JOHNNY VANDER MEER

Johnny Vander Meer will forever be known as the pitcher who threw back-to-back no hitters in 1938, a feat that might never be challenged again. The other distinctive aspect of the second no-hitter was that it was the first night game ever played in Brooklyn. It was "The Dutch Master's" first full season in the majors.

What often gets lost in all of this was that Vander Meer went on to have a fairly productive career. His record over a 13-year career was 119-121 with an ERA of 3.44. He started 285 games and completed just under half, 131. He also threw 29 shutouts. He led the National League in strikeouts three years in a row (1941-43) and finished in the top ten four other times. He was a four-time all-star pitcher all with the Reds, with whom he played the bulk (1937-49) of his career. He finished out his career playing one year each with the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians.

His best season was 1942, when he went 18-12 while posting a career best 2.43 ERA. You must take into account that during the best years (1941-1948) of his career the Reds were never really a factor in a pennant race, finishing in the middle of the pack most years. From '41-'43 he won more games (49) than any other lefthander in the game.

Vander Meer pitched his first no-hitter against the Boston Braves, out-dueling Danny MacFayden, 3-0. He came back just four days later, on June 15th, to beat Brooklyn, 6-0. A little known fact about Vander Meer is that the two no hitters were part of a nine-game consecutive win streak. He also went on to set a record for hitless innings pitched with 21 2/3, a record which has since been broken on numerous occasions. Ironically, first the Dodgers and then the Braves owned Vander Meer, but, despite his blazing fastball they lost interest in him because of his wildness.

Johnny was born on 11/2/14 in Prospect Park, New Jersey. When he pitched the second no-hitter, a large number of the 40,000 fans who showed up were from his New Jersey neighborhood. He was 83 years old when he died at home in Tampa, Florida in 1997.