Among numerous other feats, Spahn owns the National League record for most career home runs by a pitcher with 35. He was an All-Star 17 times during his career and added a Cy Young Award in 1957 to his long list of accolades.
“You know, (what) amazes me, well, the 363 wins definitely. But you know he was in the Army (for three years) in his prime,” said teammate and fellow Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro. “If you take those years and put them back into Major League Baseball, he probably wins another 30, 40 or 50 games, and that puts him above 400 (wins).”
Beyond his play, he was a giant in the community. No individual made a greater contribution to the fabulous Milwaukee baseball story than the Buffalo, N.Y., native who eventually became a rancher in Oklahoma.
“As a young Milwaukee Braves fan during the 1950s, I have many wonderful and vivid memories of the great Warren Spahn on the mound at County Stadium,” said former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. “He is a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game.”
Jonathan Coe was the fall 2011 Public Relations intern for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum