Sandy Koufax - Remembered As True Champion

Following his retirement, Koufax worked as a sports commentator for NBC, although that position didn't fit the reserved pitcher very well. On January 1, 1969, Koufax married Anne Heath Widmark; they divorced in the early 1980s. Koufax later married Kim Koufax, though they divorced in the late 1990s. He never had any children.

In 1972, when Koufax was 36, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, the youngest player to receive such honors. In 1979, Koufax began working as a coach for the Dodgers, quitting in February 1990.

After leaving baseball, Koufax lived a reclusive, quiet life, making his home in Vero Beach, Florida, the off-season home of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He refused to cash in on his fame, appearing rarely in public. Koufax is a modest man who has tried to be forgotten. He tells authors not to write about him. But the very fact that authors are still calling and fans are still clamoring to know him is a testament to the impact he made. Though more than three decades have passed since he hurled his last game, Koufax still enjoys working out at the Dodgers clubhouse, where he has a key.

Though Koufax quit as a Dodgers pitching instructor in 1990, he still coaches players intermittently from time to time. In February 2002, during spring training, Koufax tutored then-Dodger Terry Mulholland on his curveball. Likewise, Koufax has worked wonders with Texas Rangers hurler Chan Ho Park and New York Mets pitcher Al Leiter.

Perhaps former teammate Don Sutton said it best when he told Sports Illustrated, "He was a star who didn't feel he was a star. That's a gift not many people have."