Chance, "Dean" (Wilmer Dean)
Baseball
b. June 1, 1941, Wayne, OH
A right-handed pitcher, Chance joined the AL's expansion Los Angeles Angels near the end of the 1961 season and established himself as the team's best pitcher the following year. In his first three years, he appeared in 100 games, starting 63, had a 27-30 record, and also picked up 11 saves.
Chance won the league's Cy Young Award in 1964, leading the league in victories with a 20-9 record, complete games with 15, shutouts with 11, innings pitched with 278, and ERA with 1.65.
After slipping to 15-10 and 12-17 the next two seasons, Chance was traded to the Minnesota Twins. He had a 20-14 record with them in 1967, leading the league in complete games with 18 and in innings pitched with 283 while compiling a 2.73 ERA.
In 1968, Chance had just a 16-16 record despite a 2.53 ERA. The following year, he developed arm problems and appeared in only 20 games. He joined the Cleveland Indians in 1970 and was used mostly in relief before being traded to the New York Mets of the NL near the end of the season. He retired after having a 4-6 record with the Detroit Tigers in 1971.
Chance had a career 128-115 record with 33 shutouts and a 2.92 ERA. He struck out 1,534 hitters and walked 739 in 2,147 1/3 innings.