McDowell, Jack B.
Baseball
b. Jan. 16, 1966, Van Nuys, CA
Nicknamed "Black Jack" by his teammates because of his dark beard, McDowell was a 6-foot-5, 188-pound right-handed pitcher for the Stanford team that won the 1987 College World Series. He then signed with the Chicago White Sox, who had chosen him in the first round of the amateur draft.
After spending most of the 1987 season in AA baseball, McDowell joined the White Sox in September, compiling a 3-0 record and a 1.93 ERA. He became a full-time starter in 1988, but was generally ineffective and was back in the minors the following season.
In 1990, though, McDowell was back with the White Sox to begin a string of four winnning seasons. He led the American League in complete games with 15 in 1991 and 13 in 1992 and won the Cy Young Award as the league's outstanding pitcher in 1993. That season, McDowell was the league leader in victories with a 22-10 record and in shutouts with 4.
After going 25-19 over the next two seasons, McDowell was traded to the New York Yankees. Although he had a 15-10 record, he spent only one season in New York, signing with the Cleveland Indians in December of 1995.
Arm problems then began to dog him. McDowell kept trying to pitch despite a strained muscle in his right forearm, which exacerbated the problem and finally forced him onto the disabled list in 1996. He missed most of the following season because of elbow surgery.
McDowell went to the Anaheim Angels as a free agent in 1998 but was able to start only 18 games in two seasons there because of recurrent elbow problems. The Angels released him in August of 1999 and he announced his retirement.