Warren Spahn

Baseball career

Spahn began his major league career in 1942 with the Braves organization and spent all but one year with that franchise, first in Boston and then in Milwaukee, finishing in 1965 with the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. His 363 wins rank sixth on MLB's all-time list, behind Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Christy Mathewson, and Pud Galvin. He led the league in wins eight times (1949–50, 1953, 1957–1961) and won at least 20 games an additional five seasons (1947, 1951, 1954, 1956, 1963). Spahn threw two no-hitters, in 1960 and 1961 at ages 39 and 40, and won three ERA titles (1947, 1953, 1961) and four strikeout crowns (1949–1952).

He appeared in 14 All-Star Games, the most of any pitcher in the 20th century, and won NL Player of the Month in August 1960 and August 1961. Known for a high leg kick, Spahn used it to watch runners on first base and avoid telegraphing his delivery. As his fastball declined, he relied on location, changing speeds, and a screwball. He led or shared the NL lead in wins from 1957 through 1961, ages 36 to 40.

Boston / Milwaukee Braves

Spahn's first full season as a starter came in 1947, when he led the National League in ERA (2.33), shutouts (7), and innings pitched (289 2/3) while posting a 21–10 record, the first of his thirteen 20-win seasons. He won two more ERA titles, in 1953 and 1961. On June 11, 1950, Spahn and Cubs pitcher Bob Rush each stole a base against each other; no opposing pitchers repeated that feat until May 3, 2004. In 1951, Spahn allowed the first career hit to Willie Mays, a home run, and later joked that he might have gotten rid of Mays if he had struck him out.

In 1962, Sandy Koufax hit his first career home run off Spahn. Teammate Johnny Sain was the ace of the 1948 Braves staff with a 24–15 record, while Spahn went 15–12. Boston Post editor Gerald V. Hern wrote a poem about the duo that was condensed to 'Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain,' inspired by their performance during the 1948 pennant drive. The team swept a Labor Day doubleheader with Spahn throwing a complete 14-inning win and Sain a shutout; over 12 days the two pitchers went 8–0.

Later life

Spahn managed the Tulsa Oilers for five seasons, winning 372 games from 1967 to 1971, with his 1968 club winning the Pacific Coast League championship. He coached for the Mexico City Tigers, the Cleveland Indians, in the minor leagues for the California Angels, and for six years with Japan's Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

He owned and ran the Diamond Star Ranch near Hartshorne, Oklahoma, before retiring to Broken Arrow with his wife LoRene. Spahn died of natural causes at his home in Broken Arrow and is interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Hartshorne. A street in Buffalo, New York, Warren Spahn Way, was named after him.

Honors

Spahn's number 21 was retired by the Braves in 1965. In 1991, Sports Illustrated selected him for its all-time All-Star baseball team as the left-handed pitcher. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973 and became a charter member of the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1991. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him number 21 on its list of 'Baseball's 100 Greatest Players,' and he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

In 2020, The Athletic ranked Spahn at number 49 on its 'Baseball 100' list. He was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in 1999. A statue of Spahn, depicting his leg kick, was unveiled outside Atlanta's Turner Field and later moved to Truist Park. Two other statues of Spahn stand in Oklahoma: one at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and one in Hartshorne.

In 2009, Broken Arrow Youth Baseball facilities were dedicated in his honor. The producers of the Naked Gun films, who were Milwaukee-area natives, included Spahn in closing credits with a disclaimer. Spahn made a cameo as a German soldier in a 1963 episode of Combat! In 2013, the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award honored Spahn for his World War II service.

Did You Know?

• Spahn was named after President Warren G. Harding and his father.
• He initially wanted to be a first baseman but took up pitching because that position was already taken at South Park High School.
• Spahn was awarded a Purple Heart and a battlefield commission for his service as a combat engineer in World War II, including action at the Battle of the Bulge and the Ludendorff Bridge.