Today is the 50th anniversary of the perfect game thrown by Oakland A’s pitcher Jim “Catfish” Hunter.
On Wednesday, May 8, 1968, Hunter retired all 27 Minnesota Twins he faced for a 4-0 win at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. Hunter helped his cause with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, driving in two of the Athletics’ four runs.
Hunter’s perfecto was the third of the 1960s, following gems by Jim Bunning (1964) and Sandy Koufax (1965). He was the first American League pitcher to toss a perfect game since the New York Yankees’ Don Larsen, who dominated the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.
Also throwing no-nos on this date are the Boston Doves’ Frank “Big Jeff” Pfeffer and the New York Giants’ Carl Hubbell. Pfeffer in 1907 no-hit the Cincinnati Reds for a 6-0 win at Huntington Avenue Grounds. In 1929, Hubbell no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates for an 11-0 victory at the Polo Grounds.
