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Yankees History: The cagey and cunning Whitey Ford on the mound

By Sheldon Kamieniecki

CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER, 1955. Casey Stengel is shouting far left, Whitey Ford is bein hoisted on some shoulders in the New York Yankees celebration of the clinching of the pennant in their cliubhouse in Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio in September of 1955. (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER, 1955. Casey Stengel is shouting far left, Whitey Ford is bein hoisted on some shoulders in the New York Yankees celebration of the clinching of the pennant in their cliubhouse in Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio in September of 1955. (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images) /
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Whitey Ford is arguably one of the best left-handed pitchers who ever graced the diamond. Lacking an overpowering fastball, he instead relied on breaking pitches thrown at different speeds and with pinpoint accuracy to consistently get opposing batters out.

Edward Charles “Whitey” Ford was born in Astoria, Queens in New York City, not far from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. He attended public schools in New York and graduated from the Manhattan High School of Aviation Trades. Ford was nicknamed “Whitey” while he was in the minor league because of his light blond hair.

Whitey was signed by the Yanks as an amateur free agent in 1947, and he played his entire 16-year career with them (1950 and 1953-1967). He served in the Army in the Korean War in 1951 and 1952.

Whitey will turn 92 years young this October. Today he travels back and forth between Glen Cove, Long Island, where he has lived for a long time with his wife and children, and sunny Florida.

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