Cardinals’ Washburn pays back Giants, 49 years ago today

The St. Louis Cardinals’ Ray Washburn payed back the San Francisco Giants with a no-hitter, 49 years ago today.

At Candlestick Park on Wednesday, September 18, 1968, Washburn no-hit the Giants for a 2-0 win. Just a day earlier, the Giants’ Gaylord Perry no-hit the Cards for a 1-0 win. It marked the majors’ first back-to-back revenge no-nos, though the feat was duplicated a year later by the Cincinnati Reds’ Jim Maloney and the Houston Astros’ Don Wilson.

Three other no-hitters were tossed on this date, but they all are more than 100 years old:

• Cy Young threw the first of his three no-hitters for the National League’s Cleveland Spiders during the first game of a Saturday doubleheader at League Park on September 18, 1897. The Spiders topped the Cincinnati Reds 6-0.
• The Philadelphia Phillies’ Chick Fraser no-hit the Chicago Cubs during the second game of a Friday, September 18, 1903, doubleheader at Chicago’s West Side Park. The Phillies beat the Cubs 10-0.
• And the Cleveland Naps’ Bob “Dusty” Rhoads no-hit the Boston Red Sox on Friday, September 18, 1908, for a 2-1 at Cleveland’s League Park.