Chance reflects on Cy Young season 50 years ago
By AARON DORKSEN; AARON DORKSEN | |
Proquest LLC |
A few thoughts from the week in sports ...
The players in the
All-Stars like
They all had to start somewhere, though.
Once in a while All-Stars even come from tiny high schools like Northwestern. Fifty years ago this summer,
They knew anything was possible when 23-year-old
Asked to reflect on the 50th anniversary of that magical year, Chance said, "It's unreal how fast it's went.
"It's an award that people always remember you for," added the 73- year-old Chance, who lives on a farm in New Pittsburg not far from where he grew up. "It's like winning the Heisman Trophy in football."
Just a few years after leading Northwestern to Class A state titles in basketball (1958) and baseball (1959), Chance put this area on the national map when he represented the
The 6-foot-4 righthander finished the season 20-9 with 11 shutouts and a 1.65 ERA, while striking out 207 batters and walking just 86 in 278 innings pitched. He was voted the Cy Young winner back when only one award was given out between both leagues.
Chance did all that despite pitching for a recent expansion team, which began play in 1961. He won five games 1-0 to tie the major league record and his 13 career 1-0 wins are fifth in baseball history, according to
My favorite stat from Chance's Cy Young season is this: He allowed only one earned run in 60 innings against the eventual
START OF SOMETHING BIG -- Chance had arguably the greatest high school pitching career in OHSAA history, setting records that still stand including career wins (52-1), no-hitters in a season (eight) and in a career (17).
There was no draft then and the
The American League expanded in 1961, though, and after the
Chance saw his first time in the big leagues in 1961, going 0-2 for the
ALL-STAR MOMENT -- Although Chance's record at the All-Star break was just 5-5 in 1964, he had a 2.19 ERA and had just pitched 14 straight scoreless innings. It helped persuade AL manager
"The first two hitters I faced were
BEST STUFF IN BASEBALL -- The 1964 season ended with an historic run for Chance, as he went 15-4 in the second half to easily win the Cy Young Award. He beat out the likes of Hall of Famers
"You've gotta get the breaks," Chance said. "Koufax got hurt that year and he was out a month.
"I actually had started the season in the bullpen because of a blister and could only pitch for an inning or two before it broke open. Once it healed and I got into the rotation, things just started to click."
"For a time, he had as good of stuff on the mound as there ever was," said McLain, who went 31-6 for the
Chance easily topped 90 mph with his fastball, which coupled with a devastating slider and intimidating windup made him virtually unhittable at times.
Former
"He had a real twisting motion, he'd look toward second and then whip back around," said Reichardt, who was a rookie for the
"He also had a great breaking ball, but with that motion you just couldn't trust him that he wasn't going to put one in your ear."
Reichardt was in the lineup when Chance earned his 20th win by beating
AWARDS CIRCUIT -- It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Chance would win the Cy Young after the season. The announcement was still a pretty big deal even though there was nothing like today's 24-hour news media.
"I was home in
Friends and fans in
"A guy in
"(
The testimonial dinner was held in January, 1965, and attracted a star-studded cast to the Huskies' gym, which included the likes of
Local businessman
In
Chance made it back to the All-Star Game in 1967 with the
The wear and tear of topping 225 innings for six straight years led to injuries that eventually slowed his career, but despite playing on only one playoff team (1967
LIFE AFTER BASEBALL -- Chance has done many things since retiring, including serving as the president of the
When he's not at a fight, Chance tries to watch as much local high school basketball as he can and is still a big supporter of the Huskies. He's carried on the legacy of his late former Northwestern coach,
Only one other graduate of an area high school has played in the major leagues since Chance retired:
That alone shows how tough it is to reach the majors, but they proved it's not impossible.
PARTING SHOTS --
Monheim is among five
Monheim was the first true freshman to lead the Illini in tackles (86 in 2012) and finished ninth in the
n It was another enjoyable awards dinner for the eighth annual
It was nice to meet their fine parents and the above-mentioned Chance was a special guest of co-sponsors
Only one other time have both DR Athlete of the Year winners come from the same school: 2009-10 when
n One of the toughest questions
If push came to shove, I'd hold on to Wiggins -- and hope to sign Love after he can become a free agent next year. Watching summer league highlights of Wiggins, I'm picturing him developing into a
Copyright: | (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |
Wordcount: | 1909 |
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