Whitey Ford

Whitey Ford was the ace left-hander of the great Yankees teams of the 1950s and 60s, retiring with the best winning percentage of any modern starter.

Edward Charles Ford was born on October 21, 1928, in Manhattan, New York, the only child of Jim and Edna Ford. When Whitey was five, the family moved to Astoria, Queens, an Irish, Polish, and Italian working-class neighborhood just a few miles from Yankee Stadium across the Triborough Bridge. His father worked for the local utility company and later ran a neighborhood bar; his mother was a bookkeeper at a grocery store. Ford grew up playing stickball against tenement walls and sandlot baseball until dark, idolizing Yankees great Joe DiMaggio and checking the box scores every morning to see how many hits his hero had recorded. Ford starred at Manhattan's High School of Aviation Trades and initially drew modest signing offers — $1,000 from the Boston Red Sox, $2,000 from the New York Giants — before the Yankees' legendary scout Paul Krichell, who had signed Lou Gehrig a generation earlier, secured him for $7,000 in 1947. Ford progressed steadily through the minors and earned the nickname "Whitey" for his light blond hair before debuting with the Yankees in July 1950, immediately winning nine straight decisions as a rookie. Over a 16-year career spent entirely with New York, Ford became the most successful pitcher of the Yankees dynasty years, teaming with close friends Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin both on the field and in their famously colorful off-field exploits. Rather than overpowering hitters — he rarely threw harder than 90 mph — Ford relied on precision, intelligence, and a devastating curveball he threw as often as three-quarters of the time late in games, earning him the nickname "the Chairman of the Board" for his icy composure under pressure. Ford's signature achievement came in October: he holds the all-time World Series records for both wins (10) and strikeouts (94), pitching in a record 11 different Fall Classics and helping the Yankees win six championships. His finest individual season came in 1961, when he went 25-4, winning both the Cy Young Award and World Series MVP. He retired in 1967 with a 236-106 record and a .690 winning percentage — still the best of any pitcher with 200 or more career wins. The Yankees retired his No. 16, and Ford was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 alongside his longtime friend Mantle.

Crafty left-handed pitcher with excellent control, known for changing speeds and hitting corners

Hall of Fame pitcher known as 'The Chairman of the Board', holds World Series records for wins and strikeouts

• 6x World Series champion
• World Series MVP (1961)
• Cy Young Award (1961)
• 8x All-Star selection
• Hall of Fame 1974