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This story, by correspondent Bob Hunter, first appeared in the June 20, 1964 issue of The Sporting News under the headline “Koufax Leaves Fresh Hand Prints on Sands of Time | Third No-Hitter, vs. Phils, Labelled ‘Thrill of Thrills’.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — As if there ever existed any doubt, Sandy Koufax now has a name plate reserving him a place in Cooperstown as he continues to force the fabled names of baseball to move over and make room.
At the rate he's moving — one a year — the fabulous Dodger lefthander may wind up with a fist loaded with no-hitters and more cups than a coffee shop.
In his latest feat, which he labeled his "best of all," Sandy held the Phils hitless June 4 and came within three inches of making it a perfect game. It was his third no-hitter in three years and no man ever has managed more. Despite two 18-strikeout games against the Giants and Cubs, Koufax calls his latest no-hitter the "thrill of thrills."
In the 1880s, Lawrence Corcoran of the Chicago Nationals pitched three no-hitters; then along came Cy Young in 1897, 1904 and 1908 with three more. and, finally, Bob Feller achieved the pitching hat-trick in 1940, 1946 and 1951.
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In stopping the league-leading Phils, who had defeated the Dodgers in eight of their nine previous meetings, Sandy wrested the major league strikeout lead from Don Drysdale and runners-up Jim Maloney and Jim Bunning.
He whiffed 12, making it the fifty-fourth time in his remarkable career that he had struck out ten or more, tying a long-time record shared by Rube Waddell and Feller.
Almost every time he throws a ball, they have to re-edit the record book.
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Mets, Giants Previous Victims
His previous no-hit games were against the Mets in 1962 and the Giant in 1963, with both a Dodger Stadium.
He also shows a one-hitter, seven two-hitters and 22 shutouts.
The nearest resemblance to a hit off Koufax 97 pitches was a high chopper by Richie Allen in the seventh inning, but Jim Gilliam came running hard from third base, grabbed it on the short hop and threw out the Philly infielder by three steps.
The only base-runner materialized with two out in the fourth when Sandy walked Allen on a 3-and-2 fastball three inches below the strike zone.
"Doug Camilli called for a curve, but I shook him off," related Koufax. "Then, right in the middle of my windup I realized I had made a mistake, that Allen would be looking for the fast one.
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"But, just like you don't stop a golf shot on the backswing. I kept right on going. There was no doubt about the call. It was a ball."
Camilli, who also is Koufax' roommate, then threw out Allen as he attempted to steal on a 2-and-2 pitch to Danny Cater.
These were the only two Phillies on which Koufax had an adverse count all night.
In fact, the only batter Sandy did not whiff was Cookie Rojas. He nailed Gus Triandos and Tony Taylor, whom he called "my biggest fear" in the ninth inning, twice. He also whiffed pitcher Chris Short two times.
Only Four Balls to Outfield
He permitted just four balls to be hit out of the infield, with the only hard one being an eighth-inning liner that Cater sent to Wes Parker, finishing the game for Frank Howard, in right field.
It was Howard's "one-hopper" that gave the Dodgers their first runs in 20 innings in the seventh. The monu mental slash took one hop on the arched roof of the left field pavilion.
Before Howard's homer, Gilliam and Tommy Davis had singled off Short.
Koufax said he rated his no-hitters, especially this last one, above his other achievements because, “one mistake and you're finished until your next start."
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That's why Sandy rates Joe DiMaggio's hitting string so highly. "If he went one game without a hit, he just had to start all over, that's all.""
Baseball's golden arm, who had been having his troubles earlier, disclosed that, in studying pictures of himself in magazines, he discovered he was throwing too much across his body.
"I simply concentrated on opening up my right foot when I came down," explained Sandy, "and I got into such a good rhythm that I actually forgot about it after a few innings. But that got me back into the groove."
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Always Aiming for No-Hitter
One of the reporters asked Sandy when he started thinking about throwing the no-hitter and he replied:
"Just after I finished my warmup tosses."
Sandy always makes seven pregame tosses — three fast balls, three curves and a change.
"I always go out trying to throw a no-hitter. I don't expect to, but I have that in mind, because the first hit may beat you," Koufax said.
Koufax, in defeating the Phils for the sixth straight time, lowered his earned-run average to 2.34.
One reason, Sandy emphasized, his latest no-hitter was his favorite was because he permitted just one base runner, whereas in his classic against the Mets he walked five and last year against the Giants he passed two.
While his first no-hitter was against baseball's reclamation project, the Mets, the second and third, significantly, have been against the National League leaders.
The biggest crowd of the season in Philadelphia-29,709-was on hand for the classic.
They were standing and cheering each pitch at the end.
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