The Yankees will head into Game 5 of tonight’s ALDS with heavy hearts. The team announced today that franchise icon and baseball Hall of Famer Whitey Ford has passed away at the age of 91.
A ten-time All-Star and the 1961 American League Cy Young winner, Ford stood as one of the last remaining members of a star-studded Yankees dynasty from the 1950s and 1960s. Ford missed the 1951 and 1952 seasons while serving in the military but took home six World Series rings as a member of the club — including World Series MVP honors for a 1961 series in which he hurled 14 shutout innings with just six hits and one walk allowed.
Ford, born and raised in New York City, spent all 16 of his big league seasons with his hometown Yankees, posting a sub-3.00 ERA in a dozen of them. He finished second in 1950 Rookie of the Year voting, and by the time he retired in 1967, he’d compiled a stellar 236-106 record with a lifetime 2.75 ERA and 1956 strikeouts in 3170 1/3 innings pitched.
The “Chairman of the Board” also racked up 146 postseason frames in his career, and his 2.71 ERA in that time was a near-mirror image of his regular season efforts. Ford twice led the league in ERA (1956 and 1958) and in shutouts (1958 and 1960), and he paced the American League in wins three times as well (1955, 1961, 1963). He topped 20 wins in two different seasons, including a 25-4 season in 1961 that saw him lead the Majors not only in victories but in starts (39) innings pitched (283).
Ford’s legacy with the club will forever be commemorated at Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park, where his iconic No. 16 is retired among the organization’s all-time greats. Ford and lifelong teammate Mickey Mantle were inducted into Cooperstown together in the summer of 1974. No list of the best lefties — or simply the best pitchers, for that matter — in the game’s history would be complete without Ford’s inclusion.
We at MLB Trade Rumors join those throughout baseball mourning the loss of a genuine icon and extend our condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Ford.
All.of our heroes are passing away.
Then we really might know what it’s like to have to lose.
This is a killer (forgive the bad wording) reference.
Just heard. This has been a brutal year for baseball. Sadly it reminds us while superstars are considered “immortals”, they’re mortal like the rest of us. I never saw him pitch other than on video but living in the N.Y. metro area I got to witness the ovation he would always get at the end of the old timers game roster announcements. To show the respect he deserved, it was always him, Mickey and Jolt’n Joe at the end. I’m picturing at the Pearly Gates Frank Messer welcoming the chairman of the board into heaven. RIP and respects to his family.
Whitey, Gibson, Seaver…pitchers who actually knew how to pitch (unlike today’s pitchers, whose main focus is striking out as many as they can). Whitey, Gibson, and Seaver knew how to finish games, something greatly missed in today’s game. I’ll take Whitey, Gibson, and Seaver any day of the week over the best pitcher today.
The best pitcher today would absolutely decimate opposing hitting these days. Sorry to burst your bubble.
Those*
Yeah DeGrom doesn’t know how to pitch….. idiot
@johnnydubz
I’d still take Whitey, Seaver and Gibson over DeGrom without any hesitation.
@CoolKidJoeXBL
Please. Today’s game is so watered down compared to the 60’s and 70’s, it’s not even funny. You have guys on rosters today that would max out in AA or AAA 40 years ago. I could make a list of HOF hitters from Seaver, Gibson, and Whitey’s era that would be a mile long. Great hitters can eventually hit 100mph fastballs. Look at Nolan Ryan. Incredible pitcher, yet I saw him get lit up quite a few times in his career.
I’m guessing you’re quite young and never saw any of the players from their era, except maybe a few clips on YouTube.
And no, you didn’t burst my bubble one bit.
Please. Comparisons from different generations while fun are just stupid. Baseball is a team game. As good as deGrom is, he hasn’t won. Certainly not his fault but Whitey’s stats have to include his championship pedigree.
Coolkid, of course you saw Ryan get lit up. He pitched more innings than anyone and even the best aren’t perfect. It also took Ryan time to be able to control his curve and his wildness hurt him young into his career.
The only error in the article is that he was the Cy Young winner for both leagues. They didn’t start AL/NL separate awards until 1967.
Gibby and Whitey within a week of one another… Legends that cannot be replaced…
So many Hall of Famers in such a short time…RIP Whitey.
And the 2020 nightmare continues. Can’t we keep a few of our HOF legends a few more years? Ford, Brock, Gibson, Kaline, Seaver. Apologies if I missed any. Crazy number of legends in a short time.
Even though it isn’t sports related, losing Eddie Van Halen really sucked. 2020 can’t end soon enough.
We also lost Chadwick Boseman who played Jackie Robinson…when he passed on Jackie Robinson Day.
He may not have been as great a player as the rest, but Jay Johnstone taught me to really love the whole of the baseball world, not just what happens during a game. He hosted a show on ESPN back in the late 80s which I cannot remember the name of that I absolutely loved. It was in line with his clubhouse pranks and such.
He passed away a couple weeks ago as well, but unfortunately didn’t get the notice I feel he deserved.
So sad to hear…RIP to a great yankee. I hope Cole pitches well to honor his memory!
I’d like to see that, as long as Tampa wins.
RIP whitey
Greatest Yankees pitcher ever. If this don’t motivate them tonight and win a WS shame on them. Lakers winning for Kobe. Yankees need to win for Whitney.
I doubt most of the current Yankees have a connection to him. He was days short of being 92 and hadn’t been at Spring Training or Old Timers’ Day in a few years as age and health restricted his ability
Maybe Gardner, and a couple others. More of a iconic organizational loss, but not sure he connected with the current group.
Then that is their loss for sure. It’s not really a millennial specific problem because the problem has existed for generations. I am speaking of the lack of desire to appreciate the people of the past by young people. Like I said, it is not all on current young people because middle aged people did the same thing when they were young as did the current elderly people. But it really is a shame that people don’t take advantage of the lifetime of knowledge that is freely available just by talking to the older generation. Once they are gone, an entire way of life goes with them
To be clear, I don’t mean they don’t appreciate him or know who he was. Simply meant that unlike past Yankee teams, many of the current Yankees likely didn’t meet him, or did so briefly.
Derek Jeter had Bob Shepherd record his player intro and he called him a worthless POS
I didn’t mean it as an insult to anyone. I just meant that the oldest generation is treated like an encyclopedia on the library shelf. People use it for the specific knowledge they want, but there is so much more in there that just doesn’t get read. If young people took the time to acquire more of that knowledge that just sits there waiting to be absorbed, we would all be better off.
When the Yankees came to Chicago, everyone would anticipate a Sunday showdown between Whitey Ford and Billy Pierce.
Pierce spent many years living in a SW suburb of Chicago called Evergreen Park. Absolutely great guy, for years he would show up for opening games at EP Little League
Looking at his career verifies him as an absolutely stud. Reliably, consistently great, was even better in the postseason, and he even lost two of his prime years to serve during the Korean War. I wish I could have seen him pitch. R.I.P.
‘And here come the Pretzels’…
RIP Whitey
RIP to the Chairman of the Board.
A black day for baseball
Whitey Ford trails only Mariano Rivera when it comes to All-Time great Yankee Pitchers.
I’d take the truly great SP over the RP. Just my opinion.
You can’t compare a starter and a reliever. Rivera was a one trick pony who rarely in his career ever even went through a line-up
Cole better pitch for Whitey tonight
Whitey’s career was winding down just when Mel Stottlemyre was becoming an ace. Sadly, both of them are now gone. I root against the yankees because their fans are miserable but I greatly appreciate many of their players. This is another huge loss for baseball from an era when the game was played by men who loved the game even if they only made peanuts.
So sorry to hear this…
Gibby & Whitey in one week….
RIP gentleman and thanks for thrills & memories
WIN IT FOR WHITEY TONIGHT
This rally cry probably needs more context…just to be safe.
God is building quite a rotation
91 is a helluva run. Life well lived. Goodbye Whitey.
I’m a lifelong Dodger fan and Yankee hater but always have the greatest respect for Mantle, Maris, Ford and other truly great ball players no matter who they played for. Condolences to his family.
3 of the greatest pitchers of all time.. Gibson pure dominance and intimidation..Seaver power and grace. And now Whitey the Chairman of the Board… 3 greats gone.. God has a almost perfect rotation. So many memories by these three. I can only well wish there families and cherish the legacies
Nice long life for the big man. Hope I can I live that long too.
Hopefully, memories of these greats instill some humility in the players of today. Guys like Whitey were virtually unmatched in any generation.
They commanded respect, played hard, and were committed to winning. Man, I still recall seeing The Mick’s last Yankee stadium HR off Whitey in ‘74 or so. It’s a damn shame we are losing so many good people.
I know you WAR peeps will not understand, but some guys are just winners. Some guys just get more support from their teammates – won 69% of his games will take that over the guy that leads the league in ERA and has more losses than wins.
his ghost will help them win tonight
Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson & Lou Brock…. all passing away within Weeks of each other. The loss of just those baseball icons puts even a bigger dark cloud over the 2020 baseball season.
Don’t forget Al Kaline this year as well
Cary there memory forward to keep Baseball great (again)
Whitey Ford was one of the Yankees I (as a Mets fan) grew up loving to hate.
BTW, he wasn’t “iconic,” he was the real thing.
Tough year for star pitchers from those New York baseball summers of the ’50s. So far in 2020, we have lost aces Whitey Ford and Johnny Antonelli along with the man who pitched the perfect game, Don Larsen. Still with us is Carl Erskine, who set a then-World Series record of 14 strikeouts in Game 3 of the 1953 Fall Classic. Erskine will turn 94 on December 13.
How many games Whitey would win as a stopper
Casey always saved him to pitch against other teams ace. Houk let him loose in 61 for his greatest season. An Astoria boy like me. RIP.
Here’s a 28-man roster of players who have died in 2020. Included are 19 all-stars, five Hall of Famers, and four Cy Young Award winners. This group will compete for championships in Baseball Heaven.
SP: Tom Seaver, Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford, John Antonelli, Mike McCormick.
RP: Ron Perranoski, Don Larsen, Bart Johnson, Bob Lee, Matt Keough, Ed Farmer
C: Hal Smith, Don Pavletich, Biff Pocoroba
1B: Bob Watson, Bob Oliver
2B; Glenn Beckert, Horace Clarke, Damaso Garcia
3B: Frank Bolling, Eddie Kasko
SS: Tony Fernandez, Tony Taylor
LF: Lou Brock
CF: Jimmy Wynn
RF: Al Kaline
OF: Claudell Washington, Jay Johnstone
MGR: John McNamara
Wow, I didn’t even know of some of these.
Here’s the list of 500 oldest former players, updated to include Ford’s death.
baseball-almanac.com/players/Oldest_Living_Basebal…
Thank you for the research, @ceyhey.
Classy post, Cey Hey.
Very nice …
but with this generation shouldn’t that be a four man rotation?
Just as a side note joe pepitone and if alive john lennon both turn 80 today, so even guys hanging on in the 1970s are up there in age….and just a few days ago on a post i said theres a few legends left but is ford one of them because he cheated too?..( put turpentine on his glove ,,disguised it as a deoderant roll on…and yogi saw it in the locker, put it under his arms and in seconds was screaming up and down the clubhouse)
Wes Parker being 80 knocks me for a loop. He looks so young on that Brady Bunch episode :)
And tonight there is one helluva pitching matchup in Heaven.
RIP, Whitey.
My grandfather said you were the best. So you must have been.
And hey barkeep, what’s keepin’ you, keep pourin’ drinks
For all these palookas, hey, you know what I thinks
That we toast to the old days and DiMaggio too
And old Drysdale and Mantle, Whitey Ford and to you
‘A Sight for Sore Eyes’ -Tom Waits
RIP, Mr. Ford
Just looked at the guys stats. Been a long time since I last did but back then I don’t think I had the baseball IQ to appreciate it. I can’t believe how consistent Ford was. You almost never find that.
I bet you as of yesterday Whitey could of still given an MLB team an inning or two on the mound. He was that good
I met Whitey Ford about 15 years ago. I have a 2002 Yankees yearbook signed by about 9 Yankees and he was one of the nicest Yankees (and nicest person) you could hope to meet, a really great guy. Prayers for his family…
Thing about Whitey is that, even at the end of his career, he was still a more-than-effective pitcher. It was arm trouble that led to his retirement, not inefficiency. My cousin was at the game in ’67, Ford vs. Billy Rohr. Said Whitey was as good as he was in ’62.
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by lord by and by
There’s a better place awaitin’
In the sky Lord in the sky
Some times the right words are already out there….
So nowadays everyone cheats and we should care so much , but no ones going to talk about what he did to his balls .. he said it himself after he retired what he would do to his own balls..
WOW, what a great trip down memory lane reading all the 500 players who are still with us..Guys that I had on baseball cards, who I remember like yesterday. Charlie Maxwell was guy that my dad and I referred to as sunday Home Run. Seems like hit’em on Sunday all the time. And a lot of my Reds that were no name players but still fill my memory bank.