About Warren Spahn
Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notably for the Boston Braves, who became the Milwaukee Braves after the team moved west before the 1953 season. His baseball career was interrupted by his military service in the United States Army during World War II. With 363 career wins, Spahn holds the major league record for a left-handed pitcher, and has the most by a pitcher who played his entire career in the post-1920 live-ball era. He was a 17-time All-Star who won 20 games or more in 13 seasons, including a 23–7 win–loss record when he was age 42. Spahn won the 1957 Cy Young Award and was a three-time runner-up during the period when only one award was given for both leagues. He won 202 games in the 1950s, the most for all pitchers in the decade. At the time of his retirement in 1965, Spahn held the Major League record for career strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher. Spahn was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1973, with 82.89% of the vote. The Warren Spahn Award, given annually to the major leagues' best left-handed pitcher, is named in his honor. Regarded as a "thinking man's" pitcher who liked to outwit batters, Spahn once described his approach on the mound: "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing."
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.