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Philip Raymond Regan
Chicago Cubs
Pitcher
Born: April 6, 1937, Otsego, MI
Signed: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1960-65; Los Angeles Dodgers 1966-68; Chicago Cubs 1968-72; Chicago White Sox 1972
World Series Appearances: Los Angeles Dodgers 1966
As a Manager: Baltimore Orioles 1995
For parts of seven decades, Phil Regan has been involved with professional baseball as a pitcher, coach or manager. Affectionally nicknamed "the Vulture" by Sandy Koufax for his proclivity of picking up late game wins in relief, Regan enjoyed his best seasons in the mid-1960s with the Dodgers. Prior to coming to Los Angeles, he was a 10-game winner with the Tigers in three different seasons. Regan was an All-Star with the Dodgers in 1966, a year in which he led the league with 21 saves and went 14-1 with a 1.62 ERA, earning him some MVP votes. He earned National League Reliever of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year honors from The Sporting News for his career year. Regan also pitched well for the Dodgers in that year's World Series, but his club was swept in four games by the Orioles. He'd lead the league again in saves in 1968 with 25, then as a member of the Cubs' pitching staff. Regan made at least 50 pitching appearances five years in a row between 1966 and 1970. For his career, he was 96-81 over 551 games with a 3.84 ERA and 92 saves.
After retiring as a player, Regan began a long second career as a collegiate, minor and major league coach, as well as a long-time manager in the Venezuelan Winter League. At the major league level, Regan coached with the Mariners (1984-86), Indians (1994 and 1999), Cubs (1997-98) and Mets (2019). He managed the Orioles for one season in 1995, guiding the team to a third place finish and a 71-73 record.
As a Manager: Baltimore Orioles 1995
For parts of seven decades, Phil Regan has been involved with professional baseball as a pitcher, coach or manager. Affectionally nicknamed "the Vulture" by Sandy Koufax for his proclivity of picking up late game wins in relief, Regan enjoyed his best seasons in the mid-1960s with the Dodgers. Prior to coming to Los Angeles, he was a 10-game winner with the Tigers in three different seasons. Regan was an All-Star with the Dodgers in 1966, a year in which he led the league with 21 saves and went 14-1 with a 1.62 ERA, earning him some MVP votes. He earned National League Reliever of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year honors from The Sporting News for his career year. Regan also pitched well for the Dodgers in that year's World Series, but his club was swept in four games by the Orioles. He'd lead the league again in saves in 1968 with 25, then as a member of the Cubs' pitching staff. Regan made at least 50 pitching appearances five years in a row between 1966 and 1970. For his career, he was 96-81 over 551 games with a 3.84 ERA and 92 saves.
After retiring as a player, Regan began a long second career as a collegiate, minor and major league coach, as well as a long-time manager in the Venezuelan Winter League. At the major league level, Regan coached with the Mariners (1984-86), Indians (1994 and 1999), Cubs (1997-98) and Mets (2019). He managed the Orioles for one season in 1995, guiding the team to a third place finish and a 71-73 record.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #575
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
In his first full season with the Cubs, Regan pitched in 71 games, the third highest total among all National League relievers. He was 12-6 with a 3.70 ERA in 112 innings pitched. Regan's 17 saves led the Cubs and were the fifth most in the league.
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show. The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year. I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova. I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.
I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set. The first place I stopped was a table with well-organized and well-marked binders of commons and semi-stars with 20% Off notes across the front of each binder.
I took my time and found 32 commons and semi-stars needed before asking to see the dealer's star cards from the set. It turned out this first purchase was also my biggest, as I spent over half my allotted budget here, America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, before moving on to my second stop. This was the 16th of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the 16th of 91 cards for set added overall on the day, and it cost a little over $2 after the dealer discount.
The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Regan is wearing a Dodgers jersey here, and the veteran pitcher was acquired from Los Angeles by the Cubs on April 23, 1968 with Jim Hickman (#63) for Jim Ellis and Ted Savage (#471). Hatless photos in the later series of the set are somewhat rare, and it's surprising Topps couldn't get a picture of Regan in his Cubs gear in time for this card's release. The cartoon recounts an impressive feat as Regan twice won both ends of double headers in 1968, doing it on April 21st against the Mets (while he was still with the Dodgers) and on July 7th against the Pirates. In his Cubs debut, he saved both ends of a double header on April 28th against the Astros.
Accuracy Index: Regan's card scores the somewhat standard -8.
1969 Season
In his first full season with the Cubs, Regan pitched in 71 games, the third highest total among all National League relievers. He was 12-6 with a 3.70 ERA in 112 innings pitched. Regan's 17 saves led the Cubs and were the fifth most in the league.
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First Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #439
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1961-72, 1987
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2021 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-PR
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 87 in the Beckett online database as of 10/11/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
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