» September 18, 1931: Lefty Grove wins his 30th game, beating the White Sox, 3–1, on five hits. He is the first to win 30 since Jim Bagby of Cleveland in 1920 and will be the last AL hurler to do so until Denny McLain in 1968.

» April 8, 1963: The Tigers claim young pitcher Denny McLain from the White Sox for the $25,000 waiver price.

» June 27, 1964: New York edges Detroit, 5–4, beating Denny McLain. Mickey Mantle's homer in the 4th inning makes it 4–1.

» June 15, 1965: Tigers P Denny McLain makes a first-inning relief appearance and fans the first seven batters he faces, setting a ML record. He has a remarkable 14 strikeouts in 62/3 innings, tying the National League relief record (Marquard, 1911, eight innings) and one shy of Walter Johnson's major-league record (15 in 11 1/3 innings, 1913). Detroit rallies to beat Boston 6–5 as Bill Freehan records a record-tying 19 putouts at catcher.

» September 18, 1965: On Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium, 50,180 fans see Mantle play his 2,000th game. Joe DiMaggio and Bobby Kennedy are on hand as Mantle is given a barbecue grill in the shape of a prairie schooner and a six-foot Kosher salami weighing 100 pounds. In Mantle's first at bat, Detroit's Joe Sparma comes off the mound to shake his hand. Mick then flies out. Detroit wins, 4–3, with reliever Denny McLain getting the win.

» May 30, 1966: Denny McLain pitches his 2nd one-hitter of the month. Phil Roof's 5th-inning double is Kansas City's only safety in Detroit's 5–2 win.

» August 29, 1966: Detroit's Denny McLain tosses 229 pitches, gives up eight hits, walks nine and strikes out 11 Orioles to win his 16th victory.

» May 20, 1967: At Tiger Stadium, Denny McLain beat the Yankees, 3–1. New York's only score is a tremendous homer by Mickey Mantle into the deep seats in right center.

» September 2, 1967: Minnesota takes the American League lead on Dave Boswell's 5–0 victory over Denny McLain and Detroit.

» September 18, 1967: Boston rallies to beat the 1st place Tigers in Detroit. A Carl Yastrzemski home run, his 40th, ties the game 5–5 in 9th inning and a solo home run by Dalton Jones wins it in the 10th. Hours later, Detroit will receive another blow when Denny McLain leaps off a couch and sprains his left ankle. He will not pitch until the last game of the year.

» April 21, 1968: Behind complete-game wins by Earl Wilson and Denny McLain, the Tigers beat the White Sox, 4–1 and 2–1, to stretch their win victory streak to nine games. The Sox have yet to win.

» May 10, 1968: Denny McLain wins 12–1 at Washington, as the Tigers pass the first-place Orioles. Detroit will remain in the lead for the rest of the season.

» May 25, 1968: Detroit OF Al Kaline is hit by the A's Lew Krausse's pitch and suffers a broken arm. He will be out until June 30th. The Tigers win, 2–1, behind Denny McLain, who scores the game's first run in the 8th. The A's run in the 9th is unearned.

» June 24, 1968: Detroit RF Jim Northrup becomes the 6th American League player to hit two grand slams in one game, connecting in the 5th inning off Eddie Fisher and in the 6th off Billy Rohr, as the Tigers bomb Cleveland 14–3. Denny McLain is the victor. First baseman Willie Smith pitches the last three innings, walking just one and allowing one hit and no runs. Detroit's Don Wert is taken to the hospital following a 6th inning beaning which shatters his batting helmet. He will miss just a few games.

» June 29, 1968: Jim Northrup's 3rd grand slam ties the major-league record for slams in a month (Rudy York, May 1938), and sets a major-league record for slams in a week. The Tigers win 5–2 over Chicago, as Denny McLain tallies his 14th victory.

» July 7, 1968: Denny McLain, the major leagues' winningest pitcher with 16, helps Detroit take a nine 1/2 game lead in the A.L. at the All-Star break, as the Tigers sweep the A's 5–4 and 7–6. McLain wins the opener when Willie Horton clubs a 3-run homer, and Al Kaline matches that in the nitecap.

» July 27, 1968: In Baltimore, Denny McLain (20–3) shuts out the Orioles 9–0 for his 20th win of the season for the first-place Tigers. McLain is only the 3rd pitcher in history to win his 20th this early: Rube Marquard on July 19, 1912 and Lefty Grove on July 25, 1931 were the others.

» August 16, 1968: Detroit's Denny McLain is 16-0 on the road after blanking the Red Sox 4–0 in Boston. Tigers C Bill Freehan is hit by a pitch in three consecutive at bats, painfully tying a ML record. He will be hit a record tying 24 times this season.

» August 24, 1968: New York's Mel Stottlemyre tops the Tigers ace Denny McLain, 2–1.

» September 1, 1968: Denny McLain notches his 27th win of the season beating the Orioles 7–3. McLain helps the Tiger cause by starting a 3rd inning triple play.

» September 6, 1968: Denny McLain notches win number 28, beating the Twins, 8–3. The Tigers score four runs off Jim Kaat before the first out is recorded. Minnesota rookie Graig Nettles hits his first homer, off Denny.

» September 14, 1968: Denny McLain becomes the first 30-game winner since Dizzy Dean in 1934, as the Tigers beat the A's 5–4. Reggie Jackson's homer in the 4th puts the A' s ahead 2–0 but Norm Cash answers with a 3-run shot. Reggie hits another in the 6th, but the Tigers push across two in the 9th to win. Kaline, pinch hitting for McLain, walks and scores the tying run. Denny (30–5) gives up six hits and strikes out 10.

» September 19, 1968: Denny McLain's 31st win is overshadowed by Mickey Mantle's 535th homer. McLain allegedly calls C Jim Price out and tells him to inform Mantle he's throwing the slugger nothing but fastballs. The home run gives Mantle undisputed hold of 3rd place on the all-time home run list. Mantle tips his cap to Denny as he rounds 3B. Pepitone, the next batter, signals where he would like the ball, and McLain dusts him. The Tigers win the game, 6–2, the 12th straight complete game for the Tigers staff.

» September 28, 1968: Seeking his 32nd win, Denny McLain pitches seven scoreless innings against Washington and leaves with a 1–0 lead. But the Senators score two in the 9th off McMahon to win, 2–1.

» October 2, 1968: For the first time in history, two soon-to-be-named MVPs oppose each other. St. Louis' Bob Gibson is nearly untouchable with a World Series-record 17 strikeouts and a 4–0 win over Denny McLain. Detroit manager Mayo Smith moves Gold Glove CF Mickey Stanley to SS, improving his offense by opening a spot for Al Kaline.

» October 6, 1968: In Game Four St. Louis dumps Detroit 10–1. Bob Gibson, fanning 10, earns his 7th straight Series victory. Denny McLain gives up four runs, and is relieved in the 3rd after a rain delay. Lou Brock shines with a double, triple, home run, four RBI, and a steal that gives him seven in four games.

» October 9, 1968: Denny McLain returns to form, scattering nine singles, as Detroit evens the World Series with a 10-run 3rd inning and 13–1 win at St. Louis.

» November 1, 1968: Denny McLain is the unanimous American League winner of the Cy Young Award.

» November 5, 1968: Denny McLain is the unanimous choice as American League MVP.

» April 12, 1969: At Detroit, the Yanks Mel Stottlemyre allows just one hit -— a 4th inning double by Bill Northrup -— in beating Denny McLain and the Tigers, 4–0. For the 3rd time in two years, Northrup saves the Tigers from being the victims of a no hitter.

» July 23, 1969: Willie McCovey hits two home runs as the National League beats the American League 9–3 for its 7th straight All-Star Game win. Mel Stottlemyre starts for the AL when Denny McLain is late arriving from a dental appointment.

» August 17, 1969: The Tigers tie a club record with six homers, and Denny McLain wins his 19th, beating the A's at Oakland, 9–4. Al Kaline homers in the 7th and 9th off relievers, but the first three Bengal homers come off starter Catfish Hunter.

» September 15, 1969: Denny McLain records his 9th shutout, a Tiger record, beating New York 2–0 at Yankee Stadium.

» November 6, 1969: Denny McLain and Mike Cuellar finish dead even in American League Cy Young Award voting.

» February 19, 1970: Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announces the suspension of Tigers ace Denny McLain, effective April 1st, for McLain's alleged involvement in a bookmaking operation. The suspension will last three months.

» July 1, 1970: The return of Denny McLain following his suspension is witnessed by a gathering of 53,863 fans and 71 writers. He is knocked out of the box in the 6th inning, but the Tigers rally to beat the Yankees in the 11th, 6–5.

» September 9, 1970: Bowie Kuhn hands Denny McLain his third suspension of the year, this one is for carrying a gun, plus other unspecified charges, and ends McLain's season with a 3-5 record.

» October 9, 1970: The Tigers trade Denny McLain to the Senators in an 8-player deal that also sees OF Elliott Maddox, 3B Aurelio Rodriguez, and P Joe Coleman change teams. This ranks as one of Detroit's best trades ever.

» May 23, 1971: With 53,337 on hand Mickey Lolich and Les Cain, with three innings from Joe Niekro, notch shutouts as the Tigers sweep a doubleheader from the Senators 5–0 and 11–0. The loser in the opener is Denny McLain, making his first appearance in Detroit since being traded. Al Kaline and Norm Cash each hit 2-run homers off Denny, with Cash adding another pair, one with the sacks full, in the nitecap.

» September 20, 1971: The Senators beat the Indians 8–6 in 20 innings, thus completing a suspended game begun six days earlier in Cleveland. The two teams finish the 20 frames with 30 walks issued, an American League record for an extra-inning game. Washington pitchers hand out 19 walks. The two teams combine on another AL record as they strand 25 base runners, and the teams combine for record four runs in the 20th inning. In the nitecap, the Indians win, 3–1, handing Denny McLain his 21st defeat. Meanwhile, Senators owner Bob Short is given permission to move his team to Texas, where they will become the Rangers, a nickname adopted on November 23rd.

» September 26, 1971: Washington P Denny McLain loses his 22nd game of the season, dropping a 6–3 decision to the Red Sox.

» March 4, 1972: The Texas Rangers (formerly the Washington Senators) trade 2-time Cy Young Award winner Denny McLain to the A's for two pitchers.

» June 29, 1972: In a swap of former MVPs, the Braves send 1B Orlando Cepeda to the A's for P Denny McLain.

» July 4, 1972: Denny McLain makes his National League debut in the 2nd game of a twinbill with the Cubs, called in the 8th inning because of rain. McLain gets no decision in the 3–3 tie, but gets a standing ovation at the end from the crowd of 50,597. Atlanta wins the opener, 5–1, as Ron Reed beats Juan Pizarro. Paul Casanova's first NL homer and Lum's 3-run homer in the 7th account for four runs.

» March 27, 1973: The Braves release P Denny McLain, ending his stormy big-league career two days before his 29th birthday.

» March 19, 1984: Denny McLain, the last ML pitcher to achieve a 30-win season, is indicted on various charges of racketeering, loan-sharking, extortion, and cocaine possession.

» March 16, 1985: Denny McLain, winner of the American League Cy Young Award in 1968, is convicted of racketeering, extortion, and cocaine possession in Tampa, Florida.

» November 12, 1986: Roger Clemens wins the American League Cy Young Award unanimously, joining Denny McLain (1968) as the only pitchers to do so.

» August 26, 1995: Atlanta P Greg Maddux ties a major league record by notching his 16th consecutive road win, a 7-2 victory over his former team, the Cubs. Maddux now shares the record with Denny McLain, Cal McLish, and Rich Dotson.

» May 7, 1997: Former Tiger star Denny McLain is sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution for stealing from the pension fund of a company he owned. The company, Peet Packing, went bankrupt 18 months after McLain bought it.

» April 6, 1999: The U.S. government garnishes Denny McLain's pension in order to reimburse the pension fund that he was convicted of laundering money from. McLain was recently divorced and under the terms of the settlement, all of the assets went to his wife, including his pension, while McLain got all of the debts. But, a federal judge overruled that and ordered that all of McLain's pension benefits be used to reimburse his victims.