On June 4, 1964, Los Angeles Dodgers Hall-of-Fame left-hander Sandy Koufax tossed his third of four career no-hitters. This one, against the Philadelphia Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium.
Koufax was dominant early on, striking out Johnny Callison and Dick Allen to end the first inning. It wasn’t until the fourth, however, in which he allowed his first and only baserunner — a walk to Phillies third baseman Allen.
Allen drew a two-out, full-count walk on a questionable call that could’ve gone either way. But it was all for naught, as Allen was later erased from the basepaths after he was caught stealing to end the frame.
Koufax would cruise from there, tallying seven strikeouts over his final five innings of work. He capped off his masterpiece with a strikeout of Phillies pinch-hitter Bobby Wine to cement a 3-0 victory for the Dodgers.
All-in-all, Koufax accumulated 12 strikeouts in the game while registering seven groundouts and three fly outs. The southpaw improved to 6-4 on the season while additionally lowering his ERA to a solid 2.34.
Koufax would finish the 1964 season with a 19-5 record, having compiled a Major League-best 1.74 ERA, 2.08 FIP and 0.93 WHIP over 223 innings pitched with 223 strikeouts. He also led all of baseball with seven shutouts.
To no surprise, Koufax was honored with his fourth of six consecutive All-Star Game selection that year. He somehow only finished third in National League Cy Young voting and 17th in the MVP race at the conclusion of the 1964 campaign.
Sandy Koufax’s Dodgers career
Over 12 seasons with the Dodgers, Koufax went 165-87 with a 2.76 ERA. He retired after winning the triple crown in 1966 and at just 30 years old due to chronic arthritis.
Koufax was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, receiving 86.87% of the vote. On June 4 of that same year, Koufax’s No. 32 was retired by the Dodgers. He since has been honored by the team with a statue in the center field plaza at Dodger Stadium.
Brooklyn moving to LA, Nomo trade
Also on this day in Dodgers history, Walter O’Malley informed mayor Robert Wagner he remained committed to moving the the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles during a meeting at city hall in 1957.
O’Malley was accompanied by New York Giants president Horace Stoneham.
And in 1998, Hideo Nomo was traded by the Dodgers with Brad Clontz to the New York Mets for Greg McMichael and Dave Mlicki.
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