September 28, 1951. Two outs in the ninth at Yankee Stadium, and the last man standing between Allie Reynolds and history was Ted Williams. Reynolds had already no-hit Cleveland 1-0 on July 12, beating Bob Feller. One more out and the New York Yankees' Superchief would become the first American League pitcher to throw two no-hitters in a single season.
Williams popped it up. That should've been the end of the story. It wasn't.
Beating Feller in His Own Park
The first one came on a Thursday in July at Cleveland Stadium, against the club that had shipped Reynolds to the Bronx for Joe Gordon back in 1946. Cleveland had a decent reason to feel confident that night. Bob Feller was on the mound, and he'd no-hit Detroit only 11 days before.
Feller pitched like it. He didn't give up a hit until Mickey Mantle doubled in the sixth, and he went the distance on four hits. It didn't matter. In the seventh, Gene Woodling hit a Feller pitch out of the park, and that solo homer was the only run anybody scored all night.
Reynolds never let Cleveland get close to answering. He walked three, Phil Rizzuto made an error, and that was the entire Indians offense. Reynolds retired the last 17 hitters in a row and struck out Bobby Avila to finish it. It was the first Yankee no-hitter since Monte Pearson blanked -- who else -- Cleveland in 1938.
(Somewhere, a Cleveland executive quietly reread the Gordon trade paperwork.)
No Room for Error
By September, the 1951 pennant race had turned into a knife fight. On September 17, Rizzuto squeezed Joe DiMaggio home in the ninth to beat Cleveland 2-1 and push the Yankees one game in front. Then the weather made things stranger. Rainouts left the club with five games against Boston in the final three days -- doubleheaders Friday and Saturday, one more on Sunday.
Casey Stengel handed Reynolds the ball for the Friday opener. Reynolds struck out nine and walked four, and the Yankees built an 8-0 lead that made the scoreboard irrelevant. Only the zeros in Boston's hit column still mattered.
The Ninth Inning
Charlie Maxwell grounded out to start the ninth. Dom DiMaggio drew Reynolds' fourth walk. Johnny Pesky took a called third strike. That brought up Williams, the one hitter in the league nobody wanted to see with a no-hitter on the line.
Williams lifted a high, twisting foul pop behind the plate. Yogi Berra drifted under it, and the ball squirted out of his glove. An error on the catcher, and Williams got another swing.
Reynolds didn't blow up. He stayed calm and went to his catcher.
Don't worry, Yogi, we'll get him again.
He did, on the very next pitch. Williams popped up foul again, and this time Berra squeezed it. I've read a lot of no-hitter endings, and I don't know of a better one than the greatest hitter alive getting two chances and missing both.
The Pennant, Then the Record Book
The no-hitter clinched at least a tie. The nightcap finished the job: Vic Raschi went the distance, DiMaggio homered, and the Yankees won 11-3 for their third straight pennant. They swept all five games that weekend and finished 98-56, five games ahead of Cleveland. In October they beat the Giants in the 1951 World Series.
Reynolds finished 17-8 with a 3.05 ERA and an AL-leading seven shutouts. He placed third in the MVP race behind his own catcher -- Berra's breakout year won the award -- and took home the Hickok Belt as the country's top professional athlete.
Only Johnny Vander Meer, with his back-to-back gems for Cincinnati in 1938, had thrown two no-hitters in one season before him. Detroit's Virgil Trucks matched Reynolds a year later, and the second of his two came against the Yankees in the Bronx (the universe has a sense of humor). Reynolds went on to his best season in 1952, and no other Yankee has ever thrown two no-hitters.
He stood on that mound in September needing one out against Ted Williams, and he beat him twice.
| No-Hitter No. 1 | July 12, 1951 -- Yankees 1, Indians 0, at Cleveland Stadium |
| Only Run (July 12) | Gene Woodling solo HR, 7th inning, off Bob Feller |
| Cleveland Baserunners | 4 (3 walks, 1 error); last 17 retired in order |
| No-Hitter No. 2 | September 28, 1951 -- Yankees 8, Red Sox 0 (Game 1), at Yankee Stadium |
| Line vs. Boston | 9 K, 4 BB |
| Final Out | Ted Williams foul pop to Yogi Berra (after Berra dropped the previous one) |
| Reynolds' 1951 Season | 17-8, 3.05 ERA, 7 shutouts (AL lead) |
| Distinction | First AL pitcher with two no-hitters in one season |
Feller's Third No-Hitter
Bob Feller no-hits Detroit 2-1 in Cleveland -- 11 days before he'd face Reynolds.
No-Hitter No. 1 at Cleveland
Reynolds beats Feller 1-0 on Woodling's seventh-inning homer, retiring the final 17 batters and striking out Bobby Avila for the last out.
Rizzuto's Squeeze
Rizzuto's ninth-inning squeeze bunt scores DiMaggio in a 2-1 win over Cleveland, putting the Yankees a game in front.
No-Hitter No. 2 vs. Boston
Reynolds no-hits the Red Sox 8-0 in the opener of a doubleheader, getting Ted Williams on a second foul pop after Berra drops the first. The win clinches at least a tie for the pennant.
Pennant Clinched in the Nightcap
Raschi goes the distance and DiMaggio homers in an 11-3 win, wrapping up the Yankees' third straight AL pennant.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Allie Reynolds throw his two no-hitters?
Reynolds threw both in 1951. He beat the Cleveland Indians 1-0 at Cleveland Stadium on July 12, outdueling Bob Feller, and he beat the Boston Red Sox 8-0 at Yankee Stadium on September 28, in the first game of a doubleheader.
Who made the last out of Allie Reynolds' second no-hitter?
Ted Williams. With two outs in the ninth, Williams hit a foul pop that Yogi Berra dropped. On the next pitch, Williams popped up foul again, and Berra caught it to end the game.
Was Allie Reynolds the first pitcher to throw two no-hitters in one season?
He was the first in the American League and the second in the majors. Johnny Vander Meer had thrown back-to-back no-hitters for Cincinnati in 1938. Detroit's Virgil Trucks became the third pitcher to do it in 1952.
Has any other Yankee thrown two no-hitters?
No. Reynolds is the only pitcher in franchise history with more than one no-hitter, and he threw both of his in 1951.