American · Buffalo, USA · Born 23 April 1921 · Died 2003-11-24Warren Spahn was a durable Braves left-hander who won more games than any left-handed pitcher in MLB history.
Warren Edward Spahn was born on April 23, 1921, in Buffalo, New York, and signed with the Boston Braves organization as a young left-hander. He made his major league debut in 1942 at age 21, appearing in just four games and posting an unpromising 5.74 ERA before enlisting in the U.S. Army that same year to serve in World War II. Spahn's wartime service was far from ceremonial. Assigned to the 276th Engineer Combat Battalion as a combat engineer, he took part in the Battle of the Bulge and the taking of the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen in Germany — one of the war's pivotal engagements — where he was wounded by shrapnel in the foot. He was awarded both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his service, along with a battlefield commission to second lieutenant, and was not discharged until 1946, having missed three full major league seasons (1943 through 1945) at what should have been the start of his prime. Spahn returned to the Braves in 1946 an entirely different pitcher, crediting the discipline of military service with reshaping his approach to the game. "Before the war I didn't have anything that slightly resembled self-confidence," he later said, "but nowadays I just throw them up without the slightest mental pressure." What followed was one of the greatest and longest careers in pitching history: across 21 major league seasons, Spahn won 20 or more games 13 times, still an NL record for a left-hander, and finished with 363 career victories — the most of any left-handed pitcher in baseball history, and 16th on the all-time list regardless of handedness. Spahn's finest season came in 1957, when he went 21-11 for the Milwaukee Braves, won the National League's only Cy Young Award of that year (before the award split by league in 1967), and helped Milwaukee defeat the New York Yankees in the World Series. He threw two no-hitters, at ages 39 and 40, remarkable feats of longevity, and made 17 All-Star teams. He retired in 1965 having thrown for the Braves (in both Boston and Milwaukee), the New York Mets, and finally the San Francisco Giants, at age 44. Spahn was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, and remains, to this day, the standard against which every left-handed pitcher's career is measured.
Winningest left-handed pitcher in MLB history
How They Played
Left-handed pitcher with exceptional control and durability
Lasting Impact
Hall of Fame pitcher known for longevity, control, and competitive spirit
Career Honours
- MLB wins record for a left-hander (363)
- Cy Young Award (1957)
- World Series champion (1957)
- 17x All-Star selection
- Hall of Fame 1973
| Team | Period | Games | Jersey |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Braves | 1953–1964 | 356 | #21 |
| Boston Braves | 1942–1952 | 519 | #35 |
| New York Mets | 1965–1965 | 20 | — |
| San Francisco Giants | 1965–1965 | 3 | — |
American Athletes