Ken Johnson of the Colt .45’s.
I had the honor of interviewing Johnson on May 2014 as I was just beginning to write Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders. He talked with me about that April 23, 1964 Houston Colt .45’s game against the Cincinnati Reds at Colt Stadium, in which he threw nine innings of no-hit ball yet lost 1-0.
The Reds clawed for that run on a ninth-inning bunt attempt by Pete Rose in which Johnson threw the ball into the outfield (it apparently wasn’t taboo to bunt to break up a no-no back then). After Rose advanced to third on a ground out, Vada Pinson stepped to the plate and hit a routine two-out grounder to second that was booted by Nellie Fox, allowing Rose to score.
The game remains the only nine-inning no-hitter lost by a single pitcher. The Orioles tandem of Steve Barber and Stu Miller duplicated the feat three years later.
Johnson seemed touched that someone still wanted to talk at length about that game.
“I can’t believe anyone still remembers,” Johnson told me.
Johnson died in November at the age of 82.
Great article on Ken Johnson. I remember him as a Brave. Love your website! I’m a 54 year old kid who wonders why everyone does not love baseball as much as me (and I’m guessing you, too). I plan on making your site a regular stop. I found while searching for a list of one-hitters and saw your article on the Padres. Thank you. I see I have 50 pages to enjoy. 🙂
Thanks, Barry! Johnson had a couple of really strong seasons with the Braves in the mid-, late-1960s.
Peter Joseph LoPinto liked this on Facebook.