[1] A three-time All-Star, Lolich is most notable for his performance in the 1968 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals when he earned three complete-game victories, including a win over Bob Gibson in the climactic Game 7.

[2][3] At the time of his retirement in 1979, Lolich held the Major League Baseball record for career strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher.

[6][7] Known as an eccentric, a sports writer in 1964 wrote of Lolich: "He now eats, writes and bats right-handed, pitches left-handed and thinks sideways.

"[6] As a teenager, he excelled playing in American Legion Baseball and in the Babe Ruth League, setting Oregon state records for strikeouts.

He returned home to Oregon and struck out all 12 batters he faced in a four-inning outing in semi-pro ball with the Archer Blower team in Portland.

[9] In early June, Lolich was acquired by the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League in a deal with the Tigers.

He irked Detroit's management by reporting late to spring training, saying he had remained in Portland to take an examination to become a mailman during the off-season.

At spring training in 1965, Lolich told reporter Joe Falls that marriage had a calming influence on him: "She's done so much for me, to settle me down, that I can hardly put it into words.

[1][20] In late July 1967, Lolich was called to active duty with the Michigan Air National Guard in response to the ongoing riot.

In response, the Federal Bureau of Investigation placed a team of snipers on the roof of Tiger Stadium during his subsequent two starts.

[24] Lolich was overshadowed by teammate Denny McLain's 31-win season, and was sent to the bullpen in August due to a late-season slump.

[2] He posted a 17–9 record with 197 strikeouts, as the Tigers won the American League pennant by 12 games over the second-place Baltimore Orioles.

Despite an unsettled start, when he surrendered an RBI single to Curt Flood and a two-run home run to Orlando Cepeda in the first inning, Lolich remained calm and proceeded to pitch eight scoreless innings as the Tigers scored two runs in the fourth and took the lead in the seventh on Al Kaline's bases loaded two-run single.

[26] They each pitched six scoreless innings, Lolich picking off Lou Brock and Curt Flood to end a Cardinal threat in the bottom of the sixth, before the Tigers broke through with three runs in the top of the seventh starting with a two-out, two-run triple to deep center by Northrup just over Flood's head for an eventual 4–1 Tigers win and a 4–3 Series triumph.

[2] Lolich won 22 games and posted a career-best 2.50 ERA in 1972 to help the Tigers win the American League Eastern Division championship.

[1] He pitched impressively in the 1972 American League Championship Series against the Oakland Athletics, posting a 1.42 ERA in two starts.

In 1975, Lolich eclipsed Warren Spahn’s Major League Baseball record of 2,583 career strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher.

[4] Although Lolich pitched effectively in 1975, the Tigers' poor performance continued as they failed to provide him with much offensive support.

[2] Lolich was traded with Billy Baldwin to the New York Mets for Rusty Staub and Bill Laxton on December 12, 1975.

As a major leaguer for at least ten years with the last five on the same ballclub, he had initially exercised his right to veto, which he eventually lifted after his attorney and Mets administrators M. Donald Grant, Joe McDonald and Bob Scheffing convinced him that the transaction was financially beneficial and would not negatively affect his family.

[1] In a 16-year major league career, Lolich played in 586 games, accumulating a 217–191 win–loss record along with a 3.44 earned run average.

[39][2] He remained active in charity work and served as a coach at the Detroit Tigers' baseball fantasy camp in Lakeland, Florida.

[2] Because of his humble "everyman" qualities, many long-time Tiger fans celebrate him as one of the most popular sports figures in a working man's city.

In 2003, Lolich was one of 26 players chosen for the final ballot by the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Veterans Committee but garnered only 13 votes, far below the 75% required for election.