Editing Denny McLain (section)

==Post-major league career==
[[File:DennyMcLain.jpg|thumb|McLain throws out the [[first pitch]] on July 11, 2012, at [[Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park]] in [[Charleston, South Carolina]].]]
In 1974, McLain played a season for the [[London Majors]] of the [[Intercounty Baseball League]] at [[Labatt Memorial Park]] in [[London, Ontario]]. Because of his arm problems, McLain pitched only nine innings for the Majors, but played in 14 games at shortstop, first base, or catcher, and batted .380, including hitting two homers in one game in London.

McLain continued to earn side money playing the organ at clubs, including a club in suburban Detroit where former heavyweight boxing champion [[Leon Spinks]] worked as a bartender.<ref>{{cite news |title=Star-crossed stars cross paths |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=[[The Pittsburgh Press]] |page=1 |date=February 27, 1989 |access-date=December 23, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z_gjAAAAIBAJ&pg=3420,6434882&dq=denny+mclain&hl=en}}</ref> McLain also earned quite a bit of money hustling golf, easily attracting "marks" due to his past baseball fame.  Additionally, he reportedly once accepted over $160,000 to fly a wanted felon out of the country.<ref name=Biography/>

McLain's weight ballooned to {{convert|330|lb|kg}} during his post-baseball career.  He was imprisoned for [[drug trafficking]] (cocaine), [[embezzlement]], and [[racketeering]]. Tampa attorneys Arnold Levine and Stevan Northcutt, who later became a Florida state appellate judge, represented McLain before the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit]] in [[Atlanta]]. His conviction was reversed under the [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act]] <!-- (RICO) --> in the [[United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida]] in [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]].<ref name=Acocella/>

Between his stints in prison and rehabilitation in the mid-1980s to the early-1990s, McLain could be found on various talk radio sports shows and occasionally on panel-format sports shows on network television in the Detroit area; he also modeled [[Hanes]] underwear.<ref>Albom, Mitch. "The Sports Reporters". April 13, 2008.</ref> He could also be found signing autographs at a metro Detroit [[7-Eleven]] store at the corner of Mound Road and [[Metropolitan Parkway (Detroit area)|Metro Parkway]] in [[Sterling Heights, Michigan]], where he was employed on work-release.<ref name=Acocella/> After his release, he also hosted a popular daily talk radio show for a few years on Detroit talk station [[WXYT (AM)|WXYT]].

McLain's oldest daughter, Kristin, 26, was killed on March 20, 1992, in a drunk-driving crash.<ref name=Biography/> She had been living in Florida and was moving back home to Michigan when she was killed just a few miles from her parents' home.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1138456/8/index.htm |title=The Season Of High Heat |author=Rushin, Steve |date=July 19, 1993 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |page=8 |access-date=December 25, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130102134536/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1138456/8/index.htm |archive-date=January 2, 2013}}</ref> In part to escape his grief, McLain and several partners bought the Peet Packing Company (Farmer Peet's) located in the small town of [[Chesaning, Michigan]], in 1994.<ref>{{cite news| title=McLain, Others Indicted for Alleged Scheme Involving Company Pensions| url=https://apnews.com/article/332a3199fb1b04c0d26d34f7a4249b75| first=Amy| last=Yuhn| date=May 9, 1996| website=AP News}}</ref> McLain was also a partner in the [[Michigan Radio Network]].{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} Both companies went bankrupt two years later.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} In 1996, he was convicted on charges of [[embezzlement]], [[mail fraud]], and [[Conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] in connection with the theft of $2.5 million from the Peet employees' [[pension fund]].<ref name=Downfall/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/denny-mclain-strikes-out-again |title=Denny McLain strikes out again?|first1=Rob |last1=Wolchek |date=August 12, 2016 |publisher=[[WJBK]]|accessdate=April 24, 2025}}</ref>  McLain spent six years in prison; in 2008, he insisted that he knew nothing about the shady financial deals alleged by the government. McLain claims he paid restitution for this incident.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2008/04/05/2008-04-05_on_40th_anniversary_of_31win_season_denn.html?print=1&page=all| newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]| title=On 40th anniversary of 31-win season, Denny McLain reflects on life| first=Wayne| last=Coffey| date=April 5, 2008| access-date=October 19, 2008| archive-date=April 10, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410164721/http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2008/04/05/2008-04-05_on_40th_anniversary_of_31win_season_denn.html?print=1&page=all| url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the Detroit Tigers [[2006 Detroit Tigers season|2006]] playoff run, McLain was the baseball analyst for [[Drew and Mike]] on [[WRIF]] radio in Detroit. In 2007, McLain released his [[autobiography]] ''I Told You I Wasn't Perfect'', co-authored by longtime Detroit sportscaster and author [[Eli Zaret]]. Prior to that, McLain and Zaret hosted a sports television show together in Detroit.

McLain currently resides in [[Pinckney, Michigan]]. McLain writes a monthly editorial column and blogs regularly for ''In Play! Magazine'', a Detroit sports magazine.

[[Kevin Costner]]'s character in the 2005 film ''[[The Upside of Anger]]'' was partly based on McLain (and also partly on [[Kirk Gibson]], another Tiger of [[1984 World Series|World Series]] note).<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365885/trivia| title=The Upside of Anger (2005) Trivia| website=[[IMDb]] |access-date =December 30, 2014}}</ref>

On April 11, 2008, McLain was arrested without incident after deputies discovered an outstanding warrant against him for failing to appear for a January 16 court hearing.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3342441 |title=Ex-Tigers pitcher McLain in jail after missing court appearance |date=April 11, 2008 |website=ESPN |access-date=December 23, 2011}}</ref>

On September 22, 2011, McLain was arrested in [[Port Huron, Michigan]] at the [[Canada–United States border]] after officials discovered an outstanding warrant against him from [[St. Charles Parish, Louisiana|St. Charles Parish]], [[Louisiana]]. Because of construction detours, McLain had inadvertently taken an exit off [[Interstate 94 in Michigan|I-94]], sending him directly across the [[Blue Water Bridge]] and into Canada. He immediately returned to the U.S., where he was obligated to go through [[U.S. Customs and Border Protection]] inspection. The outstanding warrant was then discovered, for which McLain was jailed in Port Huron. In less than a week, the warrant was cleared and McLain was released.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=txmclainarrest |title=Former Tigers' pitcher McLain arrested on warrant |website=Yahoo! Sports |access-date=December 23, 2011 |archive-date=October 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026140042/http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=txmclainarrest |url-status=dead}}</ref>

From 2017 to 2018, McLain hosted a Sunday radio show about life and politics on [[WFDF (AM)]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2017/04/05/denny-mclain-monica-conyers-radio/100069666/ |title=Superstation 910 AM replaces Monica Conyers with Denny McLain |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |first=Perry A. |last=Ferrell |date=April 5, 2017}}</ref>

In January 2019 McLain and former local sportscasters Eli Zaret and Bob Page launched a podcast called ''No Filter Sports''.

In October 2020, McLain held an estate sale hosted by Aaron's Estate Sales. This event was covered nationally by outlets such as ESPN and the Associated Press.<ref>{{cite web |date=2020-10-01 |title=Ex-Tigers hurler Denny McLain selling off sports memorabilia |url=https://apnews.com/article/mlb-baseball-detroit-tigers-detroit-cleveland-indians-d8f6146295cb97a013d127a71a47fe3a |access-date=2020-10-09 |website=AP NEWS}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2020-10-01 |title=Ex-Tigers ace McLain selling off memorabilia |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30018292/ex-detroit-tigers-ace-denny-mclain-selling-sports-memorabilia |access-date=2020-10-09 |website=ESPN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Estate of Dennis McLain Major League Baseball - Detroit Tigers - MASSIVE SPORTS COLLECTION |url=https://www.aaronsestatesales.com/sale/2623755 |access-date=2020-10-09 |website=Aaron's Estate Sales |language=en-us}}</ref>