" (Tom Sever).
Pitching Game Seven against the Twins in Minnesota on two days" rest was the kind on big game Sandy seemed to thrive on. As he prepared to take the field, he had an applications of Capsolin rubbed on this throwing arm. He used such a heavy dosage that it made the eyes on those standing close to him tear up, and as the heating ointment seared his skin, for a moment it helped him forget his aching elbow. With that, Koufax was set to pitch the decisive game in baseball's world championship and the last of his career. He had always been a one to flourish beneath even the worst pressure and standing on the mound Sandy Koufax represented different things to different people. To the Jewish population not just in Brooklyn but also around the world he was an icon. He grew up playing sports in the street, schoolyards, and Jewish community clubs, excelling in the face of early stereotypes--that physical achievement was looked down upon by some Jewish parents, though not by Sandy's parents. His greatness in the game, helped pave the way for less Anti-Semitic attitudes in baseball, the same way hank Greenberg had done. Koufax's willingness to publicly declare that he was a Jew brought enormous pride to the Jewish community. Jim Carney, the religion writer for the Beacon, wrote that Koufax's decision not to pitch the 1965 Series Opener that fell on Yom Kippur was "a moment of clarity and pride" for Jews across the United States. Rabbi Donald Goor of Las Angeles said, "what's important is not that a successful athlete was born with Jewish blood but whether they live by Jewish principles and traditions," as Koufax did when he took his famous stand in "65.
Edward Gruver strategy in Koufax is to slowly and surely establish Sandy as one of, if not the greatest pitcher of all time. He methodically weaves the twist and turns of Koufax's not-so-fairy tale life, throughout his Series winning performance.