George Mogridge Pitches the First Yankees No-Hitter

On April 24, 1917, George Mogridge blanked the Boston Red Sox without a hit at Fenway Park, winning 2-1 in the first no-hitter in New York Yankees franchise history. Only 3,219 fans attended on a cold spring afternoon.

Mogridge was a lanky left-hander from Rochester, New York, playing in his second full season with the club. He was not the Yankees' best pitcher and had never been considered a star. His opponent that day was Dutch Leonard, a hard-throwing lefty coming off an 18-12 season that included a complete-game World Series win. Mogridge outpitched him.

The final line showed three walks, three strikeouts, and three Yankee errors behind him. Mogridge worked around the defensive miscues without losing his composure. The Red Sox managed a single run, though no hit accompanied it.

The Yankees in 1917 were not yet the dynasty they would become. They were still called the Yankees only recently, having been the Highlanders until 1913. Babe Ruth was still wearing a Red Sox uniform. The first Yankee Stadium was six years from being built. Mogridge's no-hitter arrived in a period when the franchise was still assembling the pieces that would later define it.

Mogridge was traded to the Washington Senators after the 1920 season. Ruth reportedly lamented the deal, calling Mogridge "the best left-handed pitcher in the league." Mogridge won 132 games across fifteen seasons with five teams, a career remembered less for its totals than for a single cold afternoon in Boston.