| Birth: | Nov. 2, 1914 | | Death: | Oct. 6, 1997 | 
Major League Baseball Player. Played Major League Baseball as a Pitcher for 13 seasons (1937-1943, 1946-1951) with the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians. He is forever known in Baseball history for his pitching two consecutive No-Hit Games in 1938. A hard thrower, he won accolades in the Minor Leagues before being brought up to the Reds in 1937, pitching sparingly in his initial season. The next year, his first full season in the Majors, he shocked the baseball world when, on June 11, he tossed a 3-0 No-Hit game against the Boston Braves. His next game, on June 15th against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbetts Field, hepitcher another No-Hitter, a 3-walk 6-0 performance. Dodgers shortstop/manager Leo Durocher made last out on a fly ball to the center fielder. To date he remains the only Major League pitcher to toss two No-Hitters. He was named to the NL All-Star team that year, and won the game for the National League after pitching 3 shutout innings. Although he was again named to the 1939 NL All-Star team, arm troubles kept him from pitching regularly in that year and 1940. Still, in 1940 he appeared in 10 games, and was part of the Reds World Series Championship team. Cincinnati defeated the Detroit Tigers 4 Games to 3 that year, with Johnny Vander Meer pitching only a single Series inning in a 6-0 Reds loss in Game 5. Coming back healthy in 1941, he would have 3 of his most productive seasons, winning 15+ games from 1941 to 1943, pitching in 2 All-Star Games (striking out six AL batters in the 1943 contest), and leading the NL in strikeouts all three years. In 1944 he enlisted in the United States Navy, and didn’t return from military service until 1946. He won 17 Games in 1948, but was never the same pitcher he once was, and was plagued by arm troubles for the rest of his career. He played for the Cubs in 1950 and the Indians in 1951 before retiring from the Majors. His career totals were 119 Wins-121 Losses, 346 Games Pitched, 29 Shutouts, 1,294 Strikeouts, and a career 3.44 ERA. (bio by: Russ Dodge)
Search Amazon for John Vander Meer | | | Burial:
Garden of Memories Cemetery
Tampa
Hillsborough County
Florida, USA |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: Russ Dodge
Record added: Feb 21, 2002
Find A Grave Memorial# 6201492 |
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