Frank Tanana faced a difficult choice after high school: professional baseball or one of more than 100 college basketball scholarships. When the California Angels selected the Detroit Catholic Central standout with their first pick in the 1971 draft the decision was made.

Tanana signed and first reported to the Midwest League’s Quad Cities team and immediately impressed. In two minor-league seasons, the left-hander went 24-8 with a 2.73 earned. He debuted with the Angels at age 20 in 1973, bringing a blazing fastball that sometimes reached triple digits.

Tanana quickly became one of baseball’s most exciting young pitchers. From 1973 through 1979, he teamed with Nolan Ryan to give the Angels a formidable one-two punch. Their dominance inspired the memorable rhyme, “Tanana and Ryan and two days of cryin’.” Tanana earned three consecutive All-Star selections from 1976 through 1978 and led the American League in ERA in 1977.

An arm injury in 1979 robbed Tanana of much of his fastball, forcing him to reinvent himself as a crafty control pitcher. He adapted successfully, winning 149 games from 1980 through his retirement in 1993. Across 21 major-league seasons, the former fireballer collected 240 victories.

The collection includes this questionnaire, filled out and signed by Tanana. Its opening question asks about his success against Hall of Fame sluggers Hank Aaron, Carl Yastrzemski, and Al Kaline. Together, the three stars managed just five hits in 39 at-bats against him. Tanana offered a humble explanation: “I pitched against those great players when I was at my best and they were at the end of their careers!!” The remaining answers offer further insight into the left-hander’s remarkable career.

Frank Tanana rewrote the Angels’ record for strikeouts in a season by a left-handed pitcher during the mid-1970s. In 1974 the hard-throwing southpaw fanned 180 batters. That total surpassed the previous franchise mark of 169 set by Rudy May in 1972.

A year later Tanana pushed the standard even higher. He struck out 269 hitters in 1975 and claimed the American League lead. That single-season total for an Angels left-hander has stood for more than half a century.

Tanana’s teammate from 1973 through 1979, Nolan Ryan, still owns the overall franchise record. Ryan racked up 383 strikeouts in 1973. That figure also ranks as the highest single-season total by any pitcher since 1900.

Shown here is Ryan’s autograph on a ticket to Game 3 of the 1969 World Series. That contest marked his only Fall Classic appearance. In the game Ryan recorded a save for the champion Mets.

Frank Tanana carved his own place among the American League’s top strikeout artists in the 1970s. While his teammate Nolan Ryan dominated the category, Tanana finished among the top seven four times during the decade and once claimed one crown himself.

Ryan holds the all-time record with 5,714 career strikeouts. From 1972 through 1979 he led the American League every year but one. In five of those seven title seasons he topped the 300-strikeout mark.

The only time Ryan did not pace AL pitchers in Ks during that run was in 1975. That year Tanana fanned 269 batters to lead the league and extended his own franchise record for strikeouts by a southpaw.

Overall Tanana finished among the top 10 in strikeouts five times. In 1974 he ranked seventh with 180. After his 1975 title he placed second with 261 in 1976 and third with 205 in 1977. He returned to the top 10 in 1985 with 159 strikeouts.

Shown here is a lineup card signed by Tanana’s strikeout teammate Ryan from one of his most memorable days—his 300th win. On July 31, 1990, the 43-year-old right-hander worked 7⅔ innings against the Brewers. He allowed three earned runs while striking out eight. The Rangers won 11-3.

Frank Tanana finished in the top four of American League Cy Young voting in both 1975 and 1976. Each year the award went to the league’s wins leader, Jim Palmer.

In 1975 Tanana posted a 16-9 record with a 2.62 ERA. He struck out an AL-best 269 batters and produced 7.4 WAR. That performance earned him a fourth-place finish. He tied with Jim Kaat behind Palmer, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers. Palmer led the league with 23 wins that season.

The next year Tanana improved to 19-10 with a sparkling 2.43 ERA. He fanned 261 hitters and posted 7.5 WAR. Voters placed him third behind Palmer and Mark Fidrych. Palmer again paced the American League with 22 victories.

Shown here is a 1976 Topps Victory Leaders baseball card signed by Palmer, who led the American League with 22 wins, and Randy Jones, who led the National League with 22 wins.

The California Angels joined the American League in 1961, beginning a long search for their first postseason appearance. Through their fist 18 seasons, the franchise never captured a division title or reached the playoffs. The club occasionally fielded winning teams, but never sustained enough success to break through.

That changed in 1979, when the Angels assembled their strongest team yet. First baseman Rod Carew, acquired from Minnesota before the season, brought a batting-title pedigree and elite contact hitting. Don Baylor, the 1979 American League MVP, supplied power and run production, while Bobby Grich strengthened the infield. On the mound, Nolan Ryan and Frank Tanana anchored manager Jim Fregosi’s rotation.

The Angels entered September in first place a half-game ahead of Kansas City, winners of the last three AL West crowns. The Royals stayed close. On September 24th they began a make-or-break three-game sereis at Anaheim trailing the Angels by four games with six to play.

The Angels won the first game behind Ryan’s five-hit complete-game. Another win would clinch the division. The Angels sent Tanana to the mound on with their first postseason berth on the line.

The left-hander delivered a complete-game five-hitter, allowing one run in a 4–1 victory. When Tanana finished the job the 40,631 fans celebrated the franchise’s breakthrough. The victory clinched the Angels’ first American League West championship and their first-ever postseason berth.

Shown here is a ticket from that historic September 25th game in 1979, signed by Tanana. He added the inscription, “CG clinches Angels first postseasson,” commemorating the complete-game performance that ended the franchise’s long postseason drought.

Frank Tanana established himself as one of the California Angels’ premier pitchers during the 1970s. In 1975, he led the majors with 269 strikeouts and finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting. He followed with a career-best 19 wins in 1976, posting a 2.43 ERA and finishing third in Cy Young voting. Tanana earned three consecutive All-Star selections from 1976 through 1978. In 1977, he recorded a 2.54 ERA, led the majors with seven shutouts, and finished ninth in Cy Young voting. He completed his Angels tenure with a 102–78 record and a 3.08 ERA.

Tanana’s Anaheim career ended on January 23, 1981, when the Angels traded him to Boston. The Red Sox also received Jim Dorsey and Joe Rudi, while California acquired Steve Renko and Fred Lynn. Tanana struggled in Boston, going 4–10 with a 4.02 ERA during the strike-shortened 1981 season. Afterward, he became a free agent and signed with Texas.

Meanwhile, Lynn gave the Angels a respected center fielder and helped them capture the 1982 American League West title. Injuries and the strike limited him to 76 games in 1981, when he hit .219 with five homers and 31 RBIs. Nevertheless, Lynn earned his seventh consecutive All-Star selection. He rebounded in 1982, batting .299 with 21 homers and 86 RBIs.

Lynn then collected 11 hits in 18 at-bats against Milwaukee in the American League Championship Series. Although California lost in five games, he became the first ALCS MVP from a losing team. Shown here is a Game 1 ticket, when Lynn went 3-for-4 with a home run. He signed it and inscribed his series slash line and “First ALCS MVP from a losing team!”

Frank Tanana’s career lost momentum after the California Angels traded him to Boston in January 1981. He struggled with the Red Sox, finishing the strike-shortened season 4–10 with a 4.02 ERA. Boston let him leave as a free agent that November. Tanana then signed with Texas in January 1982, hoping to revive his fortunes.

Instead, his first Rangers season brought frustration. He went 7–18 in 1982, tying for the American League lead in losses. Although Tanana rebounded with a 3.16 ERA in 1983, he finished 15–15 in 1984. Across four seasons with Texas, he compiled a 31–49 record. His Rangers tenure ended on June 20, 1985, when the club traded him to Detroit for a minor-league pitcher.

The trade brought Tanana home to Detroit, where he was born and raised. He joined a powerhouse club led by Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson and began resurrecting his career.

In his Detroit debut against the New York Yankees on June 23, 1985, Tanana pitched seven scoreless innings. He struck out two, allowed eight hits, and earned the victory in Detroit’s 3–1 win. That strong debut launched a remarkable turnaround. Tanana finished 1985 with a 10–7 record and 3.34 ERA in 20 starts for Detroit.

He continued delivering dependable innings for the Tigers over the next several seasons, reclaiming his place as a durable major-league starter.

Shown here is a 1985 Fleer baseball card titled “Giving the Signs.” The card features Anderson, who signed his name across the front.

The 1987 American League East race delivered a dramatic finish, with the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays battling for supremacy. After a 9-5 win over Baltimore on October 1, Detroit trailed Toronto by a game. That set the stage for a winner-take-all series for the clubs’ final three games against each other at Tiger Stadium.

Detroit struck first, edging Toronto 4–3 on October 2 to put the teams tied atop the division. The Tigers followed with a tense 3–2 victory in 12 innings the next night. Those back-to-back wins pushed Detroit ahead and set up a decisive Sunday showdown. A Tiger victory would secure the division title. Toronto hoped to force a one-game playoff.

Manager Sparky Anderson entrusted the season’s final game to Frank Tanana, who faced Toronto ace Jimmy Key. The two left-handers delivered a magnificent pitchers’ duel, refusing to give opposing hitters much breathing room. Key allowed just three hits, but one proved costly. In the second inning, Larry Herndon launched a solo homer that barely cleared the screen above the left-field fence. That swing supplied Detroit’s only run and put the division within reach.

Tanana answered with a masterpiece of his own. He blanked Toronto across nine innings, allowed six hits, and struck out nine. Key also went the distance, making every pitch matter until the final out. Detroit’s 1–0 victory clinched the American League East crown on the season’s final day. Tanana fully delivered when the stakes peaked, completing a career-defining moment.

Shown here is a ticket from that historic game, signed by Tanana. He added the inscription, “CG ShO clinches the the division title.”

Jack Morris built a remarkable Opening Day record in Detroit, taking the mound for the Tigers’ season opener 11 straight years. After Morris signed with Minnesota as a free agent before the 1991 season, Detroit needed a new Opening Day starter for the first time since 1979.

The Tigers turned to veteran left-hander Frank Tanana. No stranger to Opening Day, Tanana got the first-day call for the Angels in four consecutive years.

He earned his first with Anaheim in 1976, the same year he made his first All-Star team. The southpaw returned to the mound for California’s openers in 1977, 1978, and 1979. His 1978 start stood out as he blanked the opposition, delivering a shutout to begin the season. Although injury interrupted his 1979 campaign, Tanana remained a trusted veteran when Detroit handed him the ball in 1991.

He took the mount for the Tigers on April 8 that season against the New York Yankees. Tanana surrendered four runs on eight hits over five innings. He struck out two and walked two, while Detroit’s offense rallied for a 6–4 victory.

That 1991 campaign brought a changing of the guard: Morris left Detroit’s Opening Day role behind, while Tanana took his place.

The ticket shown here is to an opener of a different kind: Game 1 of the 1991 World Series. The same year that Tanana opened the regular season for Detroit, Morris got the victory in the Fall Classic opener. Morris also won the final game of the season, a championship-clinching Game 7 ten-inning complete-game shutout. Morris signed this ticket and added, “1991 W.S MVP”.

During Frank Tanana’s long and storied big league career he faced some of the game’s most celebrated sluggers. Each of the last two career home run leaders hit a Tanana pitch out of the yard.

On June 14, 1976, baseball’s home run king Hank Aaron took Tanana deep for the only homer he hit against the left-hander. More than 17 years later, on July 17, 1993, Barry Bonds, the man who supplanted Aaron, also homered against Tanana for the only time in their matchups.

Remarkably, Tanana wasn’t alone in this unusual distinction. Rick Reuschel, the longtime major-league right-hander, also surrendered home runs to both legends. Aaron took Reuschel deep twice, first on June 16, 1973, and again on July 7, 1974. Bonds connected against Reuschel on May 7, 1990, for their only home run matchup. Together, Tanana and Reuschel represent a rare link between two generations of baseball’s home run royalty.

The ticket shown here commemorates Rick Reuschel’s first career complete-game shutout on July 30, 1972. Pitching for the Chicago Cubs against the St. Louis Cardinals, Reuschel scattered six hits and blanked the visitors in a 4–0 victory. Reuschel later signed the ticket, connecting his autograph to an important early milestone in his major-league career.

When Frank Tanana retired in 1993, his 240 victories ranked 48th on baseball’s all-time list. Since then, a handful of pitchers have moved ahead of him, including fellow left-hander Tom Glavine. On September 14, 2002, Glavine earned his 241st career victory, moving past Tanana on the historic leaderboard.

The victory came during an uneven outing against the Florida Marlins. Glavine surrendered four runs on eight hits through five innings, leaving with the score tied 4–4. Atlanta’s offense rescued its starter in the sixth, pushing across a run to take the lead. The Braves added another run in the seventh, then broke the game open with three more in the eighth. Atlanta scored once again in the ninth, completing a 10–5 victory and securing Glavine’s place ahead of Tanana.

Glavine’s achievement reflected the durability that defined his remarkable career. The two-time National League Cy Young Award winner ultimately collected 305 victories, earning induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Tanana also enjoyed a long career, finishing with those 240 wins across 21 major-league seasons. Their shared place among baseball’s winningest left-handers makes this milestone especially noteworthy.

Shown here is the lineup card from September 14, 2002, the night Glavine passed Tanana. Both Glavine and his Hall of Fame manager, Bobby Cox, signed the card, preserving a piece of Braves history tied to the milestone.

Frank Tanana built a 21-year career around durability and quality, winning 240 games. When he retired in 1993, only 47 pitchers claimed more victories. Interestingly, Tanana never put together a 20-win season.

Despite that, Tanana did post dominant campaigns. In 1975 he won 16 games with a 2.62 ERA and a league-leading 269 strikeouts. He followed that up by narrowly missing 20 wins in 1976, finishing with a 19-10 mark and a 2.43 ERA. In ’77 the left-hander sustained that excellence winning 15 games with a 2.54 ERA. He led the American League in ERA, shutouts, and WAR. Tanana followed with 18 victories in 1978, giving him four consecutive seasons with at least 15 wins. Although he never reached 20 victories, his best years showcased the dominance behind his impressive career total.

Among those who never reached the 20-win plateau, only 245-game winner Dennis Martínez, authored more victories than Tanana. The Nicaragua native Martinez never won more than 16 in a a single season though he had ten campiagns of at least 14 wins.

The ticket shown here is to Game 4 of the 1979 World Series. Martínez signed it and added the inscription, “G4 starter. We win”.