Ryne Duren

A
New York Yankee pitching legend, now an Alcohol and Drug Abuse Educator devoted to
teaching others about the alcohol and drug abuse, which put an early end to his career,
Mr. Duren was presented with the 1983 Yankee Family Award not for his pitching
prowess, but for the way he conquered an illness and for dedicating his life to helping
others conquer the same illness alcoholism.
Ryne is a charter member of the American College of Sports Medicines Alcohol
Use and Abuse Standing Committee. He is a
member of the Board of Directors of Winning Beyond Winning.
He has been featured in national documentaries and talk shows and has written a
book on his life story entitled THE COMEBACK.
From The Ballplayers:
Durens career peaked quickly. In
1958 he won six and saved a league-high 20 games in just 44 appearances. He was often brilliant in New Yorks World
Series victory over the Braves, going 1-1 (1.93) with a save. He saved 14 in 1959, at one point going 18 games
36 innings without allowing a run. In
those two seasons he allowed only 89 hits, fanning 183 in just 151 innings. But drinking did Duren in. Though he continued to record more strikeouts than
innings, his downhill slide was swift, as his records show.
His decline, despair, and hard-won recovery are chronicled in his autobiography, The
Comeback.