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In the years prior to WWI, the Brooklyn Dodgers fielded teams in which little civic pride could be taken. However, when the redheaded Nap Rucker took the mound the fans could be sure of a chance to cheer, particularly'Wh)''when he faced the rival New York Giants. He spent barely ten seasons in the big leagues, all with the Dodgers, and failed to provide Hall of Fame statistics, but there were many who insisted he was the best of his time. In Brooklyn, if nowhere else, his memory is revered by those who know of his heroic efforts for a futile ball club. (JK)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » May 29, 1908: At Ebbets Field, Christy Mathewson rights himself and shuts out Brooklyn for a 1-0 Giants win. Matty gives up four hits, K's 8, in beating Nap Rucker. » July 9, 1908: The Cubs win their 2nd in a row from Brooklyn, this time in 10 innings, 4–3. Three Finger Brown tops Nap Rucker. » September 5, 1908: Nap Rucker pitches a no-hitter for Brooklyn against the Boston Doves 6-0, striking out 14 and walking none. Three runners reached 1B on errors. The Doves send up three righty pinch hitter in the 9th to no avail. The 14 strikeouts tops the previous NL high this season of 12, held by Rucker and Christy Mathewson. » September 8, 1908: Christy Mathewson's 30th win is a gem-an 11-inning 1-0 win over the Superbas' Nap Rucker. A single by Al Bridwell drives home Cy Seymour with the winning tally. New York stays a half-game ahead of Pittsburgh. » July 22, 1909: Brooklyn ace Nap Rucker strikes out 16 Cardinals in a 1–0 win. Rucker will fan 201 batters this year, just four behind Orval Overall, the National League leader. » May 30, 1911: New York takes the National League lead, winning two from Brooklyn. Giants C Art Wilson makes the first nine putouts in the morning game as four Superbas fan, three foul out, and two are thrown out at home trying to score on base hits. The Giants win, 4–1, before 8,000. Before a turnaway crowd of 25,000 in the nitecap, Bugs Raymond gives up just a single in five innings before leaving with acute stomach pain "just southwest of the fourth rib" (NY Times) caused by eating a strawberry sundae between games. Red Ames allows two hits the rest of the way as the Giants whip the Dodgers Nap Rucker, 3–0. » July 22, 1911: Brooklyn hurler Nap Rucker loses a no-hitter with two outs in the 9th inning when Cincinnati's Bob Bescher comes through with a hit. Rucker wins the game, 1–0, outpitching Frank Smith, who gives up two hits and an unearned run. The Reds set a major-league record for nine innings by going to bat just 24 times (it'll be topped in the AL and tied twice in the NL this century) and the two teams combine for just 48 at bats, to tie a major-league record set April 22, 1910. » October 4, 1911: At Washington Park, the Giants clinch the pennant with a 2–0 victory over Brooklyn. Christy Mathewson allows seven hits in besting Nap Rucker. » July 3, 1912: The Giants' Rube Marquard nips Nap Rucker 2–1 to capture his 19th straight game this season. With two end-of-year wins in 1911, he has 21 in a row in regular season play. Both marks are records. On the 8th, the Cubs will beat him, but he will ultimately compile a league-leading 26 victories against 11 defeats. Today's game is the Giants' 16th consecutive win. Brooklyn will end the streak tomorrow » September 2, 1912: Brooklyn's Tex Erwin cracks a 9th inning homer off Grover Cleveland Alexander to tie and the Superbas tip the Phils, 2–1 in 11 innings. In the nitecap, Eppa Rixey outpitches Nap Rucker to give the Quakers a 2–1 win in 12 innings. » October 6, 1912: At the Remington Arms Company in Bridgeport Connecticut, Walter Johnson and Nap Rucker fire fast balls through a tunnel of fine wires in an attempt to clock their fastballs. In street clothes, both throw three pitches. The rudimentary test clocks Johnson at 122 feet per second (82 mph) and Rucker at 113 feet per second, both on their 3rd throw. » April 5, 1913: An exhibition game with the newly christened Yankees opens Ebbets Field; 25,000 are on hand to watch Nap Rucker beat the American Leaguers, 3–2. The first home run is hit by Brooklyn's Casey Stengel, who legs out an inside-the-parker in the 1st. Jake Daubert legs out another round tripper in the 2nd. The Yanks suffer a loss when Zack Wheat spikes starting SS Claud Derrick on his throwing hand. Derrick will play just seven games before New York ships him to Sacramento (PCL). » April 9, 1913: With league approval, the Dodgers play their opener—and first regular-season game at Ebbets Field—a day ahead of the rest of the league. Cold weather keeps the crowd down to about 12,000, and the Phils' knuckleballer Tom Seaton beats Nap Rucker, 1–0. Seaton will lead the NL in wins with 27. » April 29, 1913: At Ebbets Field, New York's Christy Mathewson beats Nap Rucker 6–0 in 13 innings and gives up no walks. He has thrown 22 innings without a pass; he will not walk a batter for 47 innings, then will top his own record later in the year. During his 25–11 season, Matty will walk 21 and hit none. » April 15, 1915: Rube Marquard, who lost 22 games for the Giants in 1914, pitches a 2–0 no-hitter over Brooklyn in the Giants' 2nd game of the season. The loser is Nap Rucker, who pitched a no-hitter in 1908. Rube faces just 30 batters, walking Casey Stengel and Zack Wheat, while George Cutshaw reaches on an error. » September 7, 1916: At the Polo Grounds, the Giants Ferdie Schupp beats Brooklyn's Nap Rucker, 4–1, to launch New York's record 26–game winning streak. » October 11, 1916: Rube Marquard, Larry Cheney, and Nap Rucker yield 10 hits as the Red Sox win Game Four easily 6–2. The Brooklyn Robins score twice in the first, but Larry Gardner's 2nd home run, an inside-the-park blast, scores three in the 2nd and puts Boston ahead to stay. Dutch Leonard holds his foes to five hits. » May 11, 1945: The Giants defeat the Reds, 4–3, but New York CF Johnny Rucker goes hitless for the first time in 19 games. Rucker is a nephew of great Dodger southpaw Nap Rucker.