National Sports

NEW YORK, Oct. 2--Whitey Ford, chunky New York Yankee left-hander, whipped Milwaukee's Warren Spahn in today's World Series opener 3-1 while 69,476 basked in the warm sunshine of a perfect fall afternoon.

Showing complete recovery from the arm miseries that bothered him during most of the regular season, Ford held the National League champions to five hits.

Beating Spahn, Milwaukee's 21-game winning ace, was an important step for the Yankees. Most observers figured 36-year-old Spahn has to win two games to end the Bombers' reign.

Encouraged by the success of Ford, Manager Casey Stengel named Bobby Shantz, another left-hander, to work tomorrow's game.