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On September 9, 1965, Sandy Koufax threw a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium, striking out 14, including the last six batters. The Dodgers won 1-0 on an unearned run, and the Cubs' Bob Hendley allowed only one hit, making it one of the lowest-hit games ever recorded. Koufax pitched it while his arthritic elbow was already degenerating, so his peak and his physical decline were happening at the same time.
A private person who becomes a symbol loses control over what his actions mean, because the community assigns them meanings he did not choose. Koufax sat out Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. For him it was a quiet personal observance, but American Jews turned it into a defining statement of identity and belonging. The more he refused to explain himself, the more room others had to write the explanation for him.
In spring 1966 Koufax and Don Drysdale refused to negotiate with the Dodgers separately. Through an agent, they demanded a combined three-year deal. Under the reserve clause, a single player's only leverage was to refuse to play, but two aces holding out together made that threat credible. The holdout won them record contracts and showed players what collective bargaining could do, years before free agency.
Koufax retired at 30, after his best season (27-9 with a 1.73 ERA in 1966). Doctors warned that continuing to pitch on his arthritic elbow, while dependent on painkillers, anti-inflammatories and ice baths, risked permanent damage to the arm. Seen this way, walking away at peak value is not giving up. It is refusing to let an institution use up the body it profits from, and it trades a longer career for a whole life afterward.