Whitey Ford: World Series Nemesis

Edward Charles Ford was born on October 21,1928 in New York City. He was the only child of Jim and Edna Ford, who lived on 66th St. in Manhattan. When Ford was 5, his family moved to 34th Ave. in Astoria, Queens. An Irish, Italian and Polish neighborhood. His dad worked for Consolidated Edison, and his mother was a bookkeeper for a local A&P store. After he began pitching professionally, his father and a friend purchased and ran the Ivy Room, a bar in Astoria.

Ford’s father played semi-pro ball for Con-Ed. There were athletic genes from his mother’s side as well as two of her brothers played semi-pro ball in Astoria. As a child, Ford played baseball and stickball in the summer, Football in the fall, and roller hockey in the winter. During the summers, Ford and his friends played sandlot baseball until dark on the fields next to the Madison Square Garden Bowl, about a mile from his home. Closer to home Ford and his friends played stickball against a wall with a rubber spaldeen and a broomstick.

Whitey grew up a Yankee fan and idolized Joe DiMaggio. Occasionally his uncles would take him on the subway to see the Yanks play. When Whitey graduated from the 8th grade, he faced a dilemma. His local high school did not have a team, so he went to the Manhattan School of Aviation Trades. He had no intention of working in Aviation, but the school had a baseball team, so he would take the hour-long ride on the bus from his home in Queens. Although only 5’9 and 150 pounds, he played first base and hit around .350. He began pitching for his high school team his junior year and won 6 straight games before losing in the vocational league championship game.

When Ford was 17, Joe Foran, an Irishman who came to America to play soccer and work as a carpenter, moved into an apartment building across the street from the Ford’s. Foran had three daughters, including Joan, who was the middle child. She was three years younger than Whitey, and he paid little attention to her at first. But within three years, they would marry. They would have three children, each born about a year apart. Sally Ann, Eddie Jr., and Tommy.

When he was a senior, Ford went to a tryout at Yankee Stadium. Paul Krichell, a Yankee scout, noticed Ford’s strong arm during fielding practice. He told Ford he thought he was too small to play first base. He had him throw a few pitches on the sideline, and he taught him how to throw a curve. When he went back to school, he pitched some, but the school’s best pitcher was Vito Valentinetti. He would go on to have a 4-year career in the majors with the Cubs, Senators, and three other teams.

His size kept the bonus offers low. But the Yanks offered 5500 and came to his house to get him to sign. They were going to take him to an exhibition game in Queens featuring some Yankee farmhands. They wanted him to sign before the game, but he said he would sign after the game. While they were gone, the Giants called and offered $6500. This forced Krichell to raise the Yanks’ offer to $7000.

The Yanks sent Ford to Binghampton, where the manager was former Yankee great Lefty Gomez. Gomez had problems remembering his players’ names, so he simply called Ford, Blondie, or Whitey. So that was the origin of the Whitey nickname. But it really did not stick until his rookie year when Bob Porterfield and Tom Gorman joined the team. Gomez imposed a 10 PM curfew. There was a carnival in town, and Whitey and a teammate got on the Ferris wheel. They had a problem when the operator would not stop the Ferris wheel. When they did get off, they got back to the hotel about ten after 10. Gomez was waiting for them in the lobby and fined each of them $5 dollars on the spot. Years later, he was watching Joe DiMaggio interview Gomez, and Gomez related a story about how during spring training, he paid a Ferris wheel operator a couple of bucks to keep going and not let a couple of players off.

In the clubhouse, Ford confronted Gomez and said, ” You SOB, how could you keep that from me all these years?” Gomez laughed and said, ” I got a lot of mileage out of that story at banquets.” Ford said, ” At least you can give me back the 10 dollars you fined me.” Gomez reached in his pocket and gave Ford the 10 dollars. Whitey had his revenge, Gomez had only fined him five!

In 1948 Ford pitched winter ball in Mexico over the objections of the Yankees. He would contract amoebic dysentery, and it almost killed him. When he finally reported to spring training in 1949, he was far from well. After being there for about ten days, he passed out in the third inning of a game in Augusta, Georgia. The Yankees sent him to Lennox Hospital in NYC. He was there for about 19 days. He did not report to his minor league team until the season was about six weeks old. Even with the missed time, he went 16-5, 1.61. With those numbers at AAA, Ford began to believe he really had a chance to pitch for the Yankees. Now with confidence and some weight gain, he ballooned to 170, and with increased velocity on his fastball, he became somewhat cocky. A trait he would show his entire career.

Ford went to spring training in 1950, determined to make a veteran team that had won the World Series three years in a row. He was so cocky that some veterans took to calling him “The Fresh Young Busher.” Jim Turner, the Yankees pitching coach, asked lefty Eddie Lopat to take Ford under his wing. But every time he would make a suggestion, Ford would say he did it this way at AAA, and it worked pretty well. Lopat gave up and told Turner to take him back, he could not work with him. Ford did well in his first spring start, going three innings against the Phillies. He developed a sore arm though and was knocked around his next start against the Tigers. He was soon sent to AAA Kansas City.

KC was in the American Association and finished with a 54-99 record. But Ford did well out of the gate, and by July 1st, he was called up to the big leagues. He traveled by train all day and night to get to Boston, where the Yankees were playing. He arrived at 7 in the morning on July first. By the second inning of that afternoon’s game, Ford had made his MLB debut. Tommy Byrne had been knocked out of the game in the second, and Stengel summoned Ford. It was a rocky first outing as he gave up five runs on seven hits and six walks in 4 2/3 innings. He found out later that Boston’s first base coach, Earle Combs, had picked up his pitches and was relaying them to Boston hitters. Jim Turner and Lopat corrected that the next day

He made his first start on July 6th against the A’s. He pitched well the first six innings, but the A’s tagged him for 3 runs in the 7th, and when Bobby Brown pinch-hit for him in the seventh, he trailed 4-3. But the Yankees came back to win on a Berra double in the ninth, so his first start was a no-decision. On July 17th, he got his first MLB win, a 4-3 decision over the White Sox at Yankee Stadium. It would be the first of many. Nine days later, he got his second start and notched a 6-3 win over the Browns that brought the Yanks to within 1/2 game of the lead. He started again on July 30th but was knocked out by the White Sox in the first inning. The Yanks came back to win 4-3. So in his first 4 games, he was 2-0 with an ERA over 6. He went to the pen after that.

He chalked up 8 1/3 scoreless innings over three games and earned a spot start against the Senators. He did not disappoint, throwing a three-hit shutout, 9-0. Stengel continued to be cautious with him, preferring to have him pitch against second-tier teams and leave the contenders to his big three, Raschi, Lopat, and Reynolds. He did get a start in the first game of a doubleheader with the Indians and got a no-decision in a 4-3 Yankee win. Lopat pitched a 3-0 shutout in the second game, putting the Yankees into first place for the first time since June.

Ford would finish his rookie season with a 9-1 record and a 2.81 ERA. He finished second to Walt Dropo in the rookie of the year vote. In the series, with the Yanks up 3-0 over the Phillies, Ford started game four. He went into the 9th with a 5-0 lead. But the Phillies scored a couple of runs, largely due to a fly ball that Gene Woodling lost. With the tying run at the plate, Stengel brought in Reynolds to face PH Stan Lopata. He was met with a chorus of boos from the fans who wanted to see Ford finish the game. Reynolds induced a chase on a high fastball, and the Yankees were World Champs again.

After the season, Ford dropped by the local draft board to see when he might expect to be called up. He was surprised to be told to report in two weeks. He was sent to Ft. Monmouth, N.J. He spent the next two years in the service, playing baseball. He also took a two-week leave so he could marry Joan,

He missed the 51 and 52 seasons and returned to the Yanks for spring training in 53. Stengel broke him in slow. Using him in relief only once in the first ten games of the year. But the Yanks came out 8-2. With Lopat, Raschi, Reynolds, and Sain, the rotation was solid. He would finish the season 18-6.

Whitey was on his way. He was almost as good in 54, winning 16. He was also doing some partying with his two closest friends on the team, Mantle and Billy Martin. Stengel dubbed them the city slick. Ford used that in his biography. ” Slick: My Life in and Around Baseball.” He won 18 games in 55. This time the Yanks lost to Brooklyn. But Ford beat them twice.

For 13 consecutive years, Whitey would win in double figures. His best season was 1961, when he won 24 and lost 4. He won his only Cy Young award that season, and it was the first time he ever won 20 games. He would do it once more in 1963, winning 24. He faced the Dodgers in the series in 1956 and 1963. In 1956 he was 1-1 in the series; in 1963, he was 0-2. His career series mark against the Dodgers was 3-4, thanks to the sweep in 163.

It is also notable that in his two twenty-win seasons, the Yankees lost the World Series. To Pittsburgh and to the Dodgers. Whitey, over his career, was 10-8 in series play. For most of his career, Whitey was the Yankees ace. Whitey had shoulder problems on and off, and they cost him some time and a chance to have even better career stats.

Billy Martin was traded over an incident that happened during the 1957 season at the Copacabana that Ford and Mantle were also involved in. The players had gone there to celebrate Martin’s 29th birthday and to hear Sammy Davis Jr. perform. The trouble started when members of a bowling team started directing racist remarks at Davis. Soon after, one of their members was lying on the floor in the back room with a broken jaw. The Yankees fined the players $1,000 each, and Martin was traded to the A’s a month later, breaking up the City Slicks.

Ford would pitch in 11 World Series for the Yankees. He won 6 rings. His career mark was 236-106, 2.75. After his career, he also admitted that he doctored the ball. Say it ain’t so Whitey! Yep, he learned a method from Lou Burdette of the Braves. And his catcher, Elston Howard, used to scuff the ball on his shin guards.

In the 1964 season, Whitey had been experiencing some numbness in his left hand. He pitched through it, but in the World Series game one, his arm got numb, and eventually, his hand was so numb he could not grip the baseball. He went to a doctor after the series, thinking he had had a heart attack. It was no heart attack but rather a clogged artery. Fearing that a bypass would end Ford’s career, he opted for a procedure that opened the small capillaries and kept the blood flowing all the time.

Despite the Yankee’s lousy season in 1965, Whitey won 16 games. In 1966 he was back on the mound, but they found out cold weather made the condition worse. The procedure made Ford not to be able to sweat on the left side of his body. So he pitched in warm weather. But it was clearly the end of the road for Ford. He won 2 games in 66 and 2 more in 67 and called it a career.

Whitey suffered some financial setbacks over the years. He coached off and on, owned a restaurant that failed within a year, and also had some medical problems. Elected to the hall in 1974, his second time on the ballot, he never tried to capitalize on his HOF career. He sold most of his career memorabilia in 2008. Along with Juan Marichal and Ted Lyons, Whitey was one of only three pitchers born since 1900 that were under six feet tall. Whitey passed away on Oct 8, 2020, while watching a playoff game the Yankees were playing. I will always remember Ford. I especially remember the 450-foot blast Frank Howard hit off of him in the 1963 series. He was a tough opponent.

Future Dodgers Down on the Farm (MT)

• OKC beat Sactown 10-4
  • Rehabbing Dustin May started and went two innings. He allowed 3 Hits, 1 ER, with 3 BB and 3 K’s.
  • Miguel Vargas was 0-3 with 2 BB.
  • Mike Busch was 2-4.
  • Jacob Amaya was 1-3 with 2 RBI.
• TULSA was beaten by Wichita 7-3
  • Bobby Miller went 2.2 Innings with 6 Hits, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K’s. Overall reaction? Thumbs down! I think Miller is one of those guys who plays down to his competition.
  • Brandon Lewis is finally starting to put it together at AA. He was 2-4 and pulled his BA up to .196.
  • Leonal Valera continues to be solid as he was 2-4 (.299 BA/.768 OPS). He is the Dodger’s future Utilityman.
• GREAT LAKES beat West Michigan 12-2.
  • Diego Cartaya was 1-3 with 4 RBI, including a 2-run HR
  • Eddys Leonard was 2-3 with his 25th double. He has a little more power than Valera, but they are the same guy.
  • Alex DeJesus was 3-3 with 2 BB (.315 BA/.881 OPS). He should move to Tulsa
  • Emmett Sheehan pitched innings, allowing 1 ER and 3 H to go with 3 BB and 2 Ks.
• RANCHO CUCAMONGA beat Visalia 12-ZIP
  • Yeiner Fernandez (still 19) was 2-5 with a Grand Slam and a 3-Run Blast. He is another candidate to move up (.283 BA/.777 OPS)
  • Damian Keith is still rocking at .307/.957

The Show by MT

Yes, it was a SHOW last night as Tyler Anderson shows no sign of regression. I keep hearing that the Dodgers may try and trade for Frankie Montas, Tyler Mahle, Martin Perez, or Jose Quintana. Why? That makes no sense to me. If they are going to make a trade, they should go big… like Luis Castillo! I guess it depends upon what the Reds think of Ryan Pepiot, whom the Dodgers WOULD trade. I still don’t see Pepiot as a starter, but I do see him as a high-leverage reliever. If the Dodgers make a trade for Castillo, he would be the centerpiece. Maybe the Reds think he can start…

It was great to see Cody Bellinger get the Grand Slam (off a Lefty at that), and I am resigned to seeing him do this occasionally as he plays Gold Glove defense in CF and runs the bases like a wild deer. I would love to pronounce him “Fixed”, but if that happens, it will be in the offseason. Last night had to help his confidence, and confidence is where it all starts.