Wednesday, February 24, 2016

What did Sandy Koufax do on Yom Kippur in 1965 and where?

This post is not about religion but about logistics, timing and scheduling.

Part of it was addressed in the previous post:

Sandy Koufax 1965 final games and World Series. Tuesday, February 23, 2016

It was understood that Koufax would not pitch on Wednesday Oct. 6 because that would conflict with the religious beliefs of Koufax. That was the scheduled date for WS game one. (manager) Alston could plan his rotation accordingly.
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We know that Sandy Koufax would not pitch in Minnesota against the Twins in the World Series that day but what was he doing and where? Both are relevant concerning whether he could pitch later that day and his disposition for when he did pitch the next day.

Yom Kippur:

the holiest day of the year in Judaism..... Jewish people traditionally observe this holy day with an approximate 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services...

The traditions (include):
No eating and drinking
No wearing of leather shoes ...

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********** Updated 10:15 PM **********

New York Times archive 10/7/1965:
front page article dated 10/6 on game one by Joseph Durso:

Koufax Sits One Out
 ... in his hotel room in St. Paul observing Yom Kippur, the most solemn occasion of the Jewish year.

********** Updated 10:15 PM **********

1. Did he travel with the team to Minnesota or remain in LA while the Dodgers played WS game one?

2. If in Minnesota, was he dressed and at the ballpark?

3. Did his abstention from playing end at sundown?

4. If so, could he have pitched had the game gone past sundown?

5. What constitutes sundown?


In 1961, he did pitch a night game after the day of atonement officially ended at sundown. He threw 205 pitches over 13 innings while striking out 15 to beat the Cubs that game.
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