  |
 |
Juan Marichal (born 1938)
When Time ran a cover story in 1966 chronicling the skills of San Francisco Giants pitcher Juan Marichal, some readers complained because the story was not about Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Without doubt, Koufax had his virtues, but so did Marichal. Since his one-hit debut in 1960, the easygoing right-hander, with some thirteen pitches in his arsenal, had become perhaps the most difficult pitcher for batters to anticipate. Above all, he knew how to win, and in six out of seven seasons, from 1963 through 1969, his win record exceeded twenty games.
Among the more amazing aspects of Marichal’s pitching was his reluctance to deploy his fastball, which many considered one of his greatest strengths. But that forbearance did not damage his effectiveness. In 1966, he won his first two games without ever throwing a fast pitch.
According to the maker of Marichal’s Time cover, Gerald Gooch, the three vignettes running diagonally from top right to lower left summarized what most fans saw when Marichal pitched. The action in the other vignettes, he said, passed too fast for the eye to see.
Gerald Gooch (born 1933)
Acrylic on canvas /
Time cover, July 10, 1966
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time magazine
|
Back to list of portraits
Back to "Sports and the Nation" introduction
