This All-Star MLB Pitcher Was Laid to Rest in a Billings Cemetery

Billings is the birthplace of one of baseball's greatest pitchers of all time. He's a two-time World Series champion that still holds a record in the fall classic, as well as a member of the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame. He loved the Magic City so much that when he retired from baseball in 1975 he returned home and lived out the remainder of his life in Billings. Let's take a look at some of the achievements of Dave McNally.

McNally played in three straight Fall Classics.

David "Dave" McNally was born in Billings in October of 1942. McNally's career as a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles lasted for about 8 years before he was traded to the Montreal Expos. During that tenure, he was arguably the best pitcher during the Orioles' tear of the American League during the early 1970s.

In the 1970 MLB Season, McNally recorded 24 wins and only 9 losses, with an ERA of 3.22. Arguably his best season, McNally and the Orioles would reach the World Series for the second time in a row, where they would defeat the Cincinnati Reds 4-1. With such an impressive win, you'd think that's where the story ends with McNally, but this World Series also gave him an impressive record that still stands to this day.

This pitcher was also a killer hitter, especially under pressure.

Dave McNally, to this day, is the only pitcher in Major League Baseball history that has hit a grand slam during the World Series. It happened during the 3rd Game of the 1970 edition of the Fall Classic; a game in which he also recorded a win, pitching all 9 innings in a 9-3 victory to extend their lead to 3-0 in the series that they would ultimately win. Because of the Designated Hitter rule in the American League, you may never see a grand slam from a pitcher ever again, at least not from the AL.

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McNally was a car dealer in Billings after his MLB career and died from lung cancer in 2002. He is buried at Yellowstone Valley Memorial Park right here in the Magic City. What an awesome guy, and an amazing baseball player. Rest in peace, Dave.