May 2, 1963 - Whitey Ford (left), veteran Yankee pitcher, is suffering from the same finger ailment which sidelined the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax (right) last season. Dr. Robert Woods, the Los Angeles Dodger team physician who treated Koufax, said the circulation in the tip of Ford’s left index finger is impaired about 10 to 15%. Koufax’s circulation was impaired 85%, Dr. Woods added. He said he examined Ford in Los Angeles today at the pitcher’s request and then had prescribed medication. Ford was examined at the Mayo Clinic after the 1962 World Series and was advised to quit smoking, which he did. The Yankee southpaw said today: “I was pretty bad, smoking incessantly. A friend at a Catskills resort recommended a hypnotist. This fellow put me to sleep. When I woke up, my desire for tobacco was gone. I just haven’t had the urge to smoke again.” The combination of smoking and an injury to a finger can cause constriction of an artery, Dr. Woods said.
