The father of no-hitters, George Washington Bradley, threw baseball’s first official no-no, 141 years ago today.
On Saturday, July 15, 1876, the 5-foot-10½-inch, lanky St. Louis Brown Stockings right-hander worked his way down the Hartford Dark Blues lineup during a one-hour-50-minute contest, striking out three batters while walking one. The Brown Stockings’ defense was of little help, committing eight errors, but St. Louis won the game 2-0.
Two other pitchers — both Hall of Famers — also through no-nos on this date.
On Monday, July 15, 1901, the New York Giants’ Christy Mathewson no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals for a 5-0 win at Robison Field. It was Mathewson’s first of two no-hitters.
And on Sunday, July 15, 1973, Nolan Ryan threw the second of his major-league record seven no-hitters. Ryan, pitching for the California Angels, no-hit the Detroit Tigers for a 6-0 victory at Tiger Stadium.
