Whitey Ford.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Preston Stroup)

Hall of Fame pitcher Whitey Ford, who led the New York Yankees to six World Series titles and 11 American League pennants in his 16-year career, has died at the age of 91, the Yankees announced on Friday. A cause of death was not given.

A 10-time all-star and the winner of the 1961 Cy Young Award, Ford won more games as a Yankee than any other pitcher, compiling a career record of 236-106 and a .690 winning percentage — the best of any pitcher with at least 300 career decisions. Ford was also an eight-time Game One starter in the World Series, and holds World Series records for wins (10), starts (22), strikeouts (94), and innings pitched (146).

In his autobiography, Ford, a native New Yorker, wrote that his 1974 Hall of Fame election was not "anything I imagined was possible or anything I dared dream about when I was a kid growing up on the sidewalks of New York… I never really thought I would make it as a kid because I always was too small."

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Ford is the latest baseball legend to pass away in 2020, following the deaths of Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock, and Bob Gibson.

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Jacob Lambert

Jacob Lambert is the art director of TheWeek.com. He was previously an editor at MAD magazine, and has written and illustrated for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Weekly, and The Millions.