Overview
- Local broadcaster KDKA reported McDowell’s death, and national outlets have since carried the news that he was 84.
- McDowell burst into the majors at 18 and became one of the 1960s’ best pitchers, leading the American League in strikeouts five times and finishing his 15-year career with 2,453 strikeouts.
- His big-league career was cut short by alcohol problems, with his final major-league appearance coming in 1975 when he was 32.
- After entering rehabilitation, McDowell returned to school, became a licensed therapist who counseled athletes about addiction, and wrote a memoir whose publication year is reported inconsistently in recent coverage.
- He served as the Baseball Assistance Team’s addiction and recovery consultant from 1987 to 2016 and helped players across baseball, football, and hockey as part of his long postplaying work.