December 14th, 1953: Brooklyn Dodgers sign pitcher Sandy Koufax.

Koufax is considered one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, perhaps the greatest left-hander of all-time. He pitched 12 seasons for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966 before arthritis in his left elbow ended his career prematurely at age 30

The 7-time All-Star was the NL MVP in 1963 and was the first 3-time Cy Young winner in baseball history in 1963, 1965 and 1966. He is the only pitcher to win the award 3 times when one overall award was given for all of MLB instead of one award for each League.

Koufax also won the NL Triple Crown in those same 3 years by leading the NL in wins, strikeouts and earned run average. He was the first MLB pitcher to pitch 4 no-hitters and the 8th to pitch a perfect game in baseball history.

At age 36 in 1972, the 4-time World Series winner became the youngest player ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Born: December 30, 1935
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, USA
Age: 85 years old