Home Baseball On This Day in Dodger History: Ebbets Field Sold; Sandy Koufax Wins 1963 MVP

On This Day in Dodger History: Ebbets Field Sold; Sandy Koufax Wins 1963 MVP

Baseball — 10/31/2023

On this day in Los Angeles Dodgers history, Sandy Koufax defeated St. Louis Cardinals second-place finisher Dick Groat to earn the 1963 National League MVP Award.

This Day In Dodgers History: Sandy Koufax Wins 1963 MVP; Ebbets Field Sold | Yardbarker

In the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voting, Koufax scored 237 points against Groat’s 190, and he was voted 14 out of 20 times for first place. Six days after winning the first of his three career Cy Young Awards, Koufax was awarded MVP.

After Don Newcombe in 1956, he became the first pitcher from the Dodgers to win the MVP Award. That year, Newcombe also won the sole Cy Young of his career. But Koufax was the first pitcher from the Dodgers to win both the Cy Young and MVP awards in the same season.

In 1963, Koufax led the Majors in multiple categories and recorded a career-high winning percentage of.833. Koufax finished 25-5 with a 1.88 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 20 complete games, 11 shutouts, and 306 strikeouts over 311 innings thrown over 40 starts during the third of six straight All-Star seasons.

Dodger Stadium's First Championship – Behind the Bag

The 1963 season was capped off with Koufax’s contribution to the Dodgers’ World Series victory over the New York Yankees. He entered the field for the entirety of Games 1 and 4, giving up three runs in total in each game. The MVP of the 1963 World Series was Koufax.

Due to a persistent injury to his left elbow, Koufax had to retire early. After 12 seasons with the Dodgers, he had a lifetime record of 165-87 with a 2.76 ERA.

Sell Ebbets Field to Dodgers

Dodger Stadium's First Championship – Behind the Bag
The Dodgers sold Ebbets Field to real estate developer Marvin Kratter on October 30, 1956. As part of the agreement, Kratter agreed to lease the land back to Walter O’Malley, the team owner, ensuring the Dodgers would have a home ballpark until at least 1961.

It goes without saying that in 1958, the franchise relocated to Los Angeles.

At Dodger Stadium, Koufax is honoured
The Dodgers unveiled a Sandy Koufax statue in Dodger Stadium’s center field plaza in June 2022. Placed next to a bronze statue of Jackie Robinson, the two legends of the franchise welcome spectators as they approach what the team regards as the stadium’s front door.