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John Frederick Hiller
Detroit Tigers
Pitcher
Born: April 8, 1943, Toronto, Canada
Signed: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent, June 16, 1962
Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1965-70, 1972-80
World Series Appearances: Detroit Tigers 1968
John Hiller pitched in parts of 15 big league seasons, all with the Tigers, and is the franchise's all-time leader in pitching appearances with 545. Hiller was briefly a swingman for the Tigers in the late 1960s, and he was 9-6 with a 2.39 ERA in 39 games and 12 starts for the 1968 Tigers team that won the World Series. Hiller suffered a heart attack in January 1971, costing him the entire season, but he returned to the Tigers in 1972 stronger and fitter than before his lengthy hospitalization and surgery. Now a full-time reliever, he helped the Tigers win the American League East pennant in 1972, winning Game 4 of the ALCS against the Athletics. 1973 was by far his career year. Hiller was 10-5 with a 1.44 ERA in 65 appearances, saving a then single-season record of 38 games. He was named Comeback Player of the Year and Fireman of the Year by The Sporting News. In 1974, Hiller was named to his only All-Star Game.
John Hiller pitched in parts of 15 big league seasons, all with the Tigers, and is the franchise's all-time leader in pitching appearances with 545. Hiller was briefly a swingman for the Tigers in the late 1960s, and he was 9-6 with a 2.39 ERA in 39 games and 12 starts for the 1968 Tigers team that won the World Series. Hiller suffered a heart attack in January 1971, costing him the entire season, but he returned to the Tigers in 1972 stronger and fitter than before his lengthy hospitalization and surgery. Now a full-time reliever, he helped the Tigers win the American League East pennant in 1972, winning Game 4 of the ALCS against the Athletics. 1973 was by far his career year. Hiller was 10-5 with a 1.44 ERA in 65 appearances, saving a then single-season record of 38 games. He was named Comeback Player of the Year and Fireman of the Year by The Sporting News. In 1974, Hiller was named to his only All-Star Game.
He continued to pitch well for the Tigers throughout the 1970s, leading the team in saves each year between 1973 and 1976, and again in 1978. Hiller announced his retirement in 1980 after breaking the Tigers' team record of 538 games pitched, previously held by Hooks Dauss, who pitched with the club between 1912 and 1926. Hiller was 87-76 in the majors, with a 2.83 ERA and 1,036 strikeouts to go along with his 125 career saves. He's currently third on the Tigers' all-time saves leaders list behind Todd Jones (235) and Mike Henneman (154).
Building the Set / Card #529
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables. The aim was simple: Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664. In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the 85th of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me less than $1.50.
The Card / Tigers Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
Hiller's photo looks to have been taken during spring training, and I'd guess those are other photographers walking around the field behind him, taking photos of other players. #23 on the Tigers, making a cameo below Hiller's right elbow, is slugger Willie Horton (#180). The write-up on the back mentions Hiller's record setting start during which he struck out six straight Indians batters. It happened on August 6, 1968 and the Indians batters were Jose Cardenal (#325), Chico Salmon (#62), Lou Johnson (#367), Tony Horton, Joe Azcue (#176) and Max Alvis (#145). Tommy Harper (#42) singled to start the third, breaking the streak. The current record holder for consecutive strikeouts to start a game is Pablo Lopez, who did it for the Marlins in 2021.
Accuracy Index: Hiller's card earns a standard +5.
1969 Season
In 40 games, including eight starts, Hiller was 4-4 with a 3.99 ERA in 99 1/3 innings pitched. He pitched a shutout against the Yankees on June 17th, and had four saves for the season.
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First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #209
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1966, 1968-71, 1973-80
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2022 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JH
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 72 in the Beckett online database as of 7/12/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#641 N.L. Rookie Stars / #643 Billy Cowan - New York Yankees
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