son of a single working parent, he spent most of his childhood with his maternal grandparents and spent his summers at Camp Chi-Wan-Da, a [[Jewish summer camp]] in [[Ulster Park, New York]], where his mother worked as a [[bookkeeper]].<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 16, 38; [[#Leavy|Leavy]], pp. 28–29, 51–52.</ref>

Evelyn, a certified public accountant, remarried when her son was nine to Irving Koufax, an attorney, whose name Sandy took. Koufax also gained a stepsister, Edith, Irving's daughter from a previous marriage.<ref name="theatlantic"/> Shortly afterwards, the family moved to the [[Long Island]] suburb of [[Rockville Centre, New York|Rockville Centre]]. They moved back to Brooklyn in June 1949, the day after Koufax graduated from ninth grade, settling in the neighborhood of [[Bensonhurst, Brooklyn|Bensonhurst]].<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 19–22; [[#Leavy|Leavy]], p. 29.</ref>

As a youth, Koufax was better known for basketball than for baseball. He had started playing it at the [[Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst]], winning a few local titles with the community center team. Attending [[Lafayette High School (New York City)|Lafayette High School]], Koufax would become the basketball team's captain in his senior year. That year, he ranked second in his division in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game.<ref name="theatlantic"/> He made newspaper headlines for the first time when, during a preseason exhibition game between the Lafayette basketball team and the [[New York Knicks]], he dunked twice and showed up Knicks star [[Harry Gallatin]].<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 22–28; [[#Leavy|Leavy]], pp. 37–40.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Sandomir |first1=Richard |title=Koufax's Roundball Once Trumped His Fastball |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/sports/basketball/before-baseball-left-brooklyn-sandy-koufax-left-basketball.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 14, 2012}}</ref>

In 1951, Koufax joined a local youth baseball league known as the "Ice Cream League", playing for the Tomahawks. He started out as a left-handed [[catcher]] before moving to [[first baseman|first base]]. He joined Lafayette's baseball team as a first baseman in his senior year at the urging of his friend [[Fred Wilpon]].<ref name="SABR Koufax"/> While with the high school team, he was spotted by Milt Laurie, a newspaper deliveryman and baseball coach who was the father of two Lafayette baseball players. Laurie noticed Koufax's strong throwing arm and recruited him to pitch for the [[Coney Island]] Sports League's Parkviews.<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 32–39.</ref>

{{multiple image
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| image1 = The Cincinnatian. 1954 baseball.png
| alt1 = A team photograph of the 1954 University of Cincinnati baseball team.
| image2 = The Cincinnatian. 1954 freshman basketball.png
| alt2 = A team photograph of the 1954 University of Cincinnati freshman baseball team.
| footer = Koufax with the 1954 [[University of Cincinnati]] baseball team (''left; top row, 5th from the left'') and freshman basketball team (''right; standing, 2nd from the right'')
}}

Koufax chose to attend the [[University of Cincinnati]] after becoming a [[walk-on (sports)|walk-on]] for their freshman basketball team. Playing under coach [[Ed Jucker]], he averaged 9.7 points per game.<ref name="theatlantic"/> As a student, he was enrolled in a liberal arts major with the intention of transferring to the [[School of Architecture and Interior Design|architectural school]],<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], p. 30.</ref> and was a member of [[Pi Lambda Phi]], a historically Jewish fraternity.<ref>[[#Leavy|Leavy]], p. 48.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Famous Pilams |url=https://www.pilambdaphi.org/about/famous-pilams/ |website=Pi Lambda Phi |access-date=September 9, 2024}}</ref>

One day, Koufax overheard Jucker, who also coached the college [[Cincinnati Bearcats baseball|baseball team]], planning a last-minute road trip in his office which started in [[New Orleans]]. Eager to visit the city, he told Jucker, "I'm a pitcher" and made the team in a subsequent tryout.<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 43–44.</ref> For the season, Koufax went 3–1 with a 2.81 earned run average, 51 strikeouts and 30 walks in 32 innings pitched.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sandy Koufax's season with UC Bearcats remembered |url=http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/college/university-of-cincinnati/2014/04/30/sandy-koufax-season-with-uc-bearcats-remembered/8512237/ |last1=Dyer |first1=Mike |work=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]] |date=May 4, 2014}}</ref>

===Major League tryouts===
[[File:Koufax at Pittsburgh Pirates tryouts -- September 1954.jpg|left|upright=0.7|thumb|Koufax during his tryouts with the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]], September 1954|alt=Sandy Koufax, aged 18, at Forbes Field, wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates tryout jersey and holding a cap and his glove]]
While with the college baseball team, Koufax began to attract the attention of baseball scouts. [[Bill Zinser]], a scout for the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]], sent the team a glowing report that was seemingly filed away and forgotten.<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 44–45; [[#Leavy|Leavy]], p. 50.</ref> Gene Bonnibeau, a scout for the [[New York Giants (baseball)|New York Giants]], learned of Koufax through a Cincinnati newspaper and invited him to try out at the [[Polo Grounds]] after his freshman year. The workout did not go well for the nervous Koufax who threw wildly over the catcher's head; he never heard back from the Giants.<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 46–48; [[#Leavy|Leavy]], p. 52.</ref>

That summer, Koufax began pitching regularly for the Parkviews. In September, Ed McCarrick, a scout for the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]], was highly impressed with Koufax after seeing him in a few [[sandlot baseball|sandlot games]].<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 50–53.</ref> At McCarrick's behest, [[Branch Rickey]], [[General Manager (baseball)|general manager]] of the Pirates, sent scout [[Clyde Sukeforth]] to see Koufax. Sukeforth subsequently invited him to [[Forbes Field]] for a tryout before the Pirates' front office. Upon seeing Koufax pitch in person, Rickey remarked, "This is the greatest arm I've ever seen."<ref>[[#Leavy|Leavy]], pp. 53–54.</ref> The Pirates, however, failed to offer Koufax a contract until after he was already committed to the Dodgers.<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 70–74.</ref>

[[Al Campanis]], a Dodgers scout, heard about Koufax from sportswriter [[Jimmy Murphy (sportswriter)|Jimmy Murphy]] of the ''[[Brooklyn Eagle]]'' who covered sandlot teams in Brooklyn and had seen him pitch a few times.<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], p. 61.</ref><ref>{{cite news |first1=Jimmy |last1=Murphy |title=In Great Demand |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/13733090/ |work=[[Brooklyn Eagle]] |date=August 17, 1954}}</ref> He was also urged by Pat Auletta, the owner of a sporting goods store and founder of the Coney Island Sports League, to see Koufax pitch. Campanis arranged a tryout for him at [[Ebbets Field]].<ref>[[#Leavy|Leavy]], pp. 54–55</ref> With Dodgers manager [[Walter Alston]] and scouting director [[Fresco Thompson]] watching, Campanis assumed the hitter's stance while Koufax started throwing; he later said, "There are two times in my life the hair on my arms has stood up: The first time I saw the ceiling of the [[Sistine Chapel]] and the second time, I saw Sandy Koufax throw a fastball."<ref>[[#Leavy|Leavy]], p. 55.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Dave |title=Sandy Koufax and the Sistine Chapel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/01/28/archives/sandy-koufax-and-the-sistine-chapel-sports-of-the-times.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 28, 1979}}</ref>

After the tryout, Koufax's father negotiated the contract with the Dodgers, asking for a bonus which would allow his son to finish college if his baseball career failed.<ref name="theatlantic"/> They agreed on a $20,000 contract (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|20000|1954|r=-3}}}} today) – $6,000 then-league minimum salary, with a $14,000 [[signing bonus]] – and not to officially sign until after the season ended, with Irving Koufax and owner [[Walter O'Malley]] making a handshake commitment.<ref>[[#Leavy|Leavy]], pp. 56–57.</ref>

Returning to university, Koufax also had a tryout with the [[Milwaukee Braves]] after which general manager [[John Quinn (baseball executive)|John Quinn]] made him a $30,000 offer. Having already committed to signing with the Dodgers, Koufax turned down the Braves' offer. He also turned down a belated offer from the Pirates, promising him $5,000 more than what the Dodgers did.<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 67–69; [[#Leavy|Leavy]], p. 57–58.</ref> Koufax officially signed with his hometown team on December 14, 1954.<ref>{{cite news |title=Koufax, Boro Sandlot Star, Newest Dodger |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/143974989/ |access-date=June 29, 2024 |work=[[Brooklyn Eagle]] |date=December 15, 1954}}</ref>