The legendary Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first player in MLB history to win the Cy Young Award three times on November 1, 1966. When Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies earned his fourth career Cy Young Award in 1982, he broke Koufax’s record.

Roger Clemens (seven) and Randy Johnson (five) then overtook that. Only Clayton Kershaw has won as many Cy Young Awards as Koufax has among Dodgers pitchers. In 2014, at the age of 26, Kershaw became the youngest winner three times, having been selected unanimously.

In 1966, the last year that a single pitcher would get the Cy Young Award, Koufax was chosen unanimously. At the BBWAA awards banquet in February 1967, Don Drysdale, a former colleague, gave him the award.

Cy Young Awards had previously gone to Koufax in 1963 and 1965, both times with unanimous votes. In 1966, the final season of Koufax’s remarkable career, the left-hander finished 27-9 with 317 strikeouts, a career-best 1.73 ERA, 27 complete games, and five shutouts.

It was Koufax’s second season in a row, throwing 27 complete games, and his sixth year in a row, topping ten in that category.

In addition, it was Koufax’s third Triple Crown victory as the Majors’ leader in wins, ERA, and strikeouts.

After spending 12 seasons in a row with both Brooklyn and Los Angeles, Koufax’s career record was 165-87 with a 2.76 ERA.

In addition to winning three Cy Young Awards, Koufax was a seven-time All-Star, a five-time ERA leader, and the National League MVP in 1963. He also tossed four no-hitters and one perfect game. In 1972, he was admitted to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Dodgers honoured Koufax with a statue in the centre field plaza of Dodger Stadium in June 2022.