14 Facts About Dean Chance

Wilmer Dean Chance was an American professional baseball player.

Dean Chance attended West Salem's Northwestern High School and starred on the baseball team and basketball teams, but baseball is where Dean Chance would shine.

Dean Chance led the Huskies to the Class A state semifinals in 1958 and a championship in 1959.

On December 14,1960, Dean Chance was drafted by the Washington Senators as the 48th pick in the 1960 AL expansion draft.

Immediately following the draft, Dean Chance was traded by the Senators to the Los Angeles Angels for outfielder Joe Hicks.

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Dean Chance had an outstanding rookie campaign in 1962, winning 14 games with an ERA of 2.

Dean Chance responded by winning 20 games for the Twins in 1967, leading the AL in games started, complete games and innings pitched.

Dean Chance later said that umpire Ed Runge's wide strike zone had a lot to do with him keeping the Indians off the basepaths.

The Twins nearly won the 1967 pennant, but Dean Chance was outdueled in the season's final game, at Fenway Park, by Boston's Jim Lonborg, chasing Dean Chance in with 5 runs in the sixth despite getting only one ball out of the infield, and the Red Sox emerged as surprise league champions — with Lonborg winning the 1967 AL Cy Young trophy in the process.

Dean Chance held out prior to the 1969 season and was successful in having his salary cut by "only" $5,000.

Dean Chance was traded again on March 30,1971, this time to the Detroit Tigers along with reliever Bill Denehy for minor league pitcher Jerry Robertson.

Dean Chance founded the International Boxing Association during the 1990s, managed many fighters, and was its long-time president.

Dean Chance had one child, son Brett, who graduated from Ohio State University in 1985 and worked as an executive for the Ohio State Fair, the Ohio Expo Center, and Instagram.

Dean Chance died at his home in Wooster on October 11,2015 at the age of 74.