Grover Cleveland Alexander, who won 373 career games but none of them ended with a zero in the “H” column, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame 78 years ago today. Alexander compiled a 373-208 record with a 2.56 ERA over a year career with the Philadelphia Phillies, the Chicago Cubs and the…
Happy 73rd birthday to Denny Doyle, one of a couple of players who kept the San Diego Padres from knocking the no-hitter task off the franchise’s bucket list in the club’s early days. On Tuesday, July 18, 1972, at San Diego Stadium, the Padres’ Steve Arlin took a no-hitter into the ninth and got the…
Dizzy Dean, the Dean brother who did not pitch a major league no-hitter, was born 106 years ago today. Dizzy, the elder Dean, enjoyed a 12-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Browns. On Friday, September 21, 1934, he pitched the opener of doubleheader against Brooklyn at Ebbets Field and…
No-no thrower Bob Gibson was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, 35 years ago today. Gibson, who won 251 games over a 17-year playing career spent entirely with the St. Louis Cardinals, received 84 percent of the votes during his first year eligible for the Hall. On Saturday, August 14, 1971, Gibson no-hit…
Happy 79th birthday to Sonny Siebert, who threw a no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians in 1966 after promising the feat to his wife. Carol Siebert had been ribbing her husband about his pitching struggles, so Sonny had a retort before the June 10, 1966, game against Washington: “I told her, ‘If you don’t get off…
My good friend Jeffrey Pickett — who may be the next-in-line heir to The Tonight Show — interviewed me via Skype for his Starting Over blog and podcast about taking a risk and writing Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders: More Than a Century of Greatest Feats. You can visit his blog here and also see the Podcast…