 | |
| Author | Jane Leavy |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Sandy Koufax |
| Genre | |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | 2002 (2002) |
| Publication place | United States |
| ISBN | 978-0060195335 |
Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy is a non-fiction book by sportswriterJane Leavy. Published byHarperCollins in 2002, the book follows the career trajectory ofSandy Koufax,Hall of Fame pitcher for theLos Angeles Dodgers, and the social changes which occurred during it. The book also covers Koufax's role in baseball's labor movement and his impact on and standing in theJewish American community. It is structured around a retelling ofKoufax's perfect game on September 9, 1965.
Leavy, a former sportswriter forThe Washington Post, initially was not expecting to write to the book on Koufax who known for declining interview requests and preferring not to be written about at all.[1] After hearing her out and agreeing to meet her atDodgertown inVero Beach, Florida, Koufax gave his reluctant approval, telling her, "This book has to be yours, not mine."[2]
Though he did not sit down for an interview with her, Koufax allowed her to talk to his friends and old teammates, who would not have otherwise sat down for an interview, and also agreed to verify biographical facts. The only people he requested she not talk to were the children of his sister, a request Leavy honored. She ended up interviewing over 400 people for the book.[1]
The book's purpose, according to Leavy, was to document Koufax's career in light of the social changes that took place, including thecivil rights movement, the advent of television in sports, and the labor movement in baseball. Though she did not discuss Koufax's private life in detail, she wrote about his personality and his aversion from his own celebrity and reasons for his want of privacy. She also wrote of Koufax's relationship withJudaism and his own Jewish identity in light of his decision to sit out Game 1 of the1965 World Series due to it falling onYom Kippur which made him a Jewish icon.[1]
Notably, Leavy structured the book aroundKoufax's perfect game. She found rare footage of the first three innings of the game, taken by Dodgers trainer Bill Buehler. Additionally, she received a copy of the nearly complete recording of the game fromDavid Smith, founder ofRetrosheet, whose father recorded the game for him while he was out with his girlfriend (later wife).[3]
Upon its release, the book was widely praised for its writing and prose and became aNew York Times best seller. It was nominated for both theCASEY Award and theSeymour Medal as the best baseball book of the year. TheSociety for American Baseball Research (SABR) later named it one of its top 50 best baseball books during its 50th anniversary celebrations in 2021, writing: "Until Dandy Sandy decides to finally write his own life story, this biography will be the standard other books will try to live up to."[4]
Writing forTime magazine,Daniel Okrent praised the book: "Leavy has hit it out of the park... A lot more than a biography. It's a consideration of how we create our heroes, and how this hero's self perception distinguishes him from nearly every other great athlete in living memory... a remarkably rich portrait."[5]
The Austin Chronicle described the book as "compelling", writing: "As the national pastime, baseball has always been a sociocultural barometer of the American experience. Washington Post sportswriter Jane Leavy understands the intricacies of this truism, and it's one reason why her biography of Koufax is so compelling. The media, labor relations, and religious bigotry are just a few of the topics she blends into the tale... Through hundreds of discussions with players, managers, fans, and fellow sportswriters, Leavy pieces together the story of the handsome, articulate, complex, reticent, Brooklyn-born southpaw who conquered baseball and the sports world at large."[6]
Allen Barra ofThe New York Times praised the book for debunking myths about Koufax's supposed isolation: "It's... nice to know that contrary to so many reports, including a magazine cover story a couple of years ago that labeled him "the incomparable and mysterious Sandy Koufax," he is not and has never been a recluse."[7]
In December 2002, a few months after the book had been released, theNew York Post published a false story about Koufax and the biography, insinuating that he only agreed to cooperate because Leavy threatened toout him as gay if he did not.[8] ThePost retracted the story and apologized after Leavy denied there was such a deal, calling it "thoroughly erroneous on all counts."[9]
As both the newspaper and theLos Angeles Dodgers were, at the time, owned byRupert Murdoch'sNews Corp, Koufax decided to cut ties with the team for the remainder of Murdoch's ownership tenure, stating that he did not want to help promote any of the News Corp'ssubsidiaries as he would "feel foolish to be associated with or promote one entity if it helps another."[10] He reconnected with the organization in 2004, when the Dodgers were sold toFrank McCourt.[11]
A second edition of the book, titledSandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy (P.S.), was released in 2010 byHarper Perennial.[12]