June 3, 1963 - Warren Spahn, the 42-year-old rubber-armed southpaw of the Milwaukee Braves, is one of the most remarkable baseball players in history. He expects to continue as such, “the Lord willing.” Only 7 major league pitchers have won more games than Spahn, and at the rate he’s going he’ll cut that to 6 before the 1963 season is ended. Spahn hiked his season record to 7-3 on Memorial Day, and that represented his 334th victory in 19 seasons — all with the Braves. One of two active players regarded as certain future Hall of Famers — Stan Musial is the other — Spahn holds several records. His victory total is the highest ever by a southpaw, his 12 seasons with 20 or more victories is another southpaw record, his 8 years of leading his league in complete games is a record, and so is his 8 seasons of leading the league in total wins. Warren has a pair of no-hitters and, oddly, they came in his later years — 1960 and 1961. “It’s ridiculous, a fellow my age pitching no-hitters,” he said at the time. But it’s not so ridiculous when you consider that no pitcher is more studious of hitters’ habits, more careful of personal and training habits, or quicker to seek another pitch when one of the old reliables begins to fade. Spahn, a WWII veteran who saw action in the Battle of the Bulge and at the Ludendorff Bridge as a combat engineer, acts like a guy who hasn’t made it.
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