On January 19,  1972, 36-year-old Sandy Koufax, the former Los
Angeles Dodgers star, became the youngest player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. "This is the only thing that’s made having
to retire early a little easier," says Koufax, who retired at age 30.
"This is the biggest honor I’ve ever been given, not just in baseball,
but in my life." Koufax made his Major League Baseball debut in
1955.

Sanford Koufax (Sanford Braun) turned 87 December 30th.

SANDY KOZEL

Roger Eugene Maris
(September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985)

Maris was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1983.

Maris died of the disease at age 51 at M.D. Anderson Hospital
in Houston, Texas. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery
in Fargo, North Dakota.

(Fox News) – Mickey Mantle, the late great New York Yankees
legend who won seven World Series titles and three MVP
awards with the organization, is having a great year when
it comes to his memorabilia.

On Saturday, the bidding for Mantle’s signed and handwritten
"lewd" Yankees questionnaire ended. One of the most historical
pieces in the Mantle collection sold for $242,788.80, according
to Lelands auction house.

Mickey Charles Mantle
(October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995)

On September 28, 1941, the last day of Major League Baseball’s
regular season, the Boston Red Sox’s Ted Williams got six hits
in eight at-bats during a doubleheader in Philadelphia, boosting
his average to .406. He becomes the first player since 1930 to hit
.400. "I guess I’ll be satisfied with that thrill out there today," he
tells the Boston Globe about hitting .400. "… I never wanted
anything harder in my life."

In addition to his .406 batting average—no major league player
since Williams has hit .400—the left fielder led the big leagues
with 37 homers, 135 runs and a slugging average of .735.

Williams, nicknamed “The Splendid Splinter” and “The Thumper,
” began his big-league career with the Red Sox in 1939.

(CBS News) – A mint condition Mickey Mantle baseball card sold
for $12.6 million Sunday, blasting into the record books as the
most ever paid for sports memorabilia in a market that has
grown exponentially more lucrative in recent years.

The rare Mantle card eclipsed the record just posted a few months
ago — $9.3 million for the jersey worn by Diego Maradona when
he scored the contentious "Hand of God" goal in soccer’s 1986
World Cup.

Mickey Charles Mantle "the Commerce Comet"
(October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995)