Who was the first relief pitcher to win the Cy Young award?

The first relief pitcher to win the Cy Young Award was Mike Marshall, who won the 1974 National League honor with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Marshall’s season was extraordinary even by modern relief-pitching standards. He appeared in a record 106 games, worked 208⅓ innings, finished 83 games, and posted a 15–12 record with a 2.42 earned-run average and 21 saves. His heavy workload helped the Dodgers win the National League pennant.

The Cy Young Award had existed since 1956, but voters traditionally favored starting pitchers who accumulated wins and complete games. Marshall showed that a reliever could influence an entire season through frequent, high-leverage appearances, even though the modern one-inning closer role had not yet become standard.

A common mix-up is confusing Marshall with later relief-pitching pioneers. Rollie Fingers became the first reliever to win both the Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player Award, in 1981, while Dennis Eckersley was the first modern closer to win the Cy Young, in 1992. Marshall remains the original answer to the broader question.