Major League Baseball’s long-awaited news on Wednesday that it is reclassifying the Negro Leagues from 1920 through 1948 as major could add nearly two dozen new no-hitters to the list while altering some no-hitter milestones.
Here are some highlights:
- The first MLB post-season no-hitter should now be credited to Claude “Red” Grier of the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants. On Sunday, October 3, 1926, at Baltimore’s Maryland Baseball Park, Grier no-hit the Chicago American Giants for a 10-0 win in Game 3 of 1926 Colored World Series. (Don Larsen’s perfecto would now be considered the second postseason no-no, with Roy Halladay taking the third spot.)
- Bob Feller now has some company in the Opening Day no-hitter category. On Sunday, May 5, 1946, at Wilmington Park in Deleware, the Newark Eagles’ Leon Day no-hit the Philadelphia Stars on Opening Day for a 2-0 victory.
- LeRoy “Satchel” Paige now shares the MLB record for most strikeouts in a no-hitter with 17 — Paige (1934), Nolan Ryan (1973) and Max Scherzer (2015).
Here is the list of the no-hitters that could be added:
| 1 | “Big” Bill Gatewood |
|---|---|
| Detroit Stars | |
| Monday, June 6, 1921 Detroit Stars 4, Cincinnati Cuban Stars 0 Mack Park (Detroit) (First Negro National League no-hitter; Gatewood’s second of two no-hitters on this list) |
|
| 2 | Phil Cockrell |
| Hilldale (Darby, Pennsylvania) | |
| Monday, September 5, 1921 (second game of doubleheader) Hilldale 3, Detroit Stars 0 Hilldale Park (Darby, Pennsylvania) (Cockrell’s first of two no-hitters on this list) |
|
| 3 | William Force |
| Detroit Stars | |
| Tuesday, June 27, 1922 Detroit Stars 3, St. Louis Giants 0 Mack Park (Detroit) |
|
| 4 | Jesse “Nip” Winters |
| Atlantic City Bacharach Giants | |
| Wednesday, July 26, 1922 Atlantic City Bacharach Giants 7, Indianapolis ABCs 1 Athletic Park (Kokomo, Indiana) (Winters’ first of two no-hitters on this list) |
|
| 5 | Phil Cockrell |
| Hilldale (Darby, Pennsylvania) | |
| Saturday, August 19, 1922 Hilldale 5, Chicago American Giants 0 Schorling Park (Chicago) (Cockrell’s second of two no-hitters on this list) |
|
| 6 | Franklin “Doc” Sykes |
| Baltimore Black Sox | |
| Saturday, September 11, 1922 (first game of doubleheader) Baltimore Black Sox 2, Atlantic City Bacharach Giants 0 Maryland Baseball Park (Baltimore) (Sykes would have had a perfecto if not for two errors) |
|
| 7 | José Méndez (5 inn.) Wilbur “Bullet” Rogan (4 inn.) |
| Kansas City Monarchs | |
| Sunday, August 5, 1923 (second game of doubleheader) Kansas City Monarchs 7, Milwaukee Bears 0 Muehlebach Field (Kansas City) (Méndez pitched 5 perfect innings; Rogan allowed one base runner) |
|
| 8 | Jesse “Nip” Winters |
| Hilldale (Darby, Pennsylvania) | |
| Wednesday, September 3, 1924 (first game of doubleheader) Hilldale 2, Harrisburg Giants 0 West End Grounds (Harrisburg) (First Eastern Colored League no-hitter; Winters’s second of two no-hitters on this list) |
|
| 9 | Andy “Lefty” Cooper |
| Detroit Stars | |
| Sunday, June 28, 1925 (second game of doubleheader) Detroit Stars 1, Indianapolis ABCs 0 Washington Park (Indianapolis) |
|
| 10 | Rube Currie |
| Chicago American Giants | |
| Tuesday, July 13, 1926 (second game of doubleheader) Chicago American Giants 16, Dayton Marcos 0 Schloring Park (Chicago) (The Dayton Marcos withdrew from the Negro National League six days after this blowout loss) |
|
| 11 | Claude “Red” Grier |
| Atlantic City Bacharach Giants | |
| Sunday, October 3, 1926 Atlantic City Bacharach Giants 10, Chicago American Giants 0 Maryland Baseball Park (Baltimore) (Game 3 of 1926 Colored World Series) |
|
| 12 | Laymon Yokely |
| Baltimore Black Sox | |
| Sunday, May 15, 1927 (second game of doubleheader) Baltimore Black Sox 8, Cuban Stars 0 Maryland Baseball Park (Baltimore) |
|
| 13 | “Wee” Willie Powell |
| Chicago American Giants | |
| Sunday, August 14, 1927 Chicago American Giants 3, Memphis Red Sox 0 Schorling Park (Chicago) |
|
| 14 | Alfred “Army” Cooper (7⅓ inn.) Chet Brewer (1⅔ inn.) |
| Kansas City Monarchs | |
| Saturday, June 29, 1929 Kansas City Monarchs 4, Chicago American Giants 0 Schorling Park (Chicago) (Cooper was relieved with one out in the eighth after walking the bases loaded) |
|
| 15 | Paul Carter |
| Hilldale (Darby, Pennsylvania) | |
| Monday, September 7, 1931 (second game of doubleheader) Hilldale 6, Baltimore Black Sox 0 Hilldale Park (Darby, Pennsylvania) |
|
| 16 | LeRoy “Satchel” Paige |
| Pittsburgh Crawfords | |
| Friday, July 8, 1932 (second game of doubleheader) Pittsburgh Crawfords 6, New York Black Yankees 0 Greenlee Field (Pittsburgh) (Paige struck out 11 batters; his first of two no-hitters on this list) |
|
| 17 | LeRoy “Satchel” Paige |
| Pittsburgh Crawfords | |
| Wednesday, July 4, 1934 Pittsburgh Crawfords 4, Homestead Grays 0 Greenlee Field (Pittsburgh) (Paige struck out 17 batters; his second of two no-hitters on this list) |
|
| 18 | John “Neck” Stanley |
| New York Cubans | |
| Tuesday, June 9, 1936 New York Cubans 12, Newark Eagles 1 Delano-Hitch Recreation Park (Newburgh, New York) (Newark run scored in fourth on two walks and an error) |
|
| 19 | Hilton Smith |
| Kansas City Monarchs | |
| Sunday, May 16, 1937 (first game of doubleheader) Kansas City Monarchs 4, Chicago American Giants 0 Muehlebach Field (Kansas City) (First Negro American League no-hitter) |
|
| “Schoolboy” Johnny Taylor | |
| Negro All-Star Team | |
| Sunday, September 19, 1937 Negro All-Star Team 2, Satchel Paige’s Trujillo All-Stars 0 Polo Grounds (New York) (Benefit All-Star Game) This one probably won’t qualify as official, but it does give us our first All-Star Game no-no. |
|
| 20 | Gene Smith |
| St. Louis/New Orleans Stars | |
| Friday, June 27, 1941 St. Louis/New Orleans Stars 6, New York Black Yankees 1 Belleville Athletic Field (Belleville, Illinois) |
|
| 21 | Leon Day |
| Newark Eagles | |
| Sunday, May 5, 1946 Newark Eagles 2, Philadelphia Stars 0 Wilmington Park (Wilmington, Delaware) (An Opening Day no-hitter) |
|
| 22 | Albert Stephens (5) John “Neck” Stanley (4) |
| New York Black Yankees | |
| Tuesday, May 25, 1948 (Second game of doubleheader) New York Black Yankees 4, Newark Eagles 1 Red Wing Stadium (Rochester) |
