Chicago Cubs: Ranking Alec Mills’ no-hitter in history

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - SEPTEMBER 13: Alec Mills #30 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on September 13, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - SEPTEMBER 13: Alec Mills #30 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on September 13, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

With a game score of 93, Chicago Cubs pitcher Don Cardwell.

Cardwell’s May 15, 1960 no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals is well-recalled today in part because it is one of the first no-hitters for which at least partial video exists. In the case of Cardwell’s no-hitter, that video largely focuses on the final out, which you can view on Youtube.

With two out in the ninth and Chicago leading 4-0, Cardwell stared in at Cardinal outfielder Joe Cunningham. To that point, Cardwell had allowed just one base-runner, a first-inning walk issued to Alex Grammas.

The ninth had been especially perilous. The first Cardinal batter, pinch hitter Carl Sawatski, lined a shot into right field that George Altman ran down. The next hitter, George Crowe, drove a Cardwell pitch deep into right-center field that appeared destined for the bleachers. But it died at the warning track and center fielder Richie Ashburn took it in.

That brought up Cunningham, who worked a full count and then looped a sinking liner into short left field. Walt Moryn, a stocky player hardly known for his fielding grace, loped in and snatched the ball off the turf to preserve the no-hitter.

The event was all the more dramatic because the Chicago Cubs had just acquired Cardwell from Philadelphia a few days earlier; he was making his first appearance in a Chicago uniform. He would finish 8-14 in 26 starts for the Cubs.