Sandy Koufax and Yom Kippur ..... JEWS & BASEBALL - (2010)

[Music] game one of the 1965 World Series the Los Angeles Dodgers versus the Minnesota Twins fell on yum kapor the holiest day of the Jewish year kofax had been scheduled to pitch the opening game this is now the World Series there's a lot at stake there were several days and I was around then covering the World Series

covering the Dodges would he pitch wouldn't he pitch would he pitch wouldn't he pitch this was tremendous drama I had taken yam kapor off for 10 years and Russia sha for 10 years before that it's just something I'd always done is uh respect but I could always do something about it there was always a

game the day before so I would move up and pitch on two days rest so I wouldn't miss a start at the end of the season but this day there was no game the day before and he says I'm going to to choose to honor my religion I'm going to choose not to play baseball on the most

important day in my people's religious calendar amazing enormous makes a huge difference even though Jewish people were assimilated at this point probably pretty comfortable in the United States I think it gave us a new burst of energy I think it was part of that period of time when people started paying more attention to what it meant to be Jewish

I think Sandy kofax was a big part of that all of a sudden in a very short time Sandy kofax is transformed to a national figure and of course anybody of my age group if you ask them what was the seminal event and they're honest they'll tell you Sandy cofax not playing in the World Series onum

Kipper