About Dean Chance
Wilmer Dean Chance (June 1, 1941 – October 11, 2015) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he played in 11 Major League Baseball seasons for the Los Angeles / California Angels, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets and Detroit Tigers. With a touch of wildness and the habit of never looking at home plate once he received the sign from his catcher, Chance would turn his back fully towards the hitter in mid-windup before spinning and unleashing a good fastball, sinker or sidearm curveball. In 1964, Chance became at the time the youngest pitcher to win the Cy Young Award when, as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, he led the American League in wins (20), innings pitched (2781⁄3) and earned run average (1.65—as of 2023, a franchise record) and was third in the A.L. in strikeouts. He pitched 11 shutouts (also a franchise record as of 2024) that season, winning five of those by a 1–0 score. At the time, only one Cy Young Award was given in all of MLB; since 1967, separate awards have been given in the AL and the National League. Chance's Cy Young Award was the third in a string of five consecutive Cy Young Awards won by a pitcher from a Los Angeles–based team. The others were won by Dodger pitchers: Don Drysdale in 1962 and Sandy Koufax in 1963, 1965, and 1966. After his 1964 season in which he won the Cy Young Award and was elected to his first All-Star Game, Chance went 15–10 in 1965 and 12–17 in 1966, despite a respectable ERA of 3.08.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.