Photos by Matt Tarket | CatchMark
WHITEHALL — Denny McLain and Rev. Larry Foster went on to wildly different careers with the Detroit Tigers, but they’ve remained friends since meeting as roommates coming up through the bigs.
McLain, 78, and Foster, 84, reunited Sunday at Lakeshore Golden Cards & Collectibles, 612 E. Colby St., in Whitehall, for a signing event.
McLain was a 31-game winner for the Tigers’ World Series champion team in 1968, the last big-league pitcher to notch 30 or more victories. He was 31-6 that season en route to winning the AL Cy Young Award, an honor he also earned in 1969. The right-hander went 131-91 in 10 seasons of Major League Baseball. He was the AL MVP in 1968 and a three-time all-star.
Foster, who resides in Whitehall, signed a professional contract with the Tigers in 1958. He was in the Tigers’ organization for six years and spent one year in the minors with the Cleveland Indians. He pitched two innings of big-league ball for the Tigers in 1963 before he retired and became a Lutheran pastor. The Lansing Sexton alumnus was inducted in the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2006,
Watch the video below and see the photos above (footage courtesy of CatchMark’s Matt Tarket) from McLain’s and Foster’s visit.
