On September 20, 1907, Nick Maddox pitched the first no-hitter in Pirate history. He remains the youngest pitcher to throw a no-hitter since the pitching distance became 60 feet, 6 inches, at 20 years and 10 months.
The headline on The Pittsburg Press' story was "PIRATES WIN A GREAT GAME/Brooklyn Held to No Hits, But Secures One Run" while the Pittsburgh Post went with "MADDOX PROVES BRIGHT STAR IN SENSATIONAL SLAB BATTLE/Pitches First Hitless Game in History of Pittsburgh Baseball Club./Pirates Defeat Brooklyn in the Most Sensational Contest of the Season." (Yes, the Post used the H in Pittsburgh.)
The Pirates brought Maddox up from the Wheeling Stogies in September, 1907. His first National League start was a two-hit shutout of St. Louis on Sept. 13, where he struck out 14. He beat the Cardinals again three days later, and then "the Pirates' Central League recruit" started against the Brooklyn Superbas at Exposition Park on Sept. 20. He was opposed by spitballer Elmer Stricklett, who only gave up two hits himself, both by Fred Clarke. The legendary Bill Klem was the umpire.
Neither of Clarke's hits was involved in the scoring. As the Post put it, "Thus safe bingles had nothing to do with the run-getting and had not several errors crept into the clash, both sides might have played until dark without either crossing the platter."
Brooklyn scored their run in the fourth inning. With two out, Maddox fielded a little grounder, but his high throw allowed Emil Batch to reach second. In 1951, Maddox told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Edwin F. Brennan, "They scored me with an error. But hell man, I threw it to the first baseman (Harry) Swacina. Sure it went over his head but he should have jumped for it." Al Burch then hit a ground ball to shortstop Honus Wagner, whose low throw allowed Batch to score. Billy Maloney's ground ball to Swacina ended the inning.
Clarke doubled to left-center in the bottom of the fourth for the game's first hit.
Pittsburg tied the game in the fifth. Swacina walked. Alan Storke sacrificed to third baseman Doc Casey, and when Swacina saw that third base was uncovered, he continued to run. Catcher Billy Bergen ran to cover third, and first baseman Tim Jordan's wild throw to him allowed Swacina to score. Two fly balls to left fielder Batch closed out the inning.
In the top of the seventh, Burch tried to steal home with Stricklett at the plate, but catcher George Gibson tagged him out.
Wagner walked to lead off the bottom of the inning. Ed Abbatichio grounded to first, and Jordan threw the ball away trying for the force at second, allowing Wagner to get to third. Swacina flied to left and Storke was intentionally walked. With the bases loaded, Gibson's ground ball to second baseman John Hummel barely forced Storke and Wagner scored, giving the Pirates a 2-1 lead.
Clarke singled in the eighth, but was "left upon the initial sack."
In 1951, Maddox remembered the last out. "(Honus) saved my no-hitter in the ninth. A ball was hit right over my head and 'pfft' Wagner was over there to get it. I don't think he ever held the ball, he just swooped it over to first.
"Wagner is the best ballplayer that ever lived."
The Press' Pat Livingston talked to Wagner in 1951. "I realized in the eighth inning that Nick had a no-hitter, and I wanted him to get it. He got the side out all right in the eighth and had no trouble with the first two men in the ninth.
"But the last hitter -- I don't recall just who it was now -- hit a high bounce over the pitcher's head. The ball seemed to hang in the air. When it finally came down, I let fly to first base without even looking for the bag.
"The throw just beat the runner." (In 2007, the Post-Gazette's Paul Meyer identified the last hitter as Maloney, "a speedy but light-hitting center fielder.")
And with that, Maddox had his no-hitter and a 2-1 win over the Superbas.
Maddox walked three, struck out five and hit one batter. Stricklett walked four and didn't strike anybody out.
The Press' Baseball Notes column wondered, "Did you see yesterday's game? No? Well, you missed the treat of the season." The Post noted that "It was the most remarkable contest seen at Exhibition park this year, and notwithstanding the hard shower that fell immediately before play was called, 2,380 fans were fortunate enough to be present." Apparently, "called" means "started," since the Brooklyn Eagle said, "At about 3 o'clock a heavy shower fell, but half an hour later the sun was shining brightly, and Old Sol witnessed the whole of the contest."
While all the game stories praise Maddox' pitching, none describe it. The Press had one note that "Maddox worked a slow ball effectively on (Phil) Lewis in the eighth."
The win moved the Pirates' record to 83-54, a mere 15 games behind the league-leading Cubs.
_____________________
Maddox finished his 1907 stint for the Pirates with a 5-1 record and an 0.83 ERA. In 1908, he went 23-8 with a 2.28 ERA after missing a month with a fever, and the future was bright.
At the beginning of 1909, Maddox felt pain in his elbow and shoulder. He eventually found his way into a crowded rotation, and went 13-8 with a 2.21 ERA. In the World Series, he was one of three pitchers Clarke had warming up before Game 3 on a rainy day in Detroit, and the manager chose Maddox. The Pirates scored five in the first, one in the second, and hung on for an 8-6 win. Maddox pitched a complete game, only giving up one earned run, and Babe Adams won three more games as the Bucs won the Series, four games to three.
By 1910, Maddox' arm problems were a major issue. He appeared in 20 games (seven starts) and went 2-3 with a 3.40 ERA. At the end of the season, the Pirates sold him to Kansas City of the American Association, and Maddox kicked around the minors for a few years.
Meyer: "He returned to Baltimore for a while, married there and came back to Pittsburgh, where he and wife, Elizabeth, raised nine children while Maddox worked at the old Fort Pitt Brewery in Sharpsburg."
By 1951, when the Pirates got their next no-hitter (a story for another time), Brennan wrote, "Big Nick, who goes by the name of Duffy (his step-father's name was Maddox), is one of the best known characters in Millvale. He's boisterous, lively, and still gets a big kick out of life, despite his 64 years."
And Nick was very much an old ballplayer. "Those guys today aren't pitchers -- they're throwers. Talk about fast balls! Why in my day I'd throw one so fast past that guy Kiner he'd get pneumonia from the wind."
He died at Leech Farm in 1954, suffering from tuberculosis. He was buried at St. Augustine Cemetery in Millvale, and his tombstone commemorates his accomplishment.
(All quotes are from the original coverage. No play-by-play of the no-hitter seems to exist, so what's here is from the newspaper accounts.)
