Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs Pitch Dual No-Hitters
By David Hill
Pitching a no-hitter is difficult enough, as it has only been accomplished 295 times through today. A dual no-hitter through nine innings has only been accomplished once, as Hippo Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs and Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds matched zero for zero on this day in 1917.
Hippo Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs and Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds were two of the better pitchers of their day. Toney was considered to have an excellent fastball, and Vaughn was one of the better lefties of his time. When both pitchers matched up on this day in 1917, one had to expect quite the pitcher’s duel.
However, one could not expect what would happen next. Not only did both Toney and Vaughn match each other by keeping the opposition off the board, but neither allowed a hit. As the game wore on during that chilly May day, both pitchers continued to dominate, not allowing a hit on either side through the ninth inning.
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Vaughn would lose his no-hitter immediately in extra innings.With one out, Larry Kopf singled for the first hit of the day. After another out, Hal Chase hit a fly ball to Cy Williams, which would have ended the inning. Instead, Williams dropped the ball, bringing up Olympic hero Jim Thorpe, who would end up grounding to the mound. Vaughn threw home due to Thorpe’s speed, with the ball hitting catcher Art Wilson in the chest. Kopf scored, and while Wilson stood frozen, Chase attempted to score as well. The catcher snapped back to reality in time to locate the ball and tag Chase out to end the inning.
Now, it was up to Toney to complete his gem. He did just that, retiring the side in order and striking Williams out with a 3-2 pitch to end the game. This actually was not the longest no-hitter that Toney threw in his career, as he pitched a 17 inning no hitter while pitching for the Winchester Hustlers in the Blue Grass League in 1909. On that day, he struck out 19 while issuing only two walks.
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A dual no-hitter had never happened before in organized baseball, and has not happened since. On this day, Hippo Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs and Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds both pitched their way into baseball history.