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Sandy Koufax

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Sandy Koufax 1961

Just in: Koufax was a baller of more than one kind

Sandy Koufax 1961

Sandy Koufax, 1961

Apparently Brooklyn Jewish baseball legend Sandy Koufax had short legs but also ups. He played basketball for Lafayette High School in Bath Beach, Brooklyn in the early 1950s, setting himself apart as an extraordinary player on the court before going on to his career as an all-star pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers. As an early teenager he developed a strong upper body by lifting radiators – which must have been where he got his good arm. His high school yearbook the year of his graduation (1953) declared that Koufax “has been scouted and will most likely be a professional basketball player.” But most importantly, he was “always a mensch.”

Read the full New York Times article here.