Background
Whitey Ford was born Edward Charles Ford on October 21, 1928 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, to John Ford, a bartender, and Edith Ford, a homemaker.
1955
1085 West 3rd Street; Cleveland, Ohio 44114, United States
Casey Stengel is shouting far left, Whitey Ford is being hoisted on some shoulders in the New York Yankees celebration of the clinching of the pennant in their clubhouse in Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio in September of 1955.
1955
A full-length portrait of Edward Charles 'Whitey' Ford, New York Yankees pitcher, in a pitching stance.
1955
Whitey Ford wearing a baseball glove while preparing to throw a baseball.
1955
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Bill Skowron and pitcher Whitey Ford #16 of the New York Yankees celebrate in the clubhouse after winning World Series Game 6 against the Brooklyn Dodgers on October 3, 1955 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.
1955
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees and Don Newcombe of the Brooklyn Dodgers pose for a portrait prior to the opening game of the World Series on September 28, 1955 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.
1955
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford fires a pitch toward the plate in game six of the 1955 World Series in Yankee Stadium.
1955
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Joe Collins, Whitey Ford and Elston Howard, of the New York Yankees, celebrate the victory in the first game of the World Series on September 28, 1955 against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Yankee Stadium.
1955
New York City, New York, United States
Whitey Ford in action, warming up in the bullpen during a game versus the Boston Red Sox, Bronx.
1955
1085 West 3rd Street; Cleveland, Ohio 44114, United States
Casey Stengel is shouting far left, Whitey Ford is being hoisted on some shoulders in the New York Yankees celebration of the clinching of the pennant in their clubhouse in Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio in September of 1955.
1955
Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin
1955
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Yankees players Irv Noren and Whitey Ford look at the TV, likely in a hotel room in Boston.
1955
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford rearing back to release a fastball during the 6th game of the World Series in Yankee Stadium.
1960
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford of the New Yankees with Vern Law of the Pittsburgh Pirates before the 1960 All-Star Game on July 13, 1960 in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.
1960
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Whitey Ford victorious in the locker room after pitching Game 6 shutout versus the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field.
1960
900 E 33rd St, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States
Whitey Ford in action, pitching versus the Baltimore Orioles during the 5th inning at Memorial Stadium.
1960
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford swings a couple of bats under the watchful eye of Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle, at an early morning workout in Yankee Stadium.
1961
Cy Young Award
1961
World Series Most Valuable Player Award
2010
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford stands on the field for the presentation of the New York Yankees with their 2009 World Series rings prior to playing against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the Yankees home opener at Yankee Stadium on April 13, 2010 in the Bronx borough of New York City.
2010
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford during World Series ring ceremony before a game versus the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
2010
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford is introduced during the New York Yankees 64th Old-Timers' Day before the MLB game against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 17, 2010 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.
2010
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford attends the Starkey Hearing Foundation press conference and launch of their New York City mission to provide hearing-impaired children with free hearing aids at Yankee Stadium on September 26, 2010 in New York City.
2010
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford attends the Starkey Hearing Foundation press conference and launch of their New York City mission to provide hearing-impaired children with free hearing aids at Yankee Stadium on September 26, 2010 in New York City.
2014
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford is introduced during the team's Old-Timers' Day prior to a game between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on June 22, 2014 in the Bronx borough of New York City.
2015
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Former New York Yankees pitcher and baseball Hall of Famer Whitey Ford looks on during Old-Timers' Day before a game against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium on June 20, 2015 in the Bronx borough of New York City.
2015
124 Co Rd 52, Cooperstown, NY 13326, United States
Whitey Ford
2017
124 Co Rd 52, Cooperstown, NY 13326, United States
Whitey Ford is introduced at the Clark Sports Center during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 30, 2017 in Cooperstown, New York.
2018
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Former player Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees is introduced during the New York Yankees 72nd Old-Timers' Day game before the Yankees play against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on June 17, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City.
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees goes into his wind-up during an MLB game circa 1955 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees relaxes on the dugout steps prior to the start of a Major League Baseball game circa 1960 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Mickey Mantle, Elston Howard, and Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees sit and watch the action from the bench during a Major League Baseball game circa 1963.
Portrait of baseball player Whitey Ford.
Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees throws a pitch circa the 1960's during a game.
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees pitches during circa early 1960's Major League Baseball game at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York.
45-30 36th St, Queens, NY 11101, United States
Whitey Ford enrolled at Aviation Trades High School (now Aviation High School), although he had little interest in technical subjects and played first base and pitched for the school's baseball team.
1 E 161 St, The Bronx, NY 10451, United States
Ford's plaque at Monument Park in Yankee Stadium
Ford shooting a rifle in training for the military.
(Whitey Ford tells the story of his rise from the sandlots...)
Whitey Ford tells the story of his rise from the sandlots of New York to national prominence at Yankee Stadium, describing events from the Yankee past and the golden age of baseball.
https://www.amazon.com/Slick-My-Life-Around-Baseball/dp/0688066909/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Whitey+Ford&qid=1611258993&sr=8-2
1987
Whitey Ford was born Edward Charles Ford on October 21, 1928 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, to John Ford, a bartender, and Edith Ford, a homemaker.
Ford grew up playing sandlot ball with the Thirty-Fourth Avenue Boys Club of Astoria.
When it came time to attend high school Ford chose to travel by subway to Manhattan each day rather than attend his local high school, which did not have a baseball team. He enrolled at Aviation Trades High School (now Aviation High School), although he had little interest in technical subjects and played first base and pitched for the school's baseball team.
After graduation from school, Ford continued to pitch for the Thirty-Fourth Avenue Boys Club of Astoria and did well enough to attract the attention of scouts from the New York Yankees, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the Boston Red Sox. Yankee scout Paul Kritchell paid special attention. The Yankees offered Ford $7,000 in 1946; he signed and spent the next several years in the Yankee farm system.
In 1950, in the middle of the summer, with the Yankees battling the Detroit Tigers for the pennant, Ford was called up from Kansas City, Class AA. Ford's debut was not auspicious; he lost his first major-league game. He seemed confident, though, and the rest of the season was a triumph. Ford won nine games for the Yankees while losing only one as he helped the Bronx Bombers win the pennant. He also captured the first World Series win of his career in Game 4 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Ford's baseball career was interrupted by a two-year stint in the United States Army at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Ford played very little baseball in the army, and he was concerned that his return to the majors would suffer because of it. He need not have worried. Back with the Yankees in 1953, Ford had an outstanding 18-6 season. In 1954, his record was 16-8, followed by 18-7 in 1955, and 19-6 in 1956.
On the field, Ford was the consummate professional, totally focused on the game. Nevertheless, in 1957, he faltered because of arm and shoulder problems that scaled back his record to 11-5. His earned run average (ERA) was still only 2.01.
The pitching coach Johnny Sain was important to Ford's revival. While working on Ford's slider, Sain taught him to throw smoothly, placing less stress on the arm. Ford agreed to refrain from playing golf on days when he was scheduled to pitch a night game. When Ralph Houk replaced Casey Stengel as a manager, he made sure to pitch Ford at least every four days. Longer periods of rest did not work well for the southpaw.
Year after year Ford chalked up outstanding win-loss records, but for nine seasons the magical twenty victories eluded him. In fact, he had only two years when he won twenty or more games, 1961 and 1962. Ford's best year in the majors was 1961 when he compiled a remarkable 25-4 record. Ford also added to his total of continuous shutout innings in World Series play. In 1960, he pitched two shutouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates and followed that in 1961 against the Cincinnati Reds with another fourteen shutout innings, thirty-two in all. He had broken Babe Ruth's record; his own was still standing into the twenty-first century.
Ford pitched his last major-league game in 1967; an overdeveloped muscle in his left arm was a factor in ending his career.
Ford remained active with the Yankees as a coach and consultant in Florida and New York. In 1977, he became the commissioner of the new American Professional Slow-Pitch Softball League (APSPL). In 2002, Ford opened "Whitey Ford's Cafe," a sports-themed restaurant and bar.
With Phil Pepe, Ford wrote Slick (1987), a revealing autobiography. Ford and Mickey Mantle, his closest friend, wrote a joint autobiography, Whitey and Mickey (1977), with Joseph Durso.
(Whitey Ford tells the story of his rise from the sandlots...)
1987(The work represents a first-hand account of the New York ...)
1977
Quotations:
"Army life was rough. Would you believe it, they actually wanted me to pitch three times a week."
"Hell, if I didn't drink or smoke, I'd win twenty games every year. It's easy when you don't drink or smoke or horse around."
"If anybody asks me who my favorite pitcher of all-time is, I say Warren Spahn."
"I didn't begin cheating until late in my career, when I needed something to help me survive. I didn't cheat when I won the twenty-five games in 1961. I don't want anybody to get any ideas and take my Cy Young Award away. And I didn't cheat in 1963 when I won twenty-four games. Well, maybe a little."
"I know (Sandy) Koufax's weakness. He can't hit."
"I never threw the spitter, well maybe once or twice when I really needed to get a guy out real bad."
"Sooner or later the arm goes bad. It has to...Sooner or later you have to start pitching in pain."
"There's no easier pitch to hit than a splitter that doesn't do anything."
"The way to make coaches think you're in shape in the spring is to get a tan."
"You kind of took it for granted around the Yankees that there was always going to be baseball in October."
"You would be amazed how many important outs you can get by working the count down to where the hitter is sure you're going to throw to his weakness, and then throw to his power instead."
Ford was a true son of New York, a hometown boy, brash, irreverent, funny, and a thoroughly professional athlete whose World Series records seem unapproachable.
In his autobiography, Ford admitted to pitching mud balls or dirt balls (dirt plus saliva) late in his career, something he learned from Lew Burdette of the Milwaukee Braves. He also revealed that he had a ring specially made that he used to scratch the ball.
Physical Characteristics:
Whitey Ford was 5 ft 10 inches (178 cm) tall and weighed 178 lb (80 kg). In 1966, Ford had surgery to correct a circulatory problem in his shoulder. He was twice treated for brain cancer.
The cause of Ford's death was dementia.
Quotes from others about the person
Mickey Mantle: "I don't care what the situation was, how high the stakes were - the bases could be loaded and the pennant riding on every pitch, it never bothered Whitey. He pitched his game. Cool. Crafty. Nerves of steel."
Mickey Mantle: "If the World Series was on the line and I could pick one pitcher to pitch the game, I'd choose Whitey Ford every time."
On April 14, 1951, Whitey Ford married a girl from Astoria, Joan Foran, whom he had met in an ice cream parlor when she was just thirteen and he was sixteen. They had two sons and a daughter.