The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Nick Kingham retired the first 20 batters he faced Sunday in his major league debut before losing the perfect game on a seventh-inning single.
Kingham took a perfect game into the seventh inning and retired the first two batters before the St. Louis Cardinals Paul DeJong singled down the third-base line. Kingham struck out nine and walked none in his steller debut performance and managed to escape the 7th inning with his shutout intact.
The only pitcher to throw a no-hitter in his major-league debut was the Cincinnati Reds’ Charles “Bumpus” Jones. On Saturday, October 15, 1892, at Cincinnati’s League Park, Jones no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates for a 7-1 win.