Johnny Vander Meer Throws His Second Consecutive No-Hitter

On June 15, 1938, Cincinnati Reds left-hander Johnny Vander Meer no-hit the Brooklyn Dodgers 6-0 at Ebbets Field, four days after no-hitting the Boston Bees at Crosley Field. He became the only pitcher in major league history to throw consecutive no-hitters. Nobody has matched the feat in the nearly nine decades since.

The game doubled as the first night game ever played at Ebbets Field. General manager Larry MacPhail, Brooklyn's great promoter, had staged pregame festivities that included a marching band, a drum and bugle corps from the American Legion, a footrace exhibition by 1936 Olympic hero Jesse Owens, and an appearance by Babe Ruth. A crowd of 38,748 jammed into the park, the second-largest in Brooklyn history, with the fire department turning away an estimated 10,000 more. The first pitch did not come until 9:45 p.m.

Vander Meer was not as sharp as he had been against Boston. He walked eight Dodgers and relied on strong defense, particularly from third baseman Lew Riggs and outfielder Wally Berger, to keep the no-hitter intact through eight innings. In the ninth, he nearly lost it. He walked three consecutive batters to load the bases with one out. Manager Bill McKechnie walked to the mound and told him to throw strikes. Vander Meer settled down, got Ernie Koy to ground into a fielder's choice at home plate, then retired Leo Durocher on a fly ball to center fielder Harry Craft for the final out.

Vander Meer was 23 years old. He threw hard but wild, having walked 69 batters in 84 innings the year before. The back-to-back no-hitters launched him into national fame overnight. He carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning of his next start before Debs Garms singled, ending the hitless streak at 22 consecutive innings.

He pitched fourteen seasons in the majors, winning 119 games and making three All-Star teams. His career was respectable, but it lives in history for two June nights in 1938 when a wild left-hander did something nobody had done before and nobody has done since.