Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-27
By Umpire Billy Evans.


1t is the ambition Of every twirler,
major or minor league, amateur or semi
professional. to pitch q no-hit game. An
even higher ambition is to pitch a game
in which not an opposing player reaches
first base
Critics may argue that base ball en-
thusiasts want more batting. perhaps
they do, but il one would pay strict at
tention to the crowd, when 1t seems as
IL some pitcher is about to achieve a no.
hit game. 1 believe they would change
their opinion. Never have 1 seen crowds
under so terrific a strain. when about the
seventh inning it dawned upon them
that not one of the visitors had reached
first base. Interested in the game. well,
If you could hear the sigh Of relief that
goes up as the visiting batters are re-
tired, you would think SO. What
hilarious crowd leaves the grounds II the
feat is accomplished, what disappointed
lot Of fans II some visitor happens TO
fans like plenty Of hitting, II the home
team happens to be doing the swatting.
but the familiar cry Of take him out
is soon heard when the opposition begins
meeting the ball on the nose. 1t makes
all the difference in the world VINO Is
doing the hitting.
Since the pitching of no-hit game Is
regarded as quite an extraordinary per-
Torrance, it was quite surprise to me
in looking over the pitching records OF
were pitched last summer. of these only
two fell to the majors, efghty-three or
the contests taking place in the minors
Not a no-hit game was worked In the
National, while strangely enough the
Cleveland club figured in the two light
hitting contests in the American: Adoie
Joss shut out Chicago while CHIEF Ben
der Of the Athletics handed the Maps q
similar dose. Despite the large number OF
no-hit games credited to the summer OF
1910. it fell short Of the record mark, for
in 1909, eighty-nine such performances
were pulled of, and not single one was
credited to the majors.
Thus a perusal of the records reveals
the fact that while no-hit games are the
exception to the rule, they are by no
means rare. Games, however, in which
not a man reaches first base are decidedly
few and far between, only about half
dozen such feats having been performed
since 1880. Last year being out of the
ordinary in many ways. furnished two
such exhibitions. Pitcher Farthing of
Lincoln shut out Topeka to O. in which
not a man reached first. while Pitcher
Carmichael performed a similar feat for
Buffalo against Jersey City.
-.
order to pitch game in which not man
reaches first, the twirler must not only
be doing grand work. but he must nave
more than his share Of luck, an element
ball. After such a wonderful perform
ance a pitcher has right to lot or
glory but usually little is thought OF the
faultless support that was accorded the
twirler SO necessary for the fulnllment
of the feat.
Addie Joss of the Cleveland team is a
great twirler, and what is even better a
modest twrler. When Joss, in one OF
the crucial games OF 1907, shut out chi
cagO without a man reaching nrst, MS
first words to newspaper man VINO Went
to interview him relative to the feat were:
II was dead lucky to get away with IL.
The scribe tried to make Joss see 1t
differently by commenting on MS great
speed and excellent curves. Joss admit
ted that he was better than usual that
afternoon, but insisted that luck played
a bigger part than his pitching.
"Why, just think of that great catch
Joe Birmingham made on that drive that
looked good for a home run. Wasn't that
grounder over second? Remember that
wonderful catch Stovall made of that
high throw" Thus Joss went on emu
merating the many fine plays that were
pulled off, which aided him materially In
performing the feat Joss pitched won
derful game. but he was broad-minded
enough to give his teammates a Dig por-
ton of the credit.
Luck often plays prominent part IN
aiding a performance OF that ..ind, ana
Just as often 1t plays Its little part In
preventing the fulhilment OF the amoition
of every pitcher. If you doubt such
statement you should have been at two
games pitched by Walter Johnson last
year, and one in which Russell Ford OF
New York off1ciated.
Now, Walter johnson Is regarded as
one of the greatest twirlers that ever
lived, but as yet he has not broken into
the no-hit game column. On two occa-
sions last year Johnson seriously threat
ened such action, only to be defeated by
the smallest of margins. If Johnson never
accomplishes the feat during his base ball
career he can content himself in know
ing that no HEAVIER ever had closer call.
In the opening game Of the season in
1910 johnson was robbed out OF the honor
simply because the seating capacity at
the Washington park was unable to take
care of the overflow crowd that was in
attendance at the opening game. The
hard hitting Athletics opposed Washing
ton, and Danny Murphy secured the only
hit of the game, a rank scratch II there
ever was one. With two strikes on him,
Murphy hit one Of Johnson's fast ones
late, sending the ball to right field, where
the crowd had overlooked to within q
short distance Of the inf1eld. On q clear
ground it would have been the easiest
kind of an out, but Doc Gessler, who was
playing right field for Washington. backed
into the crowd in an effort to get 1t, only
to see it fall about a yard out of his
reach. The fact that the grounds we're
made so small that day, due to the big
crowd, and the fact that Johnson was OPP
posed to the hard-hitting Athletics. makes
the performance all the more noteworthy.
II X
Later in the season at St Louis John
son shut out the Browns with but sin
gle hit, another scratch, but still enough
of a hit to rob Johnson OF the glory that
would have been SO sweet to him. frankie
Truesdale was the first man to face john
son in the opening inning. With two
strikes on him he hit roller down in the
direction of second base. Instead of COM
ing in on the ball. the infielder allowed
the ball to play him, as he underestimated
his speed. Truesdale. who is a very fast
man, beat the throw to first by a step.
That was the only hit Of the day, and
under ordinary conditions would have
been a sure out, had the ball been judged
properly.
Russell Ford, who twirled such sensa-
tiona1 ball for the New York Americans
last year, had an experience that rivals
the two bits of hard luck that befell
johnson. IL anything, Ford's luck was
more of the heart-breaking sort for it
happened just when the honor seemed
within his grasp.
Pitching against the st. Louis club,
Ford had gone eight and two-thirds in
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