This day in Los Angeles Dodgers history saw Sandy Koufax win the 1963 National League MVP Award over second-place finisher Dick Groat of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Koufax tallied 237 points to Groat’s 190 in Baseball Writers’ Association of America voting, and received 14 of 20 first-place votes. Koufax was named MVP six days after taking home the first of three career Cy Young Awards.
He became the first Dodgers pitcher since Don Newcombe (1956) to win the MVP Award. Newcombe additionally earned the only Cy Young of his career that year. However, Koufax was the first Dodgers pitcher to win Cy Young and MVP in the same season.
The 1963 season saw Koufax lead the Majors in several categories and post a career-best .833 winning percentage. In the third of six consecutive All-Star seasons, Koufax went 25-5 with a 1.88 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 20 complete games, 11 shutouts and 306 strikeouts across 311 innings pitched over 40 starts.
Koufax punctuated the 1963 season by helping the Dodgers defeat the New York Yankees in the World Series. He started Games 1 and 4, throwing a complete game in each and allowing a combined three runs. Koufax was named 1963 World Series MVP.
A chronic left elbow injury forced Koufax into early retirement. He finished a lifetime 165-87 with a 2.76 ERA over 12 seasons with the Dodgers.
Dodgers sell Ebbets Field
Also on October 30, but in 1956, the Dodgers sold Ebbets Field to real estate developer Marvin Kratter. The deal included Kratter leasing the property back to team owner Walter O’Malley so the Dodgers would have a home ballpark through at least 1961.
Of course, the franchise wound up moving to Los Angeles in 1958.
Koufax enshrined at Dodger Stadium
In June 2022, the Dodgers unveiled a Sandy Koufax statue in the center field plaza at Dodger Stadium. He’s positioned alongside a bronze sculpture of Jackie Robinson, and the two franchise icons greet fans as they enter what the team considers the front door to the stadium.
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