New York Yankee Hall Of Fame Pitcher Whitey Ford Dies At 91

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Former New York Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford, shown here waving to fans in 2016, has died at the age of 91.

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Ed «Whitey» Ford, New York Yankees, pitching in the fourth game of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies in Oct.1950.

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Ed «Whitey» Ford, New York Yankees, pitching in the fourth game of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies in Oct.1950.

John Rooney/AP

According to a remembrance by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Ford made his major league debut in 1950 where «he immediately established himself in a Yankee rotation filled with veterans like Vic Raschi, Eddie Lopat and Allie Reynolds.»

Ford finished the season 9-1 with a 2.81 earned-run average, finishing second in the American League for rookie of the year, according to the Hall of Fame.

He also pitched in Game 4 of the 1950 World Series, where he recorded all but one of the 27 outs, helping the Yankees win the game 5-2. They clinched the series sweep over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Hall of Fame also notes Ford took the next two years off from baseball to serve in the Army, returning for the 1953 season.

«Ford picked up where he left off, going 18-6 while helping New York win its fifth straight World Series championship – a record that has not been approached since,» the remembrance said.

He was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1974, along with teammate Mantle.

«Cool. Crafty. Nerves of steel,» said Mantle of his teammate, according to the Hall of Fame. «That was Whitey.»

NPR’s Russell Lewis contributed to this report.

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