Dean Chance

[Al from SoDak]

Wilmer Dean Chance was born June 1, 1941, in Wooster, Ohio.

After high school, the Baltimore Orioles signed Chance. After two seasons in the Orioles minor league system, the expansion Washington Senators chose Chance in the expansion draft of 1960, but he was immediately traded to the Angels. He would debut with the Angels on September 11, 1961, against our Minnesota Twins. He went 7 1/3 innings, allowing four runs, and took the loss.

In 1962 he finished third in Rookie of the Year voting. By 1964, he made the All-Star team and won the Major League Cy Young Award (prior to there being two separate awards for the American and National Leagues).

In December of 1966, Chance was traded to Minnesota for Pete Cimino, Jimmie Hall, and Don Mincher. In 1967, he was selected to the All-Star Game for a second time and threw a no-hitter.

During his time with the Twins, Chance won 41 and lost 34. His ERA was 2.67 (126 ERA+). He pitched 664 innings and struck out 504 batters. His WHIP was 1.069.

Chance was part of another big trade in December of 1969. He was traded to Cleveland with Bob Miller, Graig Nettles, and Ted Uhlaender for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. He played with Cleveland and the New York Mets in 1970, and the Tigers in 1971. He was released by Detroit after the 1971 season thus ending his baseball career.

After baseball, Dean Chance worked as a boxing manager and promotor before becoming president of the International Boxing Association.

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[Cornholio]

One of my favorites as a kid. Wilmer is his correct first name.

[David HK]

One of my faves for those late-60s Twins- the team I grew up with.  Man, that was a hell of a club.

Damn you, Orioles...

[Jaka23212]

On 2/18/2025 at 12:33 PM, Cornholio said:

One of my favorites as a kid. https://sharpedgeshop.com/ Wilmer is his correct first name. https://kobilabs.com/

cool