Ken Holtzman, who threw two no-hitters for the Chicago Cubs after pitching for the University of Illinois, died late Sunday night at age 78, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch announced Monday.
The St. Louis native was inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023 after previously being elected to the Chicagoland Sports and St. Louis Sports Hall of Fames.
Holtzman only spent one season with the Illini in 1965, during which he led the team in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts.
He was drafted by the Cubs in the fourth round that same year and spent just two months in the minor leagues before making his major league debut that September. Holtzman then spent parts of nine seasons with the Cubs, throwing no-hitters in 1969 and 1971.
After the 1971 season, he was traded to the Oakland A’s, where he made the All-Star team twice. He spent time with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees before returning to the Cubs to finish his career in 1978.
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Holtzman retired following the 1979 season. Across his 15 MLB seasons, he won 174 games, captured three World Series titles and accrued 27.3 wins above replacement, the most of all Illinois alumni. On top of that, 174 wins also make Holtzman the winningest Jewish pitcher in MLB history, with nine more wins than the legendary Sandy Koufax.
