
When the New York Mets’ Gordie Richardson enticed the final out from the Pittsburgh Pirates at Al Lang Stadium in March 1965, AP sportswriter Murry Chass penned the contest as “the first no-hit game ever pitched for the New York Mets.”
If only it had counted.
The spring training accomplishment by starter Gary Kroll (6 innings) and Richardson (3 innings) was celebrated at the time, even earning a full-page photo in the 1965 Mets Yearbook. But the Florida gem would mean little over the next 47 years, as the Mets struggled to notch the franchise’s first official no-hitter. The dubious streak blossomed into this website, NoNoHitters.com, which diligently tracked the growing games-with-no-no-no count until Johan Santana finally broke the curse in Mets game No. 8,020 in 2012.
With two no-nos thrown during the 2014-2015 Spring Training seasons, I decided to go back and try to compile the first spring training no-hitter list in existence. We now have 43 such occurrences documented dating back to 1906, and we’re always on the lookout for more. Detailed accounts of spring training games are scarce, so if you find others not on this list, please send along stories and/or box scores and I’ll get them added. (Special thanks to Chuck McGill/@MiLgNoHitters for his extensive clips research to add to this list.)
We’re also including a list below of all of the known in-season exhibition game no-hitters. For more information on ISEGs, as coined by researcher Walter LeConte, you can download a pdf of his research from Retrosheet.
Here are the spring training no-hitters:
1 | Jack Doescher |
---|---|
Brooklyn Superbas | |
Friday, April 6, 1906 Brooklyn Superbas 6, Danville Red Sox 2 League Park (Danville, Virginia) |
|
2 | Bill Lattimore (5) Charlie Chech (4) |
Cleveland Naps | |
Sunday, March 14, 1908 Cleveland Naps 14, Macon Peaches 0 Central City Park (Macon, Georgia) |
|
3 | Harry Coveleski |
Philadelphia Phililes | |
Friday, March 19, 1909 Philadelphia Phillies 1, Trinity College 0 Trinity College (Durham, North Carolina) Perfect game |
|
4 | George Mullin (3) Ed Willett (3) Elijah “Bumpus” Jones (2) |
Detroit Tigers | |
Friday, March 19, 1909 Detroit Tigers 11, San Antonio Bronchos 0 Electric Park (San Antonio Texas) |
|
5 | Cy Parkin (6) Jack Warhop (3) |
New York Highlanders | |
Tuesday, April 6, 1909 New York Highlanders (SS) 3, Charleston Sea Gulls 0 Hampton Park (Charleston, S.C.) |
|
6 | Jack Bentley (5) Bert Gallia (3) |
Washington Senators | |
Friday, April 3, 1914 Washington Senators 19, University of Vermont 0 National Park (Washington, D.C.) |
|
7 | Huck Betts Dutch Ulrich |
Philadelphia Phillies (intrasquad) | |
Friday, March 6, 1925 Philadelphia Phillies Regulars 9, Philadelphia Phillies Yanigans 0 (5 innings) City Park (Bradenton, Florida) |
|
8 | Willis Hudlin (5) Wes Ferrell (4) |
Cleveland Indians | |
Saturday, March 29, 1930 Cleveland Indians 11, New Orleans Pelicans 1 Pelican Stadium (New Orleans, Louisiana) |
|
9 | Hod Lisenbee (5) Jack Russell (3) |
Boston Red Sox | |
Friday, March 27, 1931 Boston Red Sox 2, Birmingham Barons 1 (8 innings) Rickwood Field (Birmingham, Alabama) |
|
10 | Charlie Devens |
New York Yankees | |
Tuesday, April 11, 1933 New York Yankees 6, Yale University 0 Yale Field (New Haven, Connecticut) |
|
11 | Lloyd “Whitey” Moore (6) Gene “Junior” Thompson (3) |
Cincinnati Reds | |
Sunday, March 12, 1939 Cincinnati Reds 5, Brooklyn Dodgers 0 Plant Field (Tampa) The Dodgers’ Pedro Coscarart appeared to line a double down the right field line in the first inning, but he was ruled out on appeal for not touching first base. |
|
12 | Cy Blanton |
Pittsburgh Pirates | |
Sunday, April 9, 1939 Pittsburgh Pirates 6, Cleveland Indians 0 Pelican Stadium (New Orleans, Louisiana) |
|
13 | Schoolboy Rowe (3) Al Gerheauser (3) Andy Lapihuksa (1) |
Philadelphia Phillies | |
Thursday, April 8, 1943 Philadelphia Phillies 14, Indiantown Army Gap Service 0 (7 innings) Lebanon High School (Lebanon, Pennsylvania) |
|
14 | Jim Bilbrey (3) Sam Zoldak (4) Mulbrey Sanford (1) |
St. Louis Browns | |
Tuesday, March 4, 1947 Boston Braves 2, St. Louis Browns 1 Westside Park (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) The Browns yield two runs in the fourth on a pair of walks, an error, and bases-loaded fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly for the only no-hit loss in Grapefruit League history. Because the Braves didn’t have to bat in the ninth, this would not be considered a no-hitter under current the no-hitter definition. |
|
15 | Murry Dickson |
St. Louis Cardinals | |
Tuesday, March 30, 1948 St. Louis Cardinals 7, New York Yankees 0 Al Lang Stadium (St. Petersburg, Florida) |
|
16 | Bob Porterfield |
New York Yankees | |
Tuesday, April 12, 1949 New York Yankees 10, Fort Worth Cats 0 (8 innings) La Grave Field (Fort Worth, Texas) |
|
17 | Ned Garver (8) Lou Sleater (1) |
St. Louis Browns | |
Wednesday, April 11, 1951 St. Louis Browns 1, St. Louis Cardinals 0 Buffalo Stadium (Houston, Texas) |
|
18 | Jim Hearn (5) Monty Kennedy (4) |
New York Giants | |
Monday, March 17, 1952 New York Giants 10, Chicago Cubs 0 Wrigley Field (Los Angeles, California) |
|
19 | Steve Ridzik |
Philadelphia Phillies | |
Friday, April 4, 1952 Philadelphia Phillies 3, St. Louis Cardinals 0 Grayson Stadium (Savannah, Georgia) |
|
20 | Warren Spahn (7) Ernie Johnson (3) |
Boston Braves | |
Sunday, April 6, 1952 Boston Braves 1, Brooklyn Dodgers 0 Joe Engel Stadium (Chattanooga, Tennessee) |
|
21 | Bennie Daniels (5) Jim Umbricht (4) |
Pittsburgh Pirates | |
Wednesday, March 16, 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates 5, Detroit Tigers 0 Terry Park (Fort Myers, Florida) |
|
22 | Johnny James (5) Bill Bethel (4) |
New York Yankees | |
Wednesday, March 23, 1960 New York Yankees 4, Philadelphia Phillies 0 Al Lang Stadium (St. Petersburg, Florida) |
|
23 | Dick Kelley (3) Larry Maxie (3) Phil Niekro (3) |
Milwaukee Braves | |
Saturday, February 29, 1964 Milwaukee Braves 1, University of Miami Hurricanes 0 West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium (West Palm Beach, Florida) |
|
24 | Gary Kroll (6) Gordie Richardson (3) |
New York Mets | |
Monday, March 22, 1965 New York Mets 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 0 Al Lang Stadium (St. Petersburg, Florida) |
|
25 | Bob Veale (7) Luke Walker (2) |
Pittsburgh Pirates | |
Monday, March 28, 1966 Pittsburgh Pirates 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 0 Terry Park (Fort Myers, Florida) |
|
26 | Paul Lindblad (6) John Wyatt (3) |
Kansas City Athletics | |
Friday, April 1, 1966 Kansas City Athletics 4, Houston Astros 0 Cocoa Expo Sports Center (Cocoa Beach, Florida) |
|
27 | Steve Busby (6) Doug Bird (3) |
Kansas City Royals | |
Friday, March 23, 1973 Kansas City Royals 4, Detroit Tigers 1 Terry Park (Fort Myers, Florida) |
|
28 | Steve Dunning (4) Mike Kilkenny (2) Ray Lamb (2) Milt Wilcox (1) |
Cleveland Indians | |
Thursday, April 5, 1973 Cleveland Indians 4, Texas Eangers 0 V.J. Keep Stadium (San Antonio, Texas) |
|
29 | Ron Reed (3) Dave Cheadle (2) Joe Grzenda (2) Jamie Easterly (2) |
Atlanta Braves | |
Monday, March 11, 1974 Atlanta Braves 4, New York Yankees 0 West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium (West Palm Beach, Florida) |
|
30 | Ray Bare (5) Bill Laxton (2) |
Detroit Tigers | |
Monday, March 29, 1976 (Game 1 of doubleheader) Detroit Tigers 1, Chicago White Sox 0 (7 innings) Joker Marchant Stadium (Lakeland, Florida) |
|
31 | Ron Guidry (5) Dale Murray (4) |
New York Yankees | |
Monday, March 14, 1983 New York Yankees 11, Pittsburgh Pirates (SS) 0 Fort Lauderdale Stadium (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) |
|
32 | Mark Langston (4) Bob Babcock (2) Lee Guetterman (2) Dave Beard (1) |
Seattle Mariners | |
Wednesday, March 14, 1984 Seattle Mariners 15, Oakland Athletics 0 Tempe Diablo Stadium (Tempe, Arizona) First Cactus League no-hitter |
|
33 | Frank Viola (7) Corey Bailey (2) |
Boston Red Sox | |
Friday, April 2, 1993 Boston Red Sox 10, Phladelphia Phillies 0 Jack Russell Memorial Stadium (Clearwater, Florida) |
|
34 | Jose Alvarez (3) Phil Harrison (2) Eric Mora (2) Keith Brown (1) Daren Brown (1) |
Replacement Atlanta Braves | |
Monday, March 6, 1995 Replacement Atlanta Braves 5, Replacement New York Mets 0 West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium (West Palm Beach, Florida) |
|
35 | Shawn Boskie (4) Julio Valera (2) Todd Frohwirth (1) Ken Edenfield (1) Mark Eichhorn (1) |
Anaheim Angels | |
Saturday, March 16, 1996 Anaheim Angels 15, San Francisco Giants 0 Scottsdale Stadium (Scottsdale, Arizona) |
|
36 | Pedro Martínez (3) Fernando De La Cruz (2) Dan Smith (1) Rheal Cormier (1) Rich Garces (1) Rod Beck (1) |
Boston Red Sox | |
![]() Boston Red Sox 5, Toronto Blue Jays 0 City of Palms Park (Fort Myers, Florida) Perfect game |
|
37 | Zach Miner (2) Daniel Curtis (2) Macey McBride (2) Anthony Lerew (2) Kevin Berry (1) |
Atlanta Braves | |
Wednesday, March 2, 2005 Atlanta Braves 12, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 0 Cracker Jack Stadium (Kissimmee, Florida) |
|
38 | Ricky Nolasco (7) Dan Meyer (1) Leo Nunez (1) |
Florida Marlins | |
Sunday, March 22, 2009 Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers Joker Marchant Stadium (Lakeland, Florida) |
|
39 | Brad Hand (5) Steve Cishek (1) A.J. Ramos (2) Arquimedes Caminero (1) |
Miami Marlins | |
Saturday, March 15, 2014 Miami Marlins 5, New York Yankees 0 Rod Carew Stadium (Panama City, Panama) |
|
40 | Cody Martin (2) Jim Johnson (1) Josh Outman (1) Brandon Cunniff (1) Ian Thomas (1) Mauricio Cabrera (1) Lucas Sims (1) Justin Jackson (1) Jairo Heredia (1) |
Atlanta Braves | |
Sunday, March 8, 2015 Atlanta Braves 2, Houston Astros 2 (10 innings) Osceola County Stadium (Kissimmee, Florida) |
|
41 | Masahiro Tanaka (4⅓) Chasen Shreve (⅔) Jordan Montgomery (4) |
New York Yankees | |
Friday, March 17, 2017 New York Yankees 3, Detroit Tigers 0 Joker Marchant Stadium (Lakeland, Florida) |
|
42 | Bud Norris (2) Jose Alvarez (1) Cam Bedrosian (1) Andrew Bailey (1) Austin Adams (1) Drew Gagnon (1) Justin Anderson (1) Abel De Los Santos (1) |
Los Angeles Angels | |
Friday, March 24, 2017 Los Angeles Angels 4, Seattle Mariners (SS) 0 Tempe Diablo Stadium (Tempe, Arizona) |
|
43 | Justin Steele (2) Javier Assad (2) Brad Boxberger (1) Adbert Alzolay (1) Jeremiah Estrada (1) Cameron Sanders (1) Nick Burdi (1) |
Chicago Cubs | |
Friday, March 3, 2023 Chicago Cubs 4, San Diego Padres 0 Peoria Sports Complex (Peoria, Arizona) |
Here’s a no-hitter by a minor-league squad against a major-league team
1 | “Oyster Joe” Martina |
---|---|
Beaumont Oilers | |
Sunday, March 14, 1915 Beaumont Oilers 2, St. Louis Browns (ss) 0 Magnolia Ballpark (Beaumont, Texas) The St. Louis Browns split their team into three different squads this day. Martina, a two-decade minor-leaguer who won nearly 350 games from 1910 through 1931, spent only the 1924 season in the bigs — with the World Champion Washington Senators. |
Here are the in-season exhibition game no-hitters:
1 | Lee Richmond |
---|---|
Worcester Worcesters | |
Tuesday, June 3, 1879 Worcester Worcesters 11, Chicago White Stockings 0 Driving Park (Worcester, Massachusetts) Richmond was a Brown University pitcher invited to join Worcester for this contest. |
|
2 | Alex Pearson |
St. Louis Cardinals | |
Sunday, August 10, 1902 St. Louis Cardinals 7, West Side Athletic Club of Jersey City 0 (6 innings) East End Grounds (Bayonne, New Jersey) Game called due to rain after 6 innings. |
|
3 | Chick Evans |
Boston Doves | |
Sunday, July 17, 1910 Boston Doves 4, Canton Deubers 0 Meyer’s Lake Park (Canton, Ohio) |
|
4 | Paul Wachtel (6) Pete Fahrer (4) |
Dayton Veterans | |
Sunday, July 17, 1910 Dayton Veterans 2, Cincinnati Reds 1 (10 innings) Fairview Park (Dayton, Ohio) |
|
5 | Carl Miles |
Philadelphia Athletics | |
Tuesday, September 3, 1940 Philadelphia Athletics 11, Springfield Nationals 0 Pynchon Park (Springfield, Massachusetts) |
|
6 | Warren Spahn (1) Vern Bickford (1) Lew Burdette (1) Max Surkont (1) Jim Wilson (1) Joey Jay (4) |
Milwaukee Braves | |
Wednesday, July 15, 1953 Milwaukee Braves 8, Quebec Braves 0 Quebec Municipal Stadium (Quebec) Proceeds of this game benefited the Quebec section of the Canadian Red Cross. |
|
7 | Bill Hepler (3) Dave Eilers (2) |
New York Mets | |
Monday, May 2, 1966 Jacksonville Suns 2, New York Mets 0 (5 2/3 innings, a no-hit loss) Sam M. Wolfson Park (Jacksonville, Florida) The Suns scored two unearned runs in the third inning; game called due to rain. |
… and here’s the list I’ve been compiling of spring training #nohitters. (So far I’ve found 24) … https://t.co/RfopgVaJ5G