Books and articles about John Hiller

Hiller nearly died when he suffered a massive stroke in 1971, but after a miraculous recovery he was pitching again for the Tigers by the end of 1972. He posted 38 saves in 1973 to set a ML record and win Comeback Player of the Year and Fireman of the Year honors. He was also 10-5 with a 1.44 ERA and led the AL with 65 appearances.

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After a moderately successful career as a reliever and occasional starter (he tied a since-broken ML record for consecutive strikeouts from the start of a game with six on August 6, 1968) Hiller missed all of 1971 after being stricken. He came back as a batting-practice pitcher in June 1972 and returned to action a month later, helping Detroit to the division title and winning Game Four of the LCS. Hiller set some more relief marks in 1974, the year after his save record, when his 17-14 record (13 saves) tied both the AL mark for relief wins and the ML standard for relief losses. The Canadian had several more seasons as the ace of the Tigers' bullpen and retired with a club-record 125 saves. (JFC)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » September 16, 1967: Norm Cash drives in five runs and John Hiller goes the distance, enabling Detroit to take the American League lead with a 9–1 win over the Yankees. » January 11, 1971: Tigers P John Hiller, age 27, suffers a heart attack and will miss the 1971 season. Hiller will have seven feet of intestine removed to relieve a cholesterol problem before making a remarkable comeback. » July 8, 1972: The Tigers lose to the White Sox 5–2 as Detroit's John Hiller returns to the mound 18 months after suffering a heart attack. » September 30, 1972: The Tigers take their 3rd in a row from Milwaukee as John Hiller throws a 5-hitter. Aurelio Rodriguez's 3-run home run is the margin in the 5–1 win. The Tigers now return home to face the Red Sox in a 3-game series that will determine which team wins the East. » September 12, 1974: Detroit P John Hiller picks up his 17th win in relief, an American League record, as he beats Milwaukee, 9–7. » June 1, 1976: Detroit reliever John Hiller wins both games 8–7, 7–5 against the Brewers, who blow 6–0 and 2–0 leads. Milwaukee reliever Eddie Rodriguez takes both losses. » April 22, 1978: Mark Fidrych, who had to leave his last game when his shoulder tightened, warms up but is unable to start against Texas. But the Tigers top the Rangers, 7–6, in 10 innings, on the strength of John Hiller nifty four innings of shutout relief. » May 16, 1978: The Tigers top Seattle, 4–2, in 16 innings, winning on a home run by Lance Parrish. Steve Foucault, who pitches the last three innings, gets the win. Relief ace John Hiller tosses six 2/3 shut out innings. The M's Ruppert Jones ties a major-league record for CF by making 12 putouts. » May 19, 1978: Detroit's Bob Sykes, after two straight shutouts, finally is scored upon, giving up two runs against the Red Sox in eight innings. John Hiller relieves in the 9th for a 7–5 Detroit win. » June 20, 1978: Toronto is defeated for the 3rd consecutive game by a Canadian-born pitcher. The Blue Jays lose to John Hiller of Detroit, after having previously tasted defeat at the hands of Ferguson Jenkins and Reggie Cleveland of the Texas Rangers. » June 5, 1979: In Seattle, Willie Horton hits an apparent home run, his 300th, but the drive off John Hiller strikes a speaker in left centerfield and all Willie gets is a single. Butch Hobson hit the same speaker on April 25, but got a triple out of it. Jack Billingham and Hiller combine on a 4-hitter to beat Seattle, 3–1. Tomorrow, Horton belts his 300th, off Jack Morris, in Seattle's 4–3 win. » May 30, 1980: John Hiller, 37, who recovered from a 1971 heart attack to become one of baseball's best relievers, retires. His 545 games pitched are the most in Tiger history. The Tigers hit five home runs in trouncing California 12–1. » September 13, 1983: Dan Quisenberry breaks John Hiller's all-time single-season save record, recording the final two outs of the Royals' 4–3 win over the Angels for his 39th save of the season.