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Donald John McMahon
Detroit Tigers
Pitcher
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 1957-62; Houston Colt .45s 1962-63; Cleveland Indians 1964-66; Boston Red Sox 1966; Chicago White Sox 1967-68; Detroit Tigers 1968-69; San Francisco Giants 1969-74
World Series Appearances: Milwaukee Braves 1957-58; Detroit Tigers 1968
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 (#565), Lindy McDaniel (#191) and Cy Young. He's currently 37th 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 (1972-75, 1980-82), Twins (1976-77) and Indians (1983-85). McMahon was working as an instructional coach and scout for the Dodgers in 1987 when he passed away after suffering a heart attack.
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 (#565), Lindy McDaniel (#191) and Cy Young. He's currently 37th 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 (1972-75, 1980-82), Twins (1976-77) and Indians (1983-85). McMahon was working as an instructional coach and scout for the Dodgers in 1987 when he passed away after suffering a heart attack.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #585
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
The Card / Tigers Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
McMahon began the season back in the Tigers' bullpen, where he appeared in 34 games and was 3-5 with a 3.89 ERA in 60 2/3 innings pitched. He was the club's saves leader with 11. On August 8th, and with the Tigers still in the hunt for the American League East pennant, the 39-year-old McMahon was traded to the Giants for a player to be named later. The Giants sent Cesar Gutierrez (#16) to the Tigers on September 2nd. McMahon relieved in 13 games for the Giants, going 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA and a pair of saves.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #147
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17): 1958-74
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1974 Topps #78
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 78 in the Beckett online database as of 10/24/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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 26th of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the 26th of 91 cards for set added overall on the day, and it cost a little over $4 after the dealer discount.
The Card / Tigers Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Topps had a habit of using unflattering pictures of McMahon for his baseball cards, and a hatless version of this photo appears on his 1968 Topps card. He appears to be wearing a road Red Sox uniform here, as the White Sox, his team in 1967 and 1968, had blue-ish road uniforms during those years. As depicted in the cartoon on the back, and as backed up by his SABR biography, McMahon worked the off-seasons as a scout for the Oakland Raiders.
Accuracy Index: McMahon's card scores a -8 for the former team jersey and blacked out hat.
1969 Season
McMahon began the season back in the Tigers' bullpen, where he appeared in 34 games and was 3-5 with a 3.89 ERA in 60 2/3 innings pitched. He was the club's saves leader with 11. On August 8th, and with the Tigers still in the hunt for the American League East pennant, the 39-year-old McMahon was traded to the Giants for a player to be named later. The Giants sent Cesar Gutierrez (#16) to the Tigers on September 2nd. McMahon relieved in 13 games for the Giants, going 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA and a pair of saves.
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First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #147
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17): 1958-74
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1974 Topps #78
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 78 in the Beckett online database as of 10/24/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
