Bob Feller's Opening Day No-Hitter.

Bob Feller's Opening Day No-Hitter. The following account details the no-hitter thrown by Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller in the Indian's 1940 opening game against the Chicago White Sox. A no-hitter occurs when a pitcher does not allow the opposing team any base hits for the duration of the game. . A No-Hitter on Opening Day He still slept in a nightgown and always referred to his elder teammates as "Mister." Bob Feller may have been moist behind the ears, but the farm-raised 21-year-old from Iowa could sling a baseball faster than anyone the game had ever seen. This fact became painfully clear to the Chicago White Sox on opening day of the 1940 major league baseball season. The Cleveland Indians were in town, and their prized right-hander got the starting assignment. Feller had spent the off-season simultaneously relaxing and keeping his aim sharp by playing billiards, hunting, and shooting skeet. Perhaps a bit too rested, Feller's pitching arm needed more time than usual to warm up on that chilly day in Chicago. The stiffness concerned Cleveland's coaches. Three years earlier arm trouble had forced Feller to miss much of the 1937 season. Many observers believed he was overworked during his sensational rookie campaign of 1936. As a 17-year-old high school senior, Feller was the youngest player in franchise history when he tied Dizzy Dean's major league record by striking out 17 batters in one game. "The Kid" fanned a remarkable 76 hitters in his first 62 innings in the big leagues. Feller's youthful body recovered quickly from the arm injury. In 1938 he won his first of seven American League (AL) strikeout titles. He rang up his final 18 victims--and set a new single-game record--against the Detroit Tigers in the season finale on October 2. He repeated as strikeout champion in 1938, a season that saw him toss his first of a major-league-record 12 one-hitters. A bunt single by Billy Sullivan was the only hit the St. Louis Browns mustered in their 9-0 loss to Cleveland on April 20. The following year Feller delivered more of the same: another strikeout crown and two more one-hitters. The first one-hitter came against the Boston Red Sox on May 25, 1939, when Feller struck out 10 batters in an 11-0 victory. The second was against Detroit on June 27; Feller fanned 13 hitters in a 5-0 triumph. In each game the opponent's only base hit was a single. The efforts helped Feller earn his first trip to the All-Star Game. His performance at the midseason showcase put the entire league on notice: Bob Feller was no fluke. Even though he had been in the league for four years by the time opening day of the 1940 campaign rolled around, Feller still baffled hitters with his broad repertoire of pitches and crafty changes of speed. In a highly publicized race between his fastball and a motorcycle traveling 140 km/h (85 mph), the baseball handily won. As for Feller's curveball, it was particularly unfriendly to right-handed hitters. The pitch sped at a righty's head before diving toward the strike zone. Making matters all the more difficult, Feller used a variety of windups--ranging from overhand to "three-quarters" to sidearm. The damp, bracing winds coming off of Lake Michigan were miserable on the afternoon of April 16, 1940. A mere 14,000 fans ventured to Comiskey Park to watch the White Sox's season opener against Midwest rival Cleveland. Among the crowd were Feller's parents and sister. With the wind playing tricks with Feller's curveball, "Rapid Robert" relied almost exclusively on his hard stuff. Perhaps trying too hard to throw strikes, Feller had trouble finding the plate throughout the game. In the second inning he walked the bases loaded before striking out rookie third baseman Bob Kennedy to end the inning. In the fourth inning Cleveland mustered as much offense as it would need for the day. With one out, left fielder Jeff Heath singled through the left side of the infield. After third baseman Ken Keltner flied out, catcher Rollie Hemsley swatted a triple that scored Heath. When the White Sox came up in the bottom of the fourth, Feller set them down in order. By the end of the eighth inning, he had retired 15 consecutive batters. With the Indians clinging to a 1-0 lead, Feller faced the meat of Chicago's lineup in the bottom of the ninth inning. He opened the stanza by easily retiring center fielder Mike Kreevich and left fielder Moose Solters. Next up was shortstop Luke Appling, an eventual Hall of Famer who went on to hit .348 for the season. Appling refused to become Feller's final victim, sending four consecutive foul balls down the right-field line before walking on the tenth pitch he faced in that at-bat. The base-on-balls was Feller's fifth for the game. With the potential tying run on first base, Feller could not direct all of his attention to the next hitter, right fielder Taft Wright. Feller also had to keep an eye on the fleet-footed Appling, a distraction that threatened to jostle his concentration. Appling edged off the bag, bending at the waist and dangling his hands near the ground. If he stole second, a subsequent base hit by Wright would not only blow Feller's no-hitter but would also bring home the tying run. Wright whacked a hard ground ball that appeared destined for right field. Second baseman Ray Mack bolted to his left, knocked down the ball, picked it up, and fired it to first baseman Hal Trosky. The ball arrived one step ahead of Wright, preserving Feller's gem and ending the game. Even though the home team lost, White Sox fans rewarded Feller with a rousing standing ovation: It had been 23 years since the Chicago faithful watched their team suffer such a fate. (On May 6, 1917, Robert Groom of the St. Louis Browns blanked the White Sox, 3-0, at Comiskey.) Later in the season, on July 12, Feller tossed a one-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Philadelphia. He went on to compile league-high totals that year in strikeouts, wins, earned-run average, shutouts, and complete games. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.