Los Angeles catcher Johnny Roseboro's concern for Sandy Koufax at the end of the fifth inning of Game Seven was real, and stemmed from the realization that the Dodgers' ace, arm-sore and tired as he was, was trying to get by on just one pitch, his fastball.

"It can't be done," Roseboro said, "unless you're an exceptional pitcher."

In October of 1965, Roseboro considered Koufax the most exceptional pitcher in the game. On most occasions, the Dodgers' confidence in Koufax was so strong Roseboro said that the feeling in the clubhouse whenever he started a game was, "We're gonna kick some ass today."

Part of the reason for the Dodgers' seemingly unshakable belief in their ace was Koufax himself. Whether knocking down Giants' superstar Willie Mays with a purpose pitch or staring in at Yankees' slugger Roger Maris in Game One of the 1963 World Series, Koufax brought a combative nature to the mound whenever he pitched.

Baseball, Koufax said at the time, was a form of warfare. He never believed in fraternizing with opposing players because he saw them as the enemy, and he could see no reason to get to know an enemy well enough to have any feeling towards him other than hostility.

Baseball writer Roger Kahn recalled Koufax striking out the side against the Yankees with hard fastballs in the first inning of Game One of the 1963 World Series, and then fixing the Bombers' dugout with a hard stare that Kahn interpreted as meaning, "I can pitch to your power and I'll still strike you out."

Aggressive as Koufax was on the mound, opposing hitters never considered him a mean pitcher. Duke Snider, who faced an array of Hall of Fame pitchers that included such famous names as Reynolds, Ford, Spahn, Drysdale, Gibson, Wynn, and Marichal in a career that stretched from 1947 to 1964, called Koufax the greatest pitcher he has ever seen. Still, the Duke said Koufax might have been even better had he been as mean as [Don] Drysdale.

Even though Koufax's fastball ranged between 95 and 100 miles per hour, hitters weren't afraid to dig in against him because he never threw at them. Dick Groat, an infielder with the Pirates and later the Cardinals in the mid-sixties, didn't mind facing Koufax because his control was so good he could have pitched inside and it wouldn't have made a difference.

Drysdale of course, was a different story. Giants' outfielder Hank Sauer said that if you got a hit off Don, he would knock you down the next time up. Drysdale intimidated hitters with his size, the big, flailing motion of his delivery, and the hard 95-mile-per-hour fastball. From 1958 through '61, Drysdale led the National League in hit batsmen, and Frank Robinson said Drysdale was mean enough to throw at batters, and he did it continuously.

"You could count on him doing it," Robinson said, "and when he did it, he just stood there on the mound and glared at you to let you know he meant it."

Groat said Drysdale's meanness caused hitters to bear down more when they faced him. Everybody in the league, Groat said, wanted to beat Drysdale, and hitters battled him hard when they stepped in against him.

Koufax challenged hitters too; he challenged them with an assortment of four pitches-fastball, curve, forkball, and changeup. But he was primarily a fastball-curveball pitcher. Phils' and Cubs' first baseman Ed Bouchee ranked Koufax, Drysdale, and Gibson as the three toughest pitchers he ever faced. Bouchee, a left-handed hitter who had success against southpaw pitchers, faced Koufax numerous times in a career that lasted from 1956 to 1962. Still, Bouchee could recall getting only four or five hits off Koufax his entire career.

"Who hit Koufax?" Bouchee asked, but he did remember rapping a 440-foot blast off Koufax at the Los Angeles Coliseum. It was just a double, Bouchee said, but it was off Koufax, and that made it memorable.

Koufax went at hitters with his fastball, and players like Bouchee enjoyed batting against him because of that challenge. In a way, Koufax's mound persona contrasted sharply with his manner off the field. Dodger teammate Johnny Klippstein said Koufax was a loner, a noncommittal, private person who never revealed his feelings about baseball or anything else. Klippstein recalled him having a sense of humor in that he appreciated something funny, but joking around wasn't really part of his makeup.

Giants' pitcher Billy Pierce found it interesting that Koufax, so quiet and introverted, was such an aggressive pitcher. Koufax, Pierce said, never tried to nip the corners of the plate with his pitches. He went right at the hitter.

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