Ken Holtzman, winningest Jewish pitcher in MLB history, dies at 78

• Published date: 16 April 2024
• Author: JACOB GURVIS/JTA
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The MLB veteran threw two no-hitters, won four World Series rings and beat Sandy Koufax head-to-head once across 15 seasons in the 1960s and 1970s. He had been hospitalized for three weeks with heart issues, his brother Bob told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

He would later work at a local JCC and as a manager in Israel's short-lived professional baseball league — though he quit before the season ended, citing poor conditions.

Holtzman was drafted by the Cubs in the first-ever MLB Draft in 1965, and went on to play for the Cubs in two stints; the Oakland Athletics, where he won three consecutive titles from 1972-1974; the Baltimore Orioles; and the New York Yankees, where he won his fourth ring in 1978 despite not appearing in the series. He was a two-time All-Star.

In a post Monday announcing Holtzman's passing, the Cubs remembered him as "one of the best left-handed pitchers in Cubs history."

Breaking into the big leagues

As a young Jewish lefty pitcher breaking into the big leagues in 1965, Holtzman often drew comparisons to Los Angeles Dodgers great Sandy Koufax, who was in the midst of a dazzling stretch of dominance that concluded with his retirement in 1966.

On Sept. 25, 1966, in Koufax's penultimate regular-season start, the two lefties faced off in what the Jewish Baseball Museum considers to be the first-ever matchup between two Jewish starting pitchers. (It's only happened five times; Holtzman was involved in three of them.)

Both pitchers threw complete games, and both had only one earned run — though the Cubs scored another unearned run, giving Holtzman the win over Koufax that day. He was the last pitcher to beat the Hall of Famer during the regular season. Holtzman would end his career with 174 wins, nine more than Koufax. He also racked up 1,601 strikeouts, second to Koufax (2,396) among Jewish pitchers, and a 3.49 ERA.

Holtzman retired after the 1979 season and earned four Hall of Fame votes in 1985 and five in 1986. He is a member of the St. Louis Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and the Chicago...