In 1887, Detroit Wolverines pitcher Charlie Getzien takes a no-hitter into the ninth inning of Game Six against the St. Louis Browns. The issue of who will win the game is no longer in doubt: Detroit has a 9-0 lead. At one point in the game, nineteen straight Browns are retired, so dominating is Getzien on this day. St. Louis has yet to make a safe hit as the Detroit hurler works to Arlie Latham, the leadoff batter in the ninth. Latham grounds to short and Jack Rowe kicks the ball for an error. A moment later, Bill Gleason hits a hard liner to first baseman Charlie Ganzel. Ganzel is nearly knocked off his feet, but holds onto the ball, and Latham is stranded in no-man's-land, doubled off the bag. Two outs. Tip O'Neill steps to the plate. Tip O'Neill, baseball's best hitter in 1887 with a .435 batting average. Charlie Getzien, Detroit's leading pitcher. St. Louis' best against Detroit's finest. This is the way baseball has always been, the way it will always be.
Getzien delivers.
O'Neill swings.
The ball streaks for right field, Getzien's bid for baseball immortality riding on its wings, and drops in for a single, a few feet shy of the outstretched glove of Ned Hanlon. The bid is ended. The no-hitter has vanished.
[Introduction from Glory Fades Away: The Nineteenth-Century World Series Rediscovered by Jerry Lansche. Published by Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas.]
» Jodi Purdy-Quinlan is the Great-Granddaughter of Charlie Ganzel.
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Posted February 17, 2003.
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