By James G. Robinson
Bob Feller's fastball struck fear into the hearts of opposing batters -- but
when Feller took the mound, it was his parents who often found themselves
in the line of fire. As a boy, his legendary heater had broken three of his
father's ribs; on Mother's Day 1939, a foul ball off the bat of Chicago third
baseman Marv Owen sent his mother to the hospital for two days. The next
time Mrs. Feller attended a game at Comiskey -- April 16, 1940 -- her son
made sure she stayed out of harm's way, silencing the White Sox for the
only Opening Day no-hitter in baseball history.
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Bob Feller (AP)
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Mrs. Feller must have been
comforted by Owen's
absence from the White Sox
lineup; the veteran third
baseman had been sold to
the Red Sox the previous
December. In his place was
rookie Bob Kennedy -- father
of future major-league
catcher Terry Kennedy --
who served as the
table-setter in a lineup that
included Hall of Famer Luke
Appling and .300 hitters
Taffy Wright and Moose
Solters. The White Sox were
rebuilding, but they were no
doormats; their .278 team
batting average in 1940
would be second only to the
mighty Detroit Tigers in the
American League.
Both hurlers -- the
21-year-old Feller and White
Sox stalwart Edgar Smith --
coped admirably with the
stiff Lake Michigan wind at
their backs. Smith walked
two, struck out five, and
allowed just six hits; a
fourth-inning triple by Rollie
Hemsley drove in Feller's
roommate Jeff Heath for the
only run of the game.
Meanwhile, Feller had gotten
off to a bad start. His arm stiffened up before the game, and he wasn't
comfortable using his curve in the cold weather. Relying mainly on his
fastball, he walked five White Sox batters in the game. Two of those walks,
plus a dropped ball by centerfielder Roy Weatherly, loaded the bases in the
second inning. But Feller pitched out of the jam and settled down; it wasn't
until the ninth inning that his no-hitter was seriously threatened by two of the
White Sox' best batters.
With two outs in the ninth, Feller faced Luke Appling, who used his talent for
fouling off pitches to valiantly fight off a two-strike count. Feller soon tired of
dealing with the pesky Appling and decided to walk him. "I already had
issued four walks, so another one wasn't going to make any difference
anyhow," recalled Feller in his autobiography. "It was an intentional walk,
but nobody else knew it."
The well-intentioned walk nearly backfired on Feller. On deck was Taffy
Wright, a good contact hitter, who promptly drove a ball between first and
second base towards right field. Only a superb play by second baseman
Ray Mack saved the no-hitter. After diving to his left to knock down the ball,
Mack picked it up off the outfield grass with his bare hand and spun around
to nab Wright by a half-step at first base.
It was the first -- and most memorable -- of the three no-hitters Feller would
throw in his eighteen-year Hall of Fame career. He finished the season with
27 wins and led the league for the third consecutive season with 261
strikeouts. After another superb season in 1941, Feller joined the Navy as
the first pro ballplayer to volunteer for World War II. He returned to the
Indians after the war, setting a major-league record with 348 strikeouts --
and throwing another no-hitter -- in 1946. His final no-hitter came in 1951,
his last 20-win season.
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