1966 Detroit Tigers season

Major League Baseball season March 2026 November 2013 Detroit Tigers 1966 American League Tiger Stadium Detroit, Michigan 88 74 y 3rd John Fetzer Jim Campbell Chuck Dressen, Bob Swift, Frank Skaff WJBK(George Kell, Ray Lane) WJR(Ernie Harwell, Gene Osborn) The 1966 Detroit Tigers season was the 66th consecutive season for the Detroit franchise in the American League. The Tigers, who had finished fourth in the ten-team AL in 1965 with an 89–73 record, won one less game in 1966, going 88–74, but moved up to third in the league, ten full games behind the eventual world champion Baltimore Orioles. The team attracted 1,124,293 fans to Tiger Stadium, fifth in the ten-team circuit.1966 AL Attendance, Baseball Reference Regular season The 1966 season saw the maturation of the core of the 1968 world champion Tiger club, and the addition of starting pitcher Earl Wilson, a future 20-game winner. But it was marred by the in-season illnesses, ultimately fatal, that struck manager Chuck Dressen and his immediate successor, interim pilot Bob Swift. Dressen, 71, suffered a heart attack on May 16 (his second in two years) with Detroit 16–10, three games behind the Cleveland Indians. He was admitted to a Detroit hospital and third-base coach Swift, 51, took the reins as acting manager, as he had done in 1965. Under Swift, the Tigers won 32 of their next 57 games. But during the July 11–13 All-Star break, with Detroit in second place, eight games behind Baltimore, Swift was hospitalized for rapid weight loss and what was first suspected to be food poisoning. Tests revealed that he was suffering from lung cancer, and he was forced to step aside. Dressen died August 10, and Swift succumbed October 17. Another Tiger coach, Frank Skaff, finished the season as acting manager, with the team playing only one game above the .500 mark for him, at 40–39. The Tigers eventually hired Mayo Smith as their new manager for 1967, and Smith would lead them to within one game of the 1967 pennant and the 1968 world title. Season standings Detroit Tigers Record vs. opponents DET Notable transactions April 11, 1966: Mike Marshall was purchased by the Tigers from the Philadelphia Phillies.Mike Marshall page at Baseball Reference June 7, 1966: Les Cain was drafted by the Tigers in the 4th round of the 1966 Major League Baseball draft.Les Cain page at Baseball Reference June 14, 1966: Don Demeter and a player to be named later were traded by the Tigers to the Boston Red Sox for Joe Christopher and Earl Wilson. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Julio Navarro to the Red Sox at June 21.Joe Christopher page at Baseball Reference July 2, 1966: Tim Hosley was signed by the Tigers as an amateur free agent.Tim Hosley page at Baseball Reference Roster 1966 Detroit Tigers Roster Pitchers 37 Hank Aguirre 18 Terry Fox 20 Fred Gladding 46 Bill Graham 39 John Hiller 49 George Korince 29 Mickey Lolich 17 Denny McLain 27 Bill Monbouquette 42 Julio Navarro 28 Orlando Peña 22 Johnny Podres 15 Larry Sherry 21 Joe Sparma 14 Dave Wickersham 16 Earl Wilson Catchers 35 Arlo Brunsberg 11 Bill Freehan 34 Orlando McFarlane Infielders 25 Norm Cash  9 Jerry Lumpe  3 Dick McAuliffe  1 Ray Oyler 32 Don Pepper 44 Dick Tracewski  8 Don Wert  2 Jake Wood Outfielders 26 Gates Brown  4 Don Demeter 23 Willie Horton  6 Al Kaline 30 Jim Northrup 24 Mickey Stanley Manager  7 Chuck Dressen 55 Frank Skaff 51 Bob Swift Coaches 52 Pat Mullin (First base) 53 Stubby Overmire (Pitching) 12 Mike Roarke (Bullpen) 55 Frank Skaff (Bench/third base) 51 Bob Swift (Third base) Player stats Batting Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C Bill Freehan 136 492 115 .234 12 46 1B Norm Cash 160 603 168 .279 32 93 2B Jerry Lumpe 113 385 89 .231 1 26 SS Dick McAuliffe 124 430 118 .274 23 56 3B Don Wert 150 559 150 .268 11 70 LF Willie Horton Willie Horton (baseball) 146 526 138 .262 27 100 CF Al Kaline 142 479 138 .288 29 88 RF Jim Northrup Jim Northrup (baseball) 123 419 111 .265 16 58 Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Mickey Stanley 92 235 68 .289 3 19 Jake Wood Jake Wood (baseball) 98 230 58 .252 2 27 Ray Oyler 71 210 36 .171 1 9 Gates Brown 88 169 45 .266 7 27 Orlando McFarlane 49 138 35 .254 5 13 Dick Tracewski 81 124 24 .194 0 7 Don Demeter 32 99 21 .212 5 12 Arlo Brunsberg 2 3 1 .333 0 0 Don Pepper 4 3 0 .000 0 0 Pitching Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Denny McLain 38 264.1 20 14 3.92 192 Mickey Lolich 40 203.2 14 14 4.77 173 Earl Wilson Earl Wilson (baseball) 23 163.1 13 6 2.59 133 Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Dave Wickersham 38 140.2 8 3 3.20 93 Johnny Podres 36 107.2 4 5 3.43 53 Hank Aguirre 30 103.2 3 9 3.82 50 Bill Monbouquette 30 102.2 7 8 4.73 61 Joe Sparma 29 91.2 2 7 5.30 61 Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Larry Sherry 55 8 5 20 3.82 63 Orlando Peña 54 4 2 7 3.08 79 Fred Gladding 51 5 0 2 3.28 57 Terry Fox Terry Fox (baseball) 4 0 1 1 6.30 6 George Korince 2 0 0 0 0.00 2 Bill Graham Bill Graham (baseball) 1 0 0 0 0.00 2 John Hiller 1 0 0 0 9.00 1 Julio Navarro Julio Navarro (baseball) 1 0 0 0 inf 0 Farm system Minor league baseball AAA Syracuse Chiefs International League Frank Carswell AA Montgomery Rebels Southern League Wayne Blackburn A Rocky Mount Leafs Carolina League Al Federoff A Daytona Beach Islanders Florida State League Gail Henley A Statesville Tigers Western Carolinas League Al Lakeman and George Spencer LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rocky Mount Notes 2 References Baseball Johnson Lloyd Wolff Miles The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 2nd Durham, N.C. Baseball America 1997 978-0-9637189-8-3 1966 Detroit Tigers season at Baseball Reference Category:Detroit Tigers seasons Detroit Tigers season Detroit Tigers Category:1966 in Detroit