Dean Chance

Wilmer Dean Chance (June 1, 1941 - October 11, 2015) spent 11 seasons as a Major League Baseball player, and in 1964 became the youngest pitcher to win the Cy Young Award. Chance was a standout athlete at his West Salem, Ohio, high school, setting several state records including a 52–1 career record. His professional baseball odyssey began in 1958 when he signed as an amateur free agent with Baltimore Orioles, but while still in their minor league system was traded to the Washington Senators and then to the Los Angeles Angels (1961-1966), the team for which Chance ultimately made his big league debut. Chance had an outstanding 1962 rookie campaign, winning 14 games with a 2.96 ERA and tying for third as American League Rookie of the Year. He had an incredible 1964 season as well, going 20-9 (collecting the most wins in the American League) and also topping the standings in ERA (1.65), complete games (15), shutouts (11), and innings pitched (278.1). The season earned him his first of two All-Star Games appearances (1964, 1967) as well as a Cy Young. When Angeles management felt their shining star was beginning to dim, Chance was traded to the Minnesota Twins (1967-1969) … where in 1967 he earned AL Comeback Player of the Year honors with a 20-14 record and led the league in starts (39), complete games (18), and innings pitched (283.2), while also earning a respectable 2.73 ERA. In August of that year, Dean pitched his one and only no-hitter versus the Cleveland Indians … a team he would find himself traded to in 1970. He ended playing days with a brief stop on the New York Mets roster (1970), as well as the Detroit Tigers (1971). He holds a 128-115 record with a 2.92 ERA in 406 games. In the 1990s, he founded the International Boxing Association.