Sandy Koufax is alive. At 90 years old, one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball history remains a periodic, quietly celebrated presence at Dodger Stadium, including an appearance at Game 3 of the 2025 World Series between the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays.
He has been married three times, is currently married to Jane Purucker Clarke, and survived a cancer diagnosis he revealed publicly in 2012.
His playing career lasted just twelve seasons, cut short by arthritis in his pitching elbow, but remains one of the most statistically dominant short careers the sport has ever seen.
Sandy Koufax Biography
He was born December 30, 1935, in Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York, to Evelyn and Jack Braun. His parents divorced when he was just three years old, and for most of his childhood he was raised primarily by his maternal grandparents rather than either parent directly.
His mother later remarried Irving Koufax, who formally adopted Sandy and gave him the surname that would become one of the most recognized names in baseball history. Sandy Koufax Braun grew up in a Jewish household in Brooklyn.
He attended Lafayette High School in the Bensonhurst neighborhood, where he was actually better known for basketball than baseball, even earning newspaper headlines for his play on the court.
He didn’t join his school’s baseball team until his senior year, playing first base, and by his own account didn’t immediately love the sport.
He went on to the University of Cincinnati on a basketball scholarship before his baseball ability eventually took over as his primary path.
Away from the field, Koufax has been described as a talented musician who once considered a career in music before choosing baseball, and he took up painting in his free time, developing a personal style built around vibrant, abstract work.
He has also been affectionately known among those close to him for having a famously poor sense of direction, at one point getting lost on his own way to Dodger Stadium despite having played there for years.
Career
Koufax debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955 but did not become the pitcher he’s remembered as until years later.
From 1961 until his abrupt retirement in 1966, he became one of the most feared pitchers in the sport, known for a combination of a blazing fastball, a devastating curveball and precise control.
He led the National League multiple times in ERA, strikeouts and shutouts during that stretch, and became the first major league pitcher in history to throw four no-hitters, one of which was a perfect game.
His 1963 season stands as one of the greatest in pitching history, winning both the Cy Young Award and National League MVP in the same year, an extremely rare combination for a pitcher.
He won the World Series three times with the Dodgers, in 1959, 1963 and 1965, and delivered one of the sport’s most legendary single performances by throwing a shutout in Game 7 of the 1965 World Series on just two days of rest.
Severe arthritis in his left elbow forced Koufax into retirement in 1966 at just 30 years old, while he was still performing at the peak of his ability.
He finished his career with a 165-87 record, a 2.76 ERA and 2,396 strikeouts, won three Cy Young Awards, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972 as the youngest player ever selected.
Beyond his statistics, Koufax became a broader cultural symbol when he chose to sit out Game 1 of the 1965 World Series to observe Yom Kippur.
This decision earned him lasting respect both within and far beyond the Jewish community.
He has remained connected to the sport since retiring, working as a broadcaster, participating in celebrity golf tournaments for decades, including a 15-year run supporting a charity event founded by golfers Billy Andrade and Brad Faxon starting in 1990, and, more recently, serving as an informal mentor to modern Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.
A statue of Koufax was unveiled outside Dodger Stadium in 2022.
Sandy Koufax’s Wife
Sandy Koufax has been married three times. His first marriage was to Anne Widmark, daughter of actor Richard Widmark, in 1969; the two divorced in 1982 after 13 years without having children together.
He married Kimberly Francis, a personal trainer, in 1985, a marriage that also ended without children when the two divorced in 1998. He married his current wife, Jane Purucker Clarke, in 2008.
Jane was previously married to artist John Clem Clarke, with whom she has a daughter from that earlier relationship, making Koufax a stepfather and, through her grandchildren, a step-grandfather as well; Koufax himself has no biological children of his own.
Jane has kept an almost entirely private life relative to her husband’s fame, and detailed public information about her remains limited by design, consistent with the couple’s shared preference for privacy.
Cancer Diagnosis
In 2012, Koufax revealed publicly at the Harold Pump Foundation gala that he had been diagnosed with cancer roughly two years earlier, telling the crowd that where he had once been what he called a person living with cancer, he now considered himself a survivor.
He has continued to make public appearances in the years since, splitting his time primarily between homes in Vero Beach, Florida, and Hellertown, Pennsylvania.
Sandy Koufax Net Worth
Sandy Koufax’s net worth is estimated at $10 million, built primarily from his MLB playing salary, which peaked at $125,000 in his final season, a substantial sum for the era, along with subsequent broadcasting work and real estate investments made after his playing career ended.
