The 1966

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

season was the 66th consecutive season for the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

franchise in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor 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 A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. The team attracted 1,124,293 fans to Tiger Stadium, fifth in the ten-team circuit.

Regular season

The 1966 season saw the maturation of the core of the

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

world champion Tiger club, and the addition of starting

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Earl Wilson, a future 20-game winner. But it was marred by the in-season illnesses, ultimately fatal, that struck

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Chuck Dressen Charles Walter Dressen (September 20, 1894Dressen's birthdate has been revised from 1898, as was commonly reported in ''The Sporting News' Baseball Register'' and ''Macmillan's Baseball Encyclopedia'', to 1894 by both Baseball Reference and Retr ...

and his immediate successor, interim pilot

Bob Swift Robert Virgil Swift (March 6, 1915 – October 17, 1966) was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, standing tall and weighing . He threw and batted right-handed. ...

. Dressen, 71, suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on May 16 (his second in two years) with Detroit 16–10, three games behind the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. 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 Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

, and he was forced to step aside. Dressen died August 10, and Swift succumbed October 17. Another Tiger coach,

Frank Skaff Francis Michael Skaff (September 30, 1910 – April 12, 1988) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) infielder, coach, manager and scout. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1935 and for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1943, and served as act ...

, 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 Edward Mayo "Catfish" Smith (January 17, 1915 – November 24, 1977) was an American professional baseball player, manager, and scout who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics. Smith had a 39-year baseball career ...

as their new manager for

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, and Smith would lead them to within one game of the 1967 pennant and the 1968 world title.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* April 11, 1966: Mike Marshall was purchased by the Tigers from the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. * June 7, 1966:

Les Cain Leslie Cain (born January 13, 1948) is an Americans, American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Detroit Tigers. He batted and threw left-handed. In a four-season career, Cain posted a 23–19 record with 303 stri ...

was drafted by the Tigers in the 4th round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft. * June 14, 1966:

Don Demeter Donald Lee Demeter (June 25, 1935 – November 29, 2021) was an American professional baseball outfielder, third baseman, and first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) over all or parts of 11 seasons for the Brooklyn / Los Angel ...

and a player to be named later were traded by the Tigers to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

for

Joe Christopher Joseph O'Neal Christopher (born December 13, 1935) is a former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through . Listed at 5' 10", 175 lbs., he batted and threw right-handed. Christopher reached the big ...

and Earl Wilson. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Julio Navarro to the Red Sox at June 21. * July 2, 1966: Tim Hosley was signed by the Tigers as an amateur free agent.Tim Hosley page at Baseball Reference
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Roster

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rocky Mount

Notes

References

*
1966 Detroit Tigers season at Baseball Reference
{{Detroit Tigers Detroit Tigers seasons Detroit Tigers season

1966 in Detroit