» June 29, 1950:
Whitey Ford is called up by the Yankees from Kansas City (AA). » July 1, 1950: At Boston, Tommy Byrne takes the loss for the Yankees, but reliever Whitey Ford does little to help. In his ML debut, Ford throws four 2/3 inning, allowing seven hits, six walks, and five earned runs. Boston rolls, 13–4. Rookie Walt Dropo hits a grand slam for the Bosox to dump the Yanks into 3rd place.
» July 17, 1950: Yankee rookie Whitey Ford wins his first ML game, beating the visiting White Sox, 4–3. Tom Ferrick finished for New York.
» September 16, 1950: Rookie Whitey Ford tosses a 6-hitter to give the Yankees the rubber game in Detroit, 8–1 and move them back into first place. DiMaggio hits his 30th HR and the Yanks score seven runs in the ninth as Ford drives to his seventh win without a loss. The Red Sox will follow the Yankees into Detroit and sweep three from the Tigers.
» September 27, 1950: Against the A's, Whitey Ford relieves and loses his first game after nine wins. The Yanks lose, 8–7.
» October 7, 1950: Whitey Ford wins his first World Series game, 5–2 over Bob Miller at the Stadium. The 4-game sweep gives the Yankees their 13th World Championship.
» April 17, 1951: Rain cancels yesterday's presidential opener in Washington, washing out the debut of rookie Tom Morgan. Morgan would have been the first Yankee rookie ever to start an opener. Clad in an army uniform, Whitey Ford tosses out the first pitch today at Yankee Stadium, and Vic Raschi scatters six singles to shut out the Red Sox, 5–0. Bill Wight gives up all the Yankee runs, including a two-run homer to Jackie Jensen in the 3rd inning. Mickey Mantle, making his debut before 44,860, has one hit and scores a run. Also debuting is public address announcer Bob Sheppard.
» May 5, 1953:
In Cleveland, the Yanks send 13 batter to the plate in the 4th and score eight to roll to an 11–1 win over Bob Lemon. Winner Whitey Ford scores two runs and is lifted in the 8th after Wally Westlake spoils his shutout with a homer. The loss drops the Indians a half game behind the leading Yanks.
» May 12, 1953: Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees allows only rival pitcher Early Wynn's infield single in the 6th in beating the Indians 7–0. New York increases its lead to two games over the 2nd-place Indians.
» May 17, 1953: In a 10-inning 6–5 win over the visiting Browns, the Yanks and Browns use 41 players to set a new ML record. New York uses 23. The 3 hr. 33 minute game necessitates the nite game being called after three 1/2 scoreless innings. The Browns jump on Whitey Ford, threatening to hand the lefty his first defeat ever as a starter, but three relievers bail him out. Don Larsen goes nine 1/3 for the Browns, with Mike Blyzka losing.
» August 8, 1953:
Yankee southpaws Whitey Ford and Bob Kuzava hurl 1-0 and 3-0 shutouts against the White Sox. Kuzava gives up only Bob Boyd's double in the ninth.
» April 13, 1954:
In the presidential opener in Washington, President Dwight D. Eisenhower is thrilled by Mickey Vernon's 10th inning 2-run homer off Allie Reynolds which beats the Yankees 5–3. Ike skipped last year's opener, which was rained out, and the political hue and cry was so great he made sure he tossed out the first ball today. Chuck Stobbs and Whitey Ford start the game, but the winning Nats pitcher is reliever Sonny Dixon. Hank Bauer, with two singles, drives in all three Yankee runs.
» May 13, 1955: It's Friday the 13th and bad luck for the Tigers as Mickey Mantle homers from both sides of the plate for the first time. In all, Mantle has three home runs, the first two lefty against starter Steve Gromek, and the third off Bob Miller, all to the deep reaches of the right centerfield bleachers. Mick adds a single, good for five RBIs as New York beats Detroit 5–2. Whitey Ford goes seven innings for the win. Mantle joins Tony Lazzeri (1927), Ben Chapman (1932), and Bill Dickey (1939) as the only Yanks to hits three homers in a game at Yankee Stadium.
» September 2, 1955:
Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle celebrate Billy
Martin's return from the army; Ford throws 6 innings
of no-hit ball against Washington before Carlos Paula
spoils it in the 7th with Washington's only hit. The
Yanks win 4-2 as Mantle hits his 36th HR, a 3-run
shot. Mantle is 10 HRs ahead of rivals Al Kaline and
Ted Williams. New York stays a half game behind the
White Sox, who beat the 3rd-place Indians. Billy Martin
will hit .300 in September, and New York will go on
a 17-6 tear to win the pennant by 3 games.
» September 7, 1955:
Whitey Ford continues his mastery with his 2nd consecutive
one-hitter, beating the A's 2-1. Jim Finigan
hits a 2-out single in the 7th for the Nats' only
hit. Ford is the 5th ML pitcher to throw consecutive
one-hitters.
» September 28, 1955:
The Yanks win the first game of the WS, as Whitey
Ford beats Don Newcombe, 6-5. In a controversial
play with Frank Kellert at bat, Jackie Robinson steals
home in the 8th to bring the Dodgers to within a run
of a tie. Films later disclose that Robinson is out
by a whisker, but Yankee C Yogi Berra actually balked
on the play, receiving Whitey Ford's pitch before
Kellert could swing at it.
» May 1, 1956: Mickey Mantle takes Steve Gromek deep in the first inning at the Stadium, and New York rolls to a 9–2 win over Detroit. Hank Bauer also homers as Whitey Ford hurls his 3rd CG win.
» May 22, 1956: Detroit's Red Wilson belts a two run home run in the bottom of the 9th to give the Tigers a 3–2 win against the Yankees. The loss goes to Whitey Ford, his first following six wins. Ford had given up just five earned runs through 54 innings before today.
» July 10, 1956:
In the All-Star Game, Ken Boyer of the Cardinals makes 3 sparkling plays at 3B and gets 3 hits as the NL
defeats the AL 7-3. Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle,
Ted Williams, and Stan Musial all homer. Mays's pinch-hit 2-run HR off of Whitey Ford is his 7th straight hit
against the Yankee lefty.
» October 6, 1956:
The Yanks regroup at home and defeat Brooklyn 5-3
in Game 3, with Whitey Ford going the distance and
Enos Slaughter hitting a 3-run HR.
» May 16, 1957: The Yankees top Kansas City 3–0 behind Bob Turley's four-hit shutout. Mickey Mantle has a homer off Alex Kellner, the 11th time in his last 12 at bats he's reached base safely. That night a group of Yankees celebrate Billy Martin's 29th birthday in a raucous fashion. An ensuing fight at Manhattan's Copacabana Club leads to $5,500 in fines and the eventual trade of Billy to Kansas City. Hank Bauer allegedly starts the fight by hitting a patron, although Bauer denies it. The Yanks fine Whitey Ford, Bauer, Yogi Berra, Mantle and Martin $1,000 each and Johnny Kucks $500.
» May 21, 1957:
For his part in the Copacabana incident, Yankee OF Hank Bauer is arraigned. He is eventually cleared and threatens to sue the alleged victim, Edward Jones, who suffered a concussion and a broken jaw. In today's game, Yogi Berra, Billy Martin, and Whitey Ford are benched, while Bauer bats 8th. Mickey Mantle has a single, two walks, and a homer to back Bob Turley's 4-hit 3–0 shutout over the A's. Turley helps his cause by starting a triple play. The Yanks now trail the White Sox by a half game.
» October 2, 1957:
Whitey Ford wins 3-1 over Warren Spahn in Game
1 of the Series at Yankee Stadium.
» June 2, 1958:
Yankee P Whitey Ford fans six in a row to tie an American League record as he shuts out the White Sox 3–0. Sox pitcher Jim Wilson allows just six hits but three -- 2 by Hank Bauer and one by Mickey Mantle -- are out of the Stadium. On a botched hit-and-run attempt, Luis Aparicio is thrown out at 2B ending his streak of 26 consecutive steals.
» April 22, 1959:
Whitey Ford pitches 14 innings against the Senators striking out 15. The Yankees finally win it in the 14th on a Moose Skowron solo homer 1–0, the longest contest ending 1–0 on a four-bagger.
» June 21, 1960: Whitey Ford outduels Yankee Killer Frank Lary to give New York a 6–0 win in Detroit. Mickey Mantle is 3-for-5 with two homers off Lary.
» July 18, 1960:
The Yanks score five runs in the 3rd off Dick Stigman, and Whitey Ford coasts to a complete game 9–2 victory over the Indians.
» July 28, 1960: With relief help from Bobby Shantz, Whitey Ford, who leaves with an upset stomach, picks up a 4–0 win over the Indians. Kubek, Mickey Mantle, and Boyer homer for the pinstripers. The Yanks sweep, winning the nitecap, 9–2, and take over 1st place by three percentage points.
» September 16, 1960:
The Orioles (83-58) and Yankees (82-57) open a crucial four games series with the O's just .002 in back of New York. But Lopez and Roger Maris crack homers to back Whitey Ford's 4–2 win over the Birds. The two runs off Ford were the first the Birds have scored off him at the Stadium in 33.2 innings. Shantz rescues Whitey in the 9th.
» October 8, 1960: Bombing continues in the Bronx in Game 3. Yankee Bobby Richardson's six RBI, including a grand slam off reliever Clem Labine in a 6-run first inning, and Whitey Ford's 4-hitter give the Yanks a 10–0 win and a 2-1 World Series lead, spoiling Pittsburgh manager Danny Murtaugh's 43rd birthday.
» October 12, 1960: Whitey Ford preserves the Yankees hopes with a 7-hit shutout at Pittsburgh. Bob Friend is bombed again as New York coasts 12–0. Bobby Richardson's two run-scoring triples give him a World Series record of 12 RBI.
» April 11, 1961:
At Yankee Stadium, the Yankees, led by new manager Ralph Houk, are shut out by Minnesota's Pedro Ramos, 6–0. Ramos has a two-run single and allows just three singles in beating Whitey Ford. Ford, however, will finish the season at 25–4.
» April 17, 1961:
At Yankee Stadium, 1,947 fans braves the freezing rain to watch Whitey Ford shut out Kansas City, 3–0. Mickey Mantle drives in all three Yankee runs, connecting a solo shot off Jerry Walker in the first inning.
» May 29, 1961: At Fenway, Ike Delock outduels Whitey Ford to beat the Yankees, 2–1. New York's scoring is Mickey Mantle's first homer in two weeks.
» June 30, 1961: Whitey Ford (14–2) tops the Senators 5–1 to give the 2nd place Yankees their 22nd win of the month. Roger Maris drives in three runs and Mickey Mantle lines shot over CF Willie Tasby's that rebounds for an inside-the-park home run.
» July 8, 1961: At Yankee Stadium, Whitey Ford tops the Red Sox 8–5. Mickey Mantle hits a home run in the 4th, off Tracy Stallard, for his 10th roundtripper this year in support of Ford.
» July 17, 1961:
The Yankees top the O's, 5–0, behind Whitey Ford's 13th straight win. Mickey Mantle (#33) and Skowron hit long home runs at Baltimore. The nitecap goes into the 5th when, with two outs and the Yanks up 4–1, a thunderstorm strikes. The umps wait 65 minutes before calling the game, thus washing out homers by Roger Maris and Mantle.
» August 15, 1961: Roger Maris hits his 46th homer, off Chicago's Juan Pizarro, for New York's only run in a 2–1 loss to the visiting White Sox. Pizarro allows just four hits. Whitey Ford loses in his bid for his 21st win.
» September 1, 1961: The American League's biggest crowd of the year, 65,566, sees Whitey Ford and Don Mossi duel at Yankee Stadium as a weekend battle for first place begins. Two-out, 9th-inning hits by Elston Howard, Yogi Berra, and Bill Skowron give New York a 1–0 win over the Tigers.
» September 6, 1961: Roger Maris connects for #54, off Tom Cheney of the Senators, as the Yankees win, 8–0, behind Whitey Ford's 5-hitter. Ford is now 23–3. John Blanchard hits a pair of homers, each time following a walk to Mickey Mantle, and Moose Skowron and Bob Hale also homer.
» September 15, 1961:
The Yankees set a new American League record for most homers in a season (222), as they split a doubleheader in Detroit, winning 11–1 and losing 4–2. Circuit blows by Bill Skowron and Yogi Berra in the opener help Whitey Ford win his 24th and increase New York's homer total to 222. This breaks the old mark set by the 1947 Giants and tied by the 1956 Reds. Norm Cash and Steve Boros homer in the nitecap to back Ron Kline's 7-hitter.
» September 23, 1961: An ailing Mickey Mantle's career-high 54th home run, his last of the regular season, helps New York beat Boston 8–3. Whitey Ford leaves the game in the 5th inning, but wins his 25th.
» September 29, 1961: Johnny Blanchard singles and homers to drive in both runs in the Yanks, 2–1 win over the Red Sox. The Bomber handyman hits his 21st homer and singles in Roger Maris in the 9th to pin the loss on Bill Monbouquette. Whitey Ford pitches four scoreless innings for New York, and finishes the year having no stolen bases off him in 243 innings, a record.
» October 4, 1961: Whitey Ford's 3rd straight World Series shutout, with home runs by Elston Howard and Bill Skowron, gives New York a 2–0 win in the opener against Cincinnati at Yankee Stadium.
» October 8, 1961: Five more scoreless innings by Whitey Ford and four by Jim Coates silence the Reds. Hector Lopez and Clete Boyer each drive in two runs for a 7–0 win. Ford breaks Babe Ruth's World Series record of 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, running his streak to 32.
» November 8, 1961: Whitey Ford is voted the Cy Young Award winner over Warren Spahn.
» April 10, 1962:
At Yankee Stadium, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Bill Skowron, the three Yankees who combined for 143 homers last season, hit Opening Day homers to lead New York to a come-from-behind 7–6 win over Baltimore. Moose's is a 2-run shot to dead center that he legs out for an inside-the -park homer, while Mantle hits his in the 8th inning to tie the game, Maris hits a 3-run shot in the 5th. Johnny Temple, in his first game for the O's, has three hits, including a home run. Starters Billy Hoeft and Whitey Ford are gone after six innings, and the win goes to Ralph Terry, while Skinny Brown takes the loss.
» May 22, 1962: Roger Maris, who went all of 1961 without receiving an intentional walk, gets four in a 12-inning 2–1 win against the Angels to set an American League record. Maris receives five walks in all. Four Yankee pitchers (Whitey Ford, Jim Coates, Bud Daley, and Bob Turley) combine to give up just one hit in 12 innings. Ford leaves after seven innings because of back spasms, and Coates gives up the lone hit, a one-out 9th-inning single to Bob Rodgers.
» August 26, 1962:
Robin Roberts, discarded earlier in the year by the Yankees, beats Whitey Ford 2–1 on home runs by Brooks Robinson and Jim Gentile to complete a 5-game Oriole sweep of the sagging Yankees. The Twins and Angels are now three games behind New York.
» September 25, 1962: Whitey Ford beats Washington 8–3, as the Yankees clinch the American League pennant. Ralph Houk becomes the 5th manager to capture pennants in each of his first two seasons.
» October 4, 1962: At Candlestick Park, in Game One of the World Series, Roger Maris stakes Whitey Ford to a 2-run lead with a first-inning, 2-run double. Only RF Felipe Alou's leaping effort keeps Maris' drive in the park. Ford's record consecutive-shutout-inning streak ends at 33 2/3 innings when a surprise bunt by Jose Pagan brings Willie Mays home. Clete Boyer's 7th-inning home run gives the Yankees a 6–2 win, the last of a record 10 World Series victories for Ford.
» June 5, 1963: Mickey Mantle fractures a bone in his left foot and suffers ligament and cartilage damage to the left knee running into the chain link fence at Baltimore chasing down a Brooks Robinson drive. The Mick will be out for 61 games. Whitey Ford beats Milt Pappas 4–3, as the Yankees return to first place.
» September 11, 1963:
Whitey Ford tops the host A's, 8–2, as Mickey Mantle's homer in the first provides all the scoring Whitey needs. Mantle is 3-for-4 with four RBIs.
» October 6, 1963: Sandy Koufax beats the Yanks again 2–1 for a shocking World Series sweep for the Dodgers. Whitey Ford gives up only two hits, both by Frank Howard, who crashes a long home run in the 5th to start the LA scoring. The Bronx Bombers bat just .171 and score only four runs, the 2nd lowest total in World Series history.
» April 16, 1964: At Yankee Stadium, Whitey Ford pitches 11 innings in losing to the Red Sox, 4–3. Bob Tillman, with three singles, triples in the 11th, and pinch runner Roman Mejias scores on wild pitch. Bob Heffner pitches the bottom of the 11th, with Dick Radatz getting the win.
» July 15, 1964: Whitey Ford's 2–0 win over the Orioles raises the Yankees to first place.
» July 19, 1964: Luis Tiant debuts with a 4-hit, 11 strikeout, 3–0 win for Cleveland at Yankee Stadium. The losing pitcher is Whitey Ford. Tiant was brought up yesterday after a 15–1 record at Portland (AAA).
» October 7, 1964: Ailing Whitey Ford struggles as St. Louis wins the World Series opener 9–5 at Busch Stadium. Mike Shannon homers in a 4-run, St. Louis 6th inning. Tom Tresh loses Flood's triple in the rally. Ray Sadecki and Barney Schultz combine for the win.
» September 2, 1965:
Mickey Mantle hits a 1st inning homer with two on as New York scores five runs on their way to an 8–1 win over the Angels. Whitey Ford is the winner.
» April 12, 1966:
At Yankee Stadium, 40,006 fans watch the Tigers edge the Yankees, 2–1. The Yankees only score is Joe Pepitone's 5th inning homer off Mickey Lolich, who strikes out 10 Yankees. Lolich, with a career average of .075, leads off the 9th with a single which opens the door for the Tiger's winning run off Whitey Ford.
» May 1, 1966: In his 2nd start, Sam McDowell has to settle for a one-hitter. Don Buford's 3rd-inning double is Chicago's only hit in Cleveland's 1–0 win. McDowell becomes the first pitcher since Whitey Ford (September 1955) to pitch back-to-back one-hitters.
» July 2, 1966: Frank Howard, Don Lock, and Ken McMullen hit consecutive home runs with two outs in the 6th inning, and Mike McCormick pitches a complete game, as Washington defeats a winless Whitey Ford and the Yankees, 10–4. Mike McCormick is the winner for Washington, giving up five hits including a Mickey Mantle homer, his 14th, in the 9th.
» August 25, 1966: Whitey Ford (2-5) undergoes surgery for a circulatory problem in his left shoulder.
» April 14, 1967: At Yankee Stadium, Red Sox rookie Bill Rohr debuts and startles everyone by taking a no-hitter into the 9th inning. But Elston Howard lines a 3-2 pitch for a single to right-center with two outs. Carl Yastrzemski had kept the no-hitter alive with a spectacular grab of a Tom Tresh drive to deep LF to open the 9th. The Red Sox win 3–0, beating Whitey Ford, who allows a lead off homer to Reggie Smith and a two-run homer to Joe Foy.
» April 25, 1967:
Whitey Ford beats the White Sox, 11–2, at Yankee Stadium giving up eight hits to go 2–1 on the season. It will be his last ML win.
» May 21, 1967: Earl Wilson gives Detroit its 3rd straight win over the Yankees, 9–4. Mickey Mantle hits his 5th homer in six games but it's not enough for Whitey Ford, who appears in his last ML game.
» May 30, 1967: Yankee Whitey Ford, nearing 41, announces his retirement from baseball because of an elbow injury. His final appearance was a start in Detroit on May 21st, but he lasted just one inning. The stylish lefthander closes out with 236 career wins and only 106 losses for a .690 percentage. He played in only seven games this season.
» January 16, 1974: The BBWAA elects former Yankee teammates Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford to the Hall of Fame. Mantle becomes only the 7th player to make it in his first try.
» June 5, 1974:
The June draft produces just 725 picks, the fewest in history, and only 300 of these are from the college ranks, with the low number blamed on the introduction of aluminum bats this past season. The Padres, with their 3rd number-one free-agent pick in five years, select Brown University SS Bill Almon, the TSN College Player of the Year. They had selected him three years earlier out of high school, but he attended college instead. The Rangers take P Tommy Boggs with the 2nd pick and the Phils follow with prep OF Lonnie Smith. With the 5th pick, the Braves select Dale Murphy; the Angels, picking 10th take the ill-fated Mike Miley, who quarterbacked LSU to a win in the Orange Bowl. the Tigers take Lance Parrish with the 16th pick, the Royals pick prep football star Willie Wilson with the 18th, and the Red Sox, picking 20th, take SS Eddie Ford, son of Whitey Ford. Picking next, the Dodgers get Rick Sutcliffe. The Orioles, with the 24th pick in round one pick Rich Dauer, the top player for USC's championship team; four of their other picks will end up in the NFL (QB's Andy Johnson, Steve Bartkowski, and John Sciarra, and Anthony Davis). The Cards use a pick on the NFL Giants Brad Van Pelt, the 5th time he's been selected. The Twins pick up prep C Butch Wynegar, who will make the American League All-star team at age 20.
» August 12, 1974: Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford head a group of six inductees at Cooperstown.
» June 19, 1989: Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden wins his 100th career game, 5–3 over the Expos. His 100-37 career record is 2nd only to Whitey Ford's 100-36 start.
» March 1, 1996: The Yankees christen Legends Field, their new $30 million 31-acre complex near the Tampa Airport. The field has the exact dimensions of the stadium in the Bronx. On hand to see Phil Rizzuto toss out the first ball are former Yanks Whitey Ford, Catfish Hunter, Ron Guidry, and Chris Chambliss, who then watch the new Yankees beat the American League Champion Indians, 5–2.
» October 13, 2000: The Yankees batter the Mariners, 8-2, to take a 2-games-to-1 lead in the ALCS. Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez hit back-to-back home runs in the 2nd inning for NY, while David Justice drives home three runs. Mariano Rivera breaks Whitey Ford's record for consecutive scoreless innings in postseason play with 33 1/3 scoreless frames.
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