Classic SI Photos of Sandy Koufax

From 1963 to '66, Sandy Koufax had averaged a 24-7 record, 307 strikeouts and a 1.86 ERA, winning three out of four Cy Young awards at a time before each league had its own award. That brief run as the best pitcher in baseball, plus the two All-Star seasons that preceded it and his dominance in four World Series (0.95 ERA, four complete games, two shutouts in seven starts and one scoreless relief appearance) made him a Hall of Famer in his first year of eligibility and a permanent part of any discussion about the greatest pitcher of all time. Here are 32 classic SI photos of No. 32, "The Left Arm of God," Sandy Koufax.

Sandy Koufax

1959 World Series

Sandy Koufax

Aug. 16, 1961

Sandy Koufax

Aug. 27, 1961

Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax

June 26, 1962

Sandy Koufax

June 30, 1962

Sandy Koufax with Gene Kelly and his wife Jeanne Coyne

June 30, 1962

Sandy Koufax

June 30, 1962

Sandy Koufax

March 4, 1963 SI cover

Jim Gilliam, Sandy Koufax, Leo Durocher and Johnny Podres

May 4, 1963

Sandy Koufax

Aug. 25, 1963

Sandy Koufax

Aug. 25, 1963

Sandy Koufax

Aug. 25, 1963

Sandy Koufax

Sept. 2, 1963

Sandy Koufax

Sept. 2, 1963

Sandy Koufax

Sept. 2, 1963

Sandy Koufax and Stan Musial

Sept. 17, 1963

Sandy Koufax

Sept. 17, 1963

Sandy Koufax and Tim McCarver

Sept. 17, 1963

Sandy Koufax

Sept. 17, 1963

Sandy Koufax

1963 World Series Game 1

Sandy Koufax

1963 World Series Game 4

Sandy Koufax and John Roseboro

1963 World Series Game 4

Sandy Koufax

1963 World Series Game 4

Sandy Koufax

April 13, 1964 SI cover

Sandy Koufax

June 12, 1965

Sandy Koufax

Aug. 22, 1965

Sandy Koufax

1965 World Series

Sandy Koufax

July 9, 1966

Sandy Koufax

July 12, 1999 SI cover

Sandy Koufax and Joe Torre

March 31, 2008

Sandy Koufax

April 1, 2013

Sandy Koufax

April 4, 2014