A Young Yankee Fan Remembers a Legend of Ages Past

Whitey Ford, Last Remaining Hero of the Yankees Golden Age, Passes at Age 91

Photo Source: Yahoo Sports

As I learned about Whitey Ford’s passing on the morning of my birthday, October 9th, I was already stressed and anxious about the Yankees. They were getting ready to face the Tampa Bay Rays in a winner-take-all game in the ALDS, and I was balancing confidence with nerves. As my wife and I drove through the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs (prior to knowing about Ford’s death), I found myself thinking about the old southpaw. I had spent the previous couple of days searching for Ford memorabilia on eBay. As we drove through the beautiful red rock formations, I searched my brain for Whitey Ford’s age and found myself thinking about the fact that Ford could pass at any time.

Little did I know, but the Chairman of the Board had passed away the night prior, having battled dementia the past few years. Ford died with his family by his side while watching the Yankees on television. This fact, which came out a few hours after the news of his death, was heart wrenching. It seems only fitting that the Long Islander passed while the Yankees played in the postseason.

At this point, his obituaries have been published and digested. Many of us have heard the accolades:

A 10x All-Star, 6x World Series Champion, a season in which he won both the Cy Young and MVP awards, the most wins in Yankees history and World Series history, and the longest scoreless inning streak in World Series play.

Ford played 16 Major League seasons and missed two more after being drafted during the Korean War. He was friends with Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra and Billy Martin.

When Whitey Ford retired in 1967, my mother hadn’t been born yet, Neil Armstrong hadn’t walked on the moon and George Lucas’ Star Wars was ten years from its debut.

Then, why did I find myself battling sadness as I did errands on October 9th? I had never seen Whitey Ford pitch on TV or in person. Sure, I had seen the Yankeeography and photographs and video clips. I saw him in person one time, at Yankee Stadium Old Timers Day in 2016, where the frail Ford step outside, waved at the crowd, and then left the festivities.

Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio were dead years before I was old enough to know who they were. Phil Rizzuto died early in my Yankee fandom. By the time Yogi Berra passed, I had been a Yankee fan long enough to feel sad without ever having seen him play.

It is that sadness that I felt, but in a greater magnitude when Whitey Ford passed. With age and maturity came not only greater respect for what Ford accomplished on a baseball field, but an extreme respect for how he did it. Whitey Ford’s legacy was more than scoreless innings — it was being a timeless example of being a teammate, leader, and mentor.

As the tributes rolled in for Ford, I was pleasantly surprised by the personal stories of more modern Yankees, such as Wade Boggs, Al Leiter, and Reggie Jackson. Legends and stars in their own right, they put an extreme emphasis on the kindness and mentorship provided by Ford. By all accounts he was a gentleman, and unlike his good friend and teammate Mantle, was scandal free. He did his job, loved his family, and never stopped giving back to the Yankees.

The Yankees of the 50’s and early 60’s were unstoppable, and Ford was their leader. It was Ford that started and won the big games. It was Ford who enabled the offense of Rizzuto and Mantle and Berra to shine.

I was never alive at the same time as the Yankees of the 20’s and 30’s — the Yankees of Ruth and Gehrig and eventually, DiMaggio. The Yankees of the 50’s and 60’s were the Yankees we grew up mesmerized by, and excited by their mere presence upon the Earth at the same time as us.

With Ford’s passing, these Yankees are all but gone; Bobby Richardson remains the sole significant member of those teams. For the kids of today, it will be the Yankees of Jackson and Guidry and Gossage that will hold that place of honor. A new generation of Yankees past take their place as the greatest living; but that doesn’t mean Ford or Berra’s legacy doesn’t live on.

On my wall, just to the left of my computer as I write this, is an autographed picture of Ford I have had for less than a year. In the mail are Ford baseball cards, some purchased before and some after his death last week. He bolsters my Yankee rotation in the Playstation video game MLB the Show 20.

The luxuries of modern society allow us to remember Ford the way he deserves to be remembered: a gentleman, a winner, and a Yankee to the last breath.

M.J. Benenati, Sports Throne Contributor