Yankees legend, Whitey Ford, passes at 91 years of age

By Mark Molz
Sports Reporter

The Yankees and the baseball world lost a legend when Edward Charles “Whitey” Ford passed away Thrusday, October 8th. Ford passed away at his home in Lake Success, N.Y, on Long Island watching the Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays in game four of the American League Division Series (ALDS).

“I feel like there was some comfort in that,” current Yankees manager Aaron Boone stated.

Ford spent his entire 16 year career with the New York Yankees, leaving his mark on one of the most storied organizations in sports.

“The Yankees are incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of Hall of Famer Whitey Ford. Whitey spent his entire 16-year career as a Yankee.” The Yankees said in their statement following his passing. “A 6x WS Champion and 10x All-Star, The Chairman of the Board was one of the best lefties to ever toe the rubber. He will be deeply missed.” 

In his career with the Yankees Ford was able to notch ten all-star appearances, six world series rings, one Cy Young, and a World Series MVP. During his world series appearances Ford was chosen to be the game 1 starter eight times, showing how dominant he was. His dominance showed when Ford ended his career with a total of ten wins in the fall classic, a record that still stands today and doesn’t seem like it will be broken anytime soon.

“Whitey’s name and accomplishments are forever stiched into the fabric of baseball’s rich history.” Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees managing general partner said. “He was a treasure, and one of the greatest Yankees to ever wear the pinstripes.”
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Ford retired from baseball in 1967 leaving the league with an overall 236-106 record, equaling a .690 winning percentage and the most career wins in the history of the organization. He also managed to be a three-time regular season wins leader (1955, 1961, 1963) and a two-time league leader in ERA (1956, 1958). His number 16 was eventually retired by the Yankees and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974, alongside another Yankees great, Mickey Mantle.

Whitey Ford is remebered as one of the best pitchers in postseason history, or baseball history for that matter. He was the heart and soul of many of those World Series Championships and forever left his mark on the game of baseball. 

The Yankees honored Ford in Game five of the ALDS with a number 16 patched onto their sleeves.

Author’s Note: 
For further information see the links below. 
https://www.mlb.com/player/whitey-ford-114299
https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/ford-whitey
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1314643945545248769/photo/1
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1314665443475566596/photo/1