RIP Dick Hughes

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OldRed
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RIP Dick Hughes

Post by OldRed »

He was 88.

Hughes’s rookie campaign in 1967 was one of the most remarkable single‑season performances in Cardinals history. At age 29, he went 16‑6 with a 2.67 ERA over 222⅓ innings, leading the National League in WHIP (0.954) and hits per nine innings (6.6). His poise and efficiency earned him second place in Rookie of the Year voting and 17th in MVP balloting. Hughes anchored a rotation that included Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton, helping propel St. Louis to a World Series championship over Boston.
12xu
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by 12xu »

He pitched 9 years in the minors before getting to the Show, and led the Cardinals in victories with those 16 wins in '67. Unfortunately he tore his rotator cuff in '68 which eventually ended his pitching career. RIP
OldRed
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by OldRed »

12xu wrote: 09 May 2026 06:49 am He pitched 9 years in the minors before getting to the Show, and led the Cardinals in victories with those 16 wins in '67. Unfortunately he tore his rotator cuff in '68 which eventually ended his pitching career. RIP
I guess we have to a certain age to remember what a good pitcher he was in '67.
jcgmoi
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by jcgmoi »

What a year he had in 67. RIP Dick.

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LewisL
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by LewisL »

OldRed wrote: 09 May 2026 07:03 am
12xu wrote: 09 May 2026 06:49 am He pitched 9 years in the minors before getting to the Show, and led the Cardinals in victories with those 16 wins in '67. Unfortunately he tore his rotator cuff in '68 which eventually ended his pitching career. RIP
I guess we have to a certain age to remember what a good pitcher he was in '67.
And in the era of all those legendary pitchers, Hughes's WHIP was best in the league that season, along with least hits allowed per 9.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/play ... di01.shtml
82birds
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by 82birds »

RIP Dick
MIDMOBIRDTWO
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by MIDMOBIRDTWO »

Saw him pitch in 67 against the Giants. Mays had four hits that day including two long home runs. So Dick did not win that day. He was from Arkansas, the locals all had good things to say about him. RIP Dick.
casey1024
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by casey1024 »

jcgmoi wrote: 09 May 2026 08:26 am What a year he had in 67. RIP Dick.

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I had this baseball card as a kid.......ahhh the days!
sikeston bulldog2
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by sikeston bulldog2 »

jcgmoi wrote: 09 May 2026 08:26 am What a year he had in 67. RIP Dick.

Image
I had that card. Always remember the glasses.
davdaddy
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by davdaddy »

82birds wrote: 09 May 2026 08:46 amRIP Dick
That's what I say each night :lol:
sp25
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by sp25 »

sikeston bulldog2 wrote: 09 May 2026 11:24 am
jcgmoi wrote: 09 May 2026 08:26 am What a year he had in 67. RIP Dick.

Image
I had that card. Always remember the glasses.
The blue hat always surprised me as my Fandom started after they had moved full-time to red hats.

Mr. Hughes got his ring, well done
nighthawk
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by nighthawk »

The starting rotation is a reminder of the fallacy that pitchers could load up their arms with innings and not feel the deleterious effects... ...as though they were "extra tough" or some such nonense.

Gibson and Carlton were the clear abberations -- able to endure the rigors of innings pitched and complete games for a long time.

Hughes never pitched 200 innings in any minor league season, but he did in 1967 at the major league level. He only managed 63 innings the following year because of an arm injury and was done at age 30.

Larry Jaster was 23 in 1967 and had a fine year going 9-7 with a 3.01 ERA. The following year he was sporting seven wins with an eye-popping 1.79 ERA in the first half of the 1968 season, but then hurt his shoulder and had a 6.36 ERA after July 14 and was relegated to the bullpen for the series. He never pitched 100 innings again and was done as a player at age 28.

Ray Washburn was a 29-year-old veteran on the staff, but had chronic arm injuries. In 1967, he pitched 200+ innings for the first time in his career. He never managed to pitch more than 135 innings after that and was done in 1970.
Voldemort
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by Voldemort »

sikeston bulldog2 wrote: 09 May 2026 11:24 am
jcgmoi wrote: 09 May 2026 08:26 am What a year he had in 67. RIP Dick.

Image
I had that card. Always remember the glasses.
I did too!
sikeston bulldog2
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by sikeston bulldog2 »

Voldemort wrote: 09 May 2026 12:10 pm
sikeston bulldog2 wrote: 09 May 2026 11:24 am
jcgmoi wrote: 09 May 2026 08:26 am What a year he had in 67. RIP Dick.

Image
I had that card. Always remember the glasses.
I did too!
Yea. As a kid from 5-6 till who knows, we played ball all day. Huge amounts of baseball. Anyway after we played we would go to store and drink DP and buy packs of baseball cards. Gum was great.

Many cards ended up on the spokes of the bike. Wish I knew then what I know now.
She didn't know I was a midget
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by She didn't know I was a midget »

jcgmoi wrote: 09 May 2026 08:26 am What a year he had in 67. RIP Dick.

Image
(bleep)! I always cherished that 68 card.
Ordinary Man
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Re: RIP Dick Hughes

Post by Ordinary Man »

I still remember the televised almost no-hitter (actually perfect game for 7 innings) that became a loss against Cincinnati in late May. A rain delayed start, another long delay after 6. An accidental bloop double that tied the score for Cincy, who eventually went ahead by one. And later, Orlando Cepeda not running from third on a double play ball that should have tied the score for the Cards in the ninth.

Instead Cepeda is tagged out at home for a game ending triple play. Hughes struck out 13 batters in 8 innings
(a complete game as Cincy didn't bat in the 9th) and stopped Pete Rose's 25 game hit streak.

I felt bad for Hughes at the time but he had a great season for the Cards and as a 29 year old rookie, was on a World Series winner. RIP Mr. Hughes.

https://retrosimba.com/2013/05/18/how-c ... -and-lost/