Dean-Chance-Obituary

Dean Chance

1941 - 2015 (Age 74)

About

DIED
October 11, 2015
AGE
74

Obituary

Dean Chance, the Cy Young Award-winning pitcher who palled around with the Hollywood jet set, died Sunday, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Associated Press reported. He was 74. According to the Star Tribune, while no official cause of death has been released, a former teammate, Jim Kaat, attributed the death to a heart attack. Born in 1941 in Wooster, Ohio, Chance started his baseball career in 1959 with the Baltimore Orioles. During his 11 years in the major leagues, he played for the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets and Detroit Tigers. In 1964 with the Angels, Chance became the youngest pitcher, at the time, to win the Cy Young Award, leading the American League in wins and innings pitched. His ERA that year set a franchise record that remained uneclipsed until 2013. A right-hander and two-time All-Star with a taste for wildness, Chance was known for his habit of never looking at home plate once he received the sign from his catcher, keeping his back turned until he unleashed his pitch on the unsuspecting hitter. His appetite for excitement led him, with famed teammate Bo Belinsky, into the glittering world of 1960s Hollywood, sharing exploits with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe. After his retirement, Chance worked as a carnival midway barker until he founded the International Boxing Association during the 1990s, where he managed fighters and served as the organization's longtime president. He was inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame in August 2015.

Guest Book

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Funny story was in a gin rummy tournament in Las Vegas and i played this man a little over weight his name tag on him said dean chance this was 1988 I said there was a great picture that won the cy young award with the same name you have and he said thats me well we became friend play gin after the tournament and he met me in a club in Connecticut where i played gin all the time he had something he did with the circus He called me and we played I never seen him again what a great person he...

My all-time favorite major leaguer. It was a thrill watching you pitch at Yankees Stadium in the late 1960's and then catching up with you at a card show in the late 1990's where I had the opportunity to show you the scrap book I had kept for you for many years. RIP.

I never met Dean but followed his athletic career after having seen his basketball skills demonstrated at an Ohio High School Basketball Tournament. The game I saw, he was unstoppable and along with Bose Johnson they dominated the team I was, incidentally, backing. A great athlete!

Bill Kincaid
New Vienna, Ohio

One of my favorites

I am truly sorry for your loss. May you take comfort in knowing that our Loving Creator never intended for death to be a part of life. He promises us, " from the power of the grave I [ God ] will redeem them. " Hosea 13 : 14.

My condolences to the family and friends of Dean Chance, the pride of Wooster, Ohio and a legend at Northwestern High School. You will be sadly missed and remembered by thousands of baseball fans across the country. I can remember being 11 years old and catching you in Little League basball in New Pittsburg. I have never forgotten my mask being knocked off by one of your pitches--a memory never forgotten over the past 50 plus years... Thanks for giving so much.

To The Family, Being born and raised in New York I always was a Yankee fan. However, I remember Mr. Dean Chance quite well. A gifted athlete indeed! Please accept my deepest thoughts of sympathy in the passing of your loved one. Sincerely, T. Sterling

Dean owned the Yankees in 1964. What a great year for Dean. Will be remembered fondly.