Very sad news. RIP Mr. Chance.
Someone should also mention that during his glorious 1964 season, he threw 6 edge-of-your-seat 1-0 victories! This feat established a new major league record. There's something noble and heroic when a pitcher nurses a 1-0 lead. Makes the fans nervous as they watch such a tight game; they load up on popcorn, peanuts, hot dogs, Cokes, and beer to enjoy the excitement and soothe their "noives". To have the 20-9 record he compiled in '64, and with that microscopic 1.65 ERA, the light-hitting Angels must have always struggled to get Dean the sufficient runs he needed to win a game. Dean was absolutely no help for his own cause; notoriously, he was one of the worst hitting pitchers in MLB history. As it was, amazingly, he was only 5-5 on July 1, 1964, then went 15-4 the rest of the year!
By the way, the Society for American Baseball Research wrote that Dean pitched five 1-0 shutouts in '64, as did his New York Times obituary. My information came from the 1971 BASEBALL REGISTER, as published by THE SPORTING NEWS. I will stick with the latter, as THE SPORTING NEWS was more of an authority on baseball.
Maybe Dean Chance did not last many years, but he made a huge impression while he toiled the mound. If memory serves, Mickey Mantle did not relish having to face Dean, switch-hitting as he could. I looked up the entry for Dean on the site of the Society for American Baseball Research. Sure enough, on SABR's Biography Project, they led off the entry of Dean Chance with this quote from a certain notable baseball figure:
"Every time I see his name on a lineup card, I feel like throwing up." ---Mickey Mantle
No further comment necessary. ---Brian Powell