This is a tale of three left-handers – all three doomed for success.

Karl Spooner was a fire-balling left-hander who struck out 15 batters in his first big league game. The date was September 22, 1954. He was a September call-up for the Brooklyn Dodgers and pitched a three-hit, complete-game shutout against the New York Giants that first time out.

Just four days later, on September 26, he shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates on four hits while striking out 12 hitters. That gave him two complete-game shutouts in his first two games while racking up 27 strikeouts in his first 18 innings.

Talk about a future doomed for success.

But the following spring, Karl Spooner so severely injured his left arm during spring training that he struggled through an 8-6 season, lost his fast ball, and was effectively out of baseball after pitching a disastrous third of an inning against the Yankees in Game 6 of the 1955 World Series.

In the bottom of the first, he sandwiched walks to Phil Rizzuto and Gil McDougald around a strikeout of Billy Martin, followed by back-to-back singles to Yogi Berra and Hank Bauer, and a three-run homer to Moose Skowron.

Karl Spooner never pitched again in the big leagues. His doom turned into failure.

But the Dodgers farm system was rich in talent back then. Another left-hander stepped in to take Spooner’s place. His name was Sandy Koufax and he’d already pitched two shutouts of his own during the 1955 season. His first was a two-hit, 14-strike-out masterpiece over the Cincinnati Reds and his second was a five-hitter over the Pirates while striking out six.

Another future doomed for success.

If you’re a baseball fan of almost any age, you’ve most likely know that Sandy Koufax developed into a Hall of Famer whose name is included in any discussion of baseball’s greatest lefties.

At that same time – the 1955 baseball season – the Cleveland Indians had their own left-hander who seemed destined to be included in discussions about baseball’s greatest left-handers. His name was Herb Score.

While Karl Spooner was on his way out of baseball and Sandy Koufax was breaking in with two wins as a rookie, Herb Score established himself as a star during his rookie season. He won 16 games with a sparkling 2.85 ERA, and he led the American League with 245 strikeouts – in 227 innings.

Herb Score doomed for success.

And Herb Score defied the sophomore jinx the following season – 1956 – by going 20-9 with a 2.53 ERA and again leading the league in strikeouts with 263. After Score’s second season, Mickey Mantle called him the toughest left-hander he’d ever faced.

If you’ve never heard of this pitching sensation, it’s because – like Karl Spooner – his future changed into Herb Score doomed for failure.

The date was May 7, 1957 – exactly 58 years ago today.

Score was making his fifth start of the season, facing the Yankees in a home game at Cleveland’s cavernous Municipal Stadium. He’d already recorded two wins in what appeared to be the beginning of another 20-win season. His ERA was 2.04.

Hank Bauer led off for the Yankees and bounced out Al Smith at third. Up to the plate stepped Yankee shortstop Gil McDougald. He was a tough two-hole hitter who was starting the season with a .294 average.

Score started McDougald with a low fastball.

McDougald swung and drilled a vicious line drive back toward the pitcher’s mound. McDougald hit the ball with such velocity that Herb Score never had time to react. The line drive struck Score in the face with an ominous thud and he went down as if he were shot.

The ball bounced toward third. Al Smith fielded it and and had no troble throwing out McDougald because the Yankee shortstop wasn’t running toward first base – he was running toward the mound, rushing to the aide of the fallen Herb Score.

Score was carried off the field on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital. Facial bones were broken and his vision was impaired. Herb Score eventually regained 20/20 eyesight, but he never recovered mentally from that injury.

Herb Score hung around for another six years with both the Indians and the Chicago White Sox trying to regain his pitching prowess, but he never did. His career numbers ended up 55-46 with a 3.3.6 ERA.

After his playing career ended, he worked in the Indians radio and TV booth for 34 years. On October 8, 1998, Herb Score was driving to Florida for his induction into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame when he ran a stop sign and pulled his car into the path of a tractor-trailer. He spent a month in intensive care, but recovered well enough to throw out the first pitch at Cleveland’s home opener for the 1999 season.

He suffered a stroke in 2002 and died six years later after an extended illness. The Indians wore an “HS” black patch on their uniforms during the 209 season.

So there you have it. Three great left-handers broke into baseball during the same era. One became a Hall-of-Famer. Ironically, the two who didn’t make the Hall of Fame just might’ve been better pitchers than the one who did – but we’ll never know.

Barry Bowe is the author of Born to Be Wild, 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant, and 12 Best Eagles QBs.