Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers reigned as the king of major league pitchers from 1963 to 1966 as he won three Cy Young Awards.
The only one that Koufax missed during that stretch was in 1964 when Dean Chance of the Los Angeles Angels claimed the honor by leading the American League in wins with a 20-9 record and ERA at 1.65.
In the National League, Koufax picked up just one vote in the balloting with Larry Jackson of the Chicago Cubs getting the other two.
With the Cubs finishing 76-86 and in eighth place, Jackson could have become the first Cy Young winner from a losing team.
Jackson led the NL in victories with a 24-11 record, but many of his season stats were equaled or surpassed by others.
Looking at the Cy Young vote and the Most Valuable Player ballots, Jackson emerged with more support in each area. He was 12th in the MVP just ahead of Philadelphia’s Jim Bunning, who was 13th with a 19-6 record and a 2.63 ERA. San Francisco’s Juan Marichal, Cincinnati’s Sammy Ellis and Koufax all were 15th through 17th.
Adding to Jackson’s case is that the Angels were fifth in the AL with an 82-80 record, which was the worst team record for a winner at that point and only the second time a hurler wasn’t on a World Series squad. Don Drysdale was the first in 1962 with the Dodgers.
Jackson winning 32 percent of the Cubs games in 1964 was quite an accomplishment, but is really no where near what Steve Carlton would do in 1972 with the Philadelphia Phillies to take that year’s NL Cy Young Award with a last place team. Carlton was 27-10 as he won 46 percent of the Phillies games.
Jackson’s top performance of 1964 was in a 1-0 Cubs win at Wrigley Field over the Cincinnati Reds on June 30. He faced 28 batters allowing a single in the seventh inning by Pete Rose.
A five-time all-star, Jackson was the winning pitcher of the 1963 mid-summer classic.
Jackson began his career with St. Louis in 1955. He pitched of the Cardinals until he was traded to the Cubs before the 1963 season.
Early in 1966, he was sent to the Phillies in a five-player swap that included Fergie Jenkins going to the Cubs.
After not being protected by the Phillies in the expansion draft in December of 1968, Jackson was selected by the Montreal Expos. He retired before the season began and never played for the Expos.
1964 VOTING FOR CY YOUNG AWARD
Dean Chance (Los Angeles Angels) 17
Larry Jackson (Chicago Cubs) 2
Sandy Koufax (Los Angeles Dodgers) 1
PRESS ROOM PASS CY YOUNG AWARD WINNERS (1956-1966)
1956 – Billy Pierce Chicago White Sox (20-9)
1957 – Jim Bunning Detroit Tigers (20–8)
1958 – Warren Spahn Milwaukee Braves (22–11)
1959 – Sam Jones San Francisco Giants (21–15)
1960 – Chuck Estrada Baltimore Orioles (18-11)
1961 – Joey Jay Cincinnati Reds (21–10)
1962 – Dick Donovan Cleveland Indians (20–10)
1963 – Whitey Ford New York Yankees (24-7)
1964 – Larry Jackson Chicago Cubs (24–11)
CY YOUNG AWARD WINNERS (1956-1966)
1956 – Don Newcombe Brooklyn Dodgers (27–7)
1957 – Warren Spahn Milwaukee Braves (21–11)
1958 – Bob Turley New York Yankees (21–7)
1959 – Early Wynn Chicago White Sox (22–10)
1960 – Vern Law Pittsburgh Pirates (20–9)
1961 – Whitey Ford New York Yankees (25–4)
1962 – Don Drysdale Los Angeles Dodgers (25–9)
1963 – Sandy Koufax Los Angeles Dodgers (25–5)
1964 – Dean Chance Los Angeles Angels (20–9)
1965 – Sandy Koufax Los Angeles Dodgers (26–8)
1966 – Sandy Koufax Los Angeles Dodgers (27–9)
Since 1967, the Cy Young Award has been handed out to the best pitcher in the American and National leagues. However, during the first 11 years of the award there was only one winner.
This series will take a look at who might have won the award, if there had been winners in both leagues in the early years.