Editing Sandy Koufax (section)

===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>