Don McMahon

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
6-2, 215lb (188cm, 97kg)
Born: January 4, 1930 in Brooklyn, NY us
Died: July 22, 1987 in Los Angeles, CA
Buried: Good Shepherd Cemetery, Huntington Beach, CA
High School: Erasmus Hall HS (Brooklyn, NY)
Debut: June 30, 1957 (11,473rd in major league history)
vs. PIT 4.0 IP, 2 H, 7 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER
Last Game: June 29, 1974
vs. LAD 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER
Full Name: Donald John McMahon
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1957

Johnny Roseboro
Roger Maris
Jim Landis
Claude Osteen
Milt Pappas
Lenny Green
Tony Kubek
Jim Gentile
Juan Pizarro

Notable Events and Chronology 

SearchSearch Events, Dates and More Date (Newest)Title (A - Z)

July 13, 1958

Orlando Cepeda’s third homer in three days and Felipe Alou’s run-scoring hit in the 9th, give the Giants a 6 – 5 win over the Braves. San Francisco now leads the Braves by a half game.

May 25, 1960

George Crowe sets a major league record by hitting his 11th career pinch-hit home run

August 12, 1961

Frank Thomas delivers a walk off win for the Braves

August 21, 1961

In their first appearance in Boston since moving to Milwaukee, the Braves defeat the Red Sox, 4 – 1

April 29, 1962

Roman Mejias belts a walkoff homer off Don McMahon to beat Milwaukee, 3-2

November 30, 1962

Righthander Don Nottebart is purchased from the Milwaukee Braves

April 14, 1963

Colts score four times against Sandy Koufax in the sixth to emerge with a 5-4 victory over the Dodgers

July 31, 1971

Dave Kingman’s first career homerun is a game winning grand slam

June 25, 1973

Don McMahon comes out of retirement to go 4-0 with 1.48 ERA

Biography

A relief pitcher who didn’t rely on gimmicks, the well-traveled McMahon threw a fastball and a simple overhand curve for 18 ML seasons, and when he retired, only Hoyt Wilhelm, Lindy McDaniel, and Cy Young had pitched in more games. McMahon played before the dominating bullpen closer had emerged as a baseball position, and he never saved more than 19 games in a single season, but the stocky righthander was always in demand as durable, hard throwing reliever.

McMahon was converted to relief pitching in the minors by manager Whitlow Wyatt after he had gone 2-13, 5.01 as a starter for Toledo (American Association) in 1955, and in 1957 he reached the ML, posting a 1.54 ERA in 32 appearances for the World Champion Braves. He led the NL with 15 saves in 1959, then in 1962 he began a sojourn that took him to seven different clubs in eight seasons. The Braves sold him to the Astros in 1962 (where he made his only two ML starts, both losses), who sold him to the Indians after 1963. McMahon saved 27 games in two seasons with the Indians, then switched teams in mid-season each year from 1966 to 1969, yet still posted a 1.98 ERA in 1967 and again in 1968. The Indians traded McMahon to the Red Sox with Lee Stange for Dick Radatz in 1966, and the Red Sox shipped him to the White Sox for Jerry Adair in 1967. Chicago traded him to Detroit for Dennis Ribant the following year, and in 1969 the Tigers sold him to San Francisco, where he spent his final six seasons. In 1971 McMahon led the NL with nine relief wins and recorded a career-high 19 saves for the Giants

Don McMahon held Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Johnny Bench, Harmon Killebrew, Bill Mazeroski, Joe Morgan, Stan Musial, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, and Willie Stargell to a .149 collective batting average (28-for-188)

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Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts