#317 Don McMahon - Cleveland Indians

Donald John McMahon
Cleveland Indians
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  215
Born:  January 4, 1930, Brooklyn, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams:  Milwaukee Braves 1957-1962; Houston Colt .45s 1962-1963; Cleveland Indians 1964-1966; Boston Red Sox 1966; Chicago White Sox 1967-1968; Detroit Tigers 1968-1969; San Francisco Giants 1969-1974
Died:  July 22, 1987, Los Angeles, CA (age 57)

One of the most durable relievers of his era, Don McMahon never spent a day on the disabled list during his lengthy 18-year big league career.  McMahon pitched five scoreless innings in three games against the Yankees in the 1957 World Series, helping the Braves win their first and only championship while in Milwaukee.  In 1958, his second year in the majors, he was named to the All-Star team as the Braves again won the National League pennant.  McMahon appeared in at least 30 games every season between 1957 and 1972, setting a personal high with 70 appearances in 1964.  He saved at least 10 games in seven different seasons.  McMahon won his second World Series ring with the Tigers in 1968, appearing in 45 games and earning a 1.98 ERA.  He'd finish up his lengthy career with six seasons in the Giants' bullpen, serving as a player-pitching coach for the team in the early 1970s.

Upon his retirement, McMahon's 874 career games pitched were fourth on the all-time list behind Hoyt Wilhelm (#276), Lindy McDaniel (#244) and Cy Young.  He's currently 35th all-time in games pitched, and he started only twice throughout his career.  McMahon was 90-68 lifetime with a 2.96 ERA, 152 saves and 1,003 strikeouts.  He served as the pitching coach for the Giants (1972-1975, 1980-1982), Twins (1976-1977) and Indians (1983-1985).  He was working as an instructional coach and scout for the Dodgers in 1987 when he passed away after suffering a heart attack.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime - Fair Lawn, NJ) - Card #490
This is the sixth of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March.  We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room.  This McMahon card was a little over $4 and was one of 13 cards purchased from the dealer America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up by mid-October.  So get used to seeing this passage on the blog!  It's entirely feasible we complete our 1965 Topps set by the end of 2022, although nine of the remaining 12 cards needed are fairly expensive.

The Card / Indians Team Set
There have been quite a few players in this set I had little knowledge of before adding their cards and composing these posts.  As a lifelong baseball fan, I feel I should have had some knowledge of McMahon, but I honestly had never heard of him or his 18-year big league career.  I'm equally happy and embarassed when I stumble across a player I never knew about as we've been collecting this set.  I'm happy when I get to learn about someone whose career I knew nothing about and slightly embarrassed/surprised there are still so many holes in my baseball knowledge.

Topps didn't exactly use a flattering photo of McMahon here, and they'd use a photo from the same session on his 1966 Topps card.  The cartoon highlight on the back celebrates his six World Series appearances to date, and he'd go on to pitch in two more games for the Tigers in the 1968 World Series.  His 70 appearances with the Indians in 1964 led the team by far, with Gary Bell (#424) and his 56 appearances a distant second.

1965 Season
McMahon relieved in 58 games for the Indians, and was 3-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 85 innings pitched.  Only fellow closer Bell made more appearances with 60.  McMahon saved 11 games to Bell's 16.

1958 Topps #147

1963 Topps #395

1969 Topps #616

1972 Topps #509

1974 Topps #78

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1958 Topps #147
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17):  1958-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1974 Topps #78

76 - McMahon non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/3/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Next Card:  #318 Matty Alou - San Francisco Giants