24 Facts About Lefty Gomez

Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez was an American professional baseball player.

Lefty Gomez was a five-time World Series champion with the Yankees.

Lefty Gomez was known for his colorful personality and humor throughout his career and life.

Lefty Gomez grew up in California and played for the San Francisco Seals after high school.

Lefty Gomez was selected as an All-Star every year between 1933 and 1939.

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In 1933, Lefty Gomez married June O'Dea, who had a brief career as a Broadway actress.

Lefty Gomez was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1972.

Lefty Gomez made an appearance at Yankee Stadium in 1987, when he and Whitey Ford were honored with plaques at the stadium's Monument Park.

Lefty Gomez's father, Francisco Gomez, had been born in California to a Spanish father, Juan Gomez, and a Portuguese mother, Rita.

Lefty Gomez's mother, Lizzie Herring, was an American of Welsh-Irish descent.

Lefty Gomez played sandlot baseball in Oakland while attending Richmond High School and was recruited by the San Francisco Seals.

Lefty Gomez registered the second-best ERA in the American League in 1931.

Lefty Gomez holds the record for the most innings pitched in a single All-Star game.

Lefty Gomez won a World Series game in 1932, two in 1936, two in 1937 and one in 1938.

Lefty Gomez set a World Series record by receiving two walks in the same inning on October 6,1937.

Bob Feller was on the mound and Lefty Gomez struck a match before stepping into the batter's box.

In 1940, Lefty Gomez suffered an arm injury, which left him up for grabs by another team, but in 1941 he played fairly well, winning 15 and losing 5.

Lefty Gomez never appeared in a game with the Braves, as later in the year he was released from his contract and signed with the Washington Senators.

Lefty Gomez pitched just one game ? on May 30,1943, allowing four hits, four runs and walking five men ? before pulling a shoulder muscle in the fifth inning and retiring from baseball.

Publicly, Lefty Gomez said the whole idea of divorce was absurd, but after the first of the year he moved to Reno to get a six-week divorce.

In retirement, Lefty Gomez became a sought-after dinner speaker known for his humorous anecdotes about his playing days and the personalities he knew.

Lefty Gomez was a bit of a screwball, nicknamed "El Goofo" or "Goofy Gomez", and delighted in playing practical jokes on everyone from teammates to umpires.

The Committee noted that Lefty Gomez pitched in seven World Series games with no losses and five wins.

Lefty Gomez spent the last years of his life in Novato, California; he died of congestive heart failure on February 17,1989, in Marin General Hospital in Larkspur, California.