Vern Law

Vern Law
Vern Law being honored on June 19, 2010 at PNC Park for his role on the Pittsburgh Pirates' 1960 World Series Championship team.
Pitcher
Born: March 12, 1930 (1930-03-12) Meridian, Idaho
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 11, 1950 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
August 20, 1967 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Career statistics
Win–Loss record	162–147
Earned run average	3.77
Strikeouts	1,092
Teams
Pittsburgh Pirates (1950–1951, 1954–1967)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star selection (1960, 1960²) World Series champion (1960) 1960 Cy Young Award 1960 NL TSN Pitcher of the Year 1965 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 1965 NL Comeback Player of the Year

Vernon Sanders Law (born March 12, 1930 in Meridian, Idaho) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for 16 seasons (1950-1951 and 1954-1967) for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Career

Law was a member of the National League All Star Team in 1960. He won the Cy Young Award, and led the National League in complete games that year.

Retirement

He is the pitching coach for Provo High School (PHS) varsity baseball team (PHS is located across the street from BYU where his son is the head coach), and is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During his playing career, Law was tagged with the nickname "Deacon" by Pirate broadcaster Bob Prince. According to Law, it was given to him by former Pirate teammate Wally Westlake because he is a member of the ordained priesthood of the LDS Church.

Law has been credited with saying, "A winner never quits and a quitter never wins." and "Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."

Personal

His son Vance Law also played in the Major Leagues, primarily as a utility infielder.

Law currently lives in Provo, Utah.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Don Drysdale Joe Torre	Major League Player of the Month August 1959 (with Willie McCovey) June 1965 (with Willie Stargell)	Succeeded by Eddie Mathews Pete Rose
Preceded by Early Wynn	Cy Young Award 1960	Succeeded by Whitey Ford
Preceded by Ken Boyer	Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 1965	Succeeded by Brooks Robinson
Preceded by none	NL Comeback Player of the Year 1965	Succeeded by Phil Regan
Sporting positions
Preceded by Clyde King	Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach 1968–1969	Succeeded by Don Osborn