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amead17 · 08-29-2025, 10:52 AM

PITTINGER ETCHES HIS NAME IN BASEBALL HISTORY WITH NO-HITTER AGAINST ORPHANS

By Samuel T. Kingsley, Sporting Times, June 4, 1901

Chicago, June 3 — The Chicago faithful gathered at West Side Park yesterday expecting to see their Orphans put up a fight against the visiting Boston Beaneaters. Instead, they bore witness to a display of pitching mastery the likes of which this new Major League has yet to see. For on this day, Charles "Togie" Pittinger, a 29-year-old right-hander still early in his professional journey, tossed the first no-hit game since the great merger of the leagues, leading Boston to an emphatic 8–0 victory.

Pittinger, who entered the contest with a modest 5–4 record and a 2.95 earned run average, left the grounds with both numbers improved, but far more importantly with his name etched into baseball’s annals. Over nine commanding innings, not a single Orphan could record a base hit. Only three walks and a Boston error kept the affair from perfection, yet nothing could diminish the glory of the moment.

The first pass came in the opening inning, instantly ending any thought of a spotless game. A miscue by his infielders in the fourth gave Chicago a faint glimmer of life, and two further walks in the eighth stirred the crowd to hope. But each time Pittinger bore down, striking out nine in total and coaxing weak contact that Boston’s defenders handled without fail.

“I never thought I’d see this so soon in my career,” Pittinger said afterward, his uniform still dusted from the day’s labor. “The ball felt right in my hand from the first pitch. Even when I lost a man to a walk, I never doubted I could keep them off balance. It is a day I’ll carry with me as long as I play this game.”

Boston’s bats, meanwhile, gave him plenty of support. Early tallies built a comfortable lead, and by the middle innings the Beaneaters could do little but marvel at the show their pitcher was giving them.

Manager Frank Selee, no stranger to guiding championship-caliber clubs, spoke with evident pride: “Young Pittinger has come along quicker than any of us could have guessed. To pitch a no-hitter in only his second season—why, that is the dream of every hurler. More than the victory, it shows the steel he carries in his frame. He didn’t let the walks trouble him, didn’t let the crowd rattle him. He kept his head, and now Boston has a game to remember.”

The win lifted the Beaneaters to 25–15, keeping them hard on the heels of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League chase. For Pittinger, in just his sophomore year in the majors, it was a day that announced him as a force to be reckoned with.

As one Chicago writer muttered leaving the grounds, “The Orphans never had a chance — not against history.”

08-29-2025, 10:52 AM	#14
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,677	Pittinger No Hits Orphans PITTINGER ETCHES HIS NAME IN BASEBALL HISTORY WITH NO-HITTER AGAINST ORPHANS By Samuel T. Kingsley, Sporting Times, June 4, 1901 Chicago, June 3 — The Chicago faithful gathered at West Side Park yesterday expecting to see their Orphans put up a fight against the visiting Boston Beaneaters. Instead, they bore witness to a display of pitching mastery the likes of which this new Major League has yet to see. For on this day, Charles "Togie" Pittinger, a 29-year-old right-hander still early in his professional journey, tossed the first no-hit game since the great merger of the leagues, leading Boston to an emphatic 8–0 victory. Pittinger, who entered the contest with a modest 5–4 record and a 2.95 earned run average, left the grounds with both numbers improved, but far more importantly with his name etched into baseball’s annals. Over nine commanding innings, not a single Orphan could record a base hit. Only three walks and a Boston error kept the affair from perfection, yet nothing could diminish the glory of the moment. The first pass came in the opening inning, instantly ending any thought of a spotless game. A miscue by his infielders in the fourth gave Chicago a faint glimmer of life, and two further walks in the eighth stirred the crowd to hope. But each time Pittinger bore down, striking out nine in total and coaxing weak contact that Boston’s defenders handled without fail. “I never thought I’d see this so soon in my career,” Pittinger said afterward, his uniform still dusted from the day’s labor. “The ball felt right in my hand from the first pitch. Even when I lost a man to a walk, I never doubted I could keep them off balance. It is a day I’ll carry with me as long as I play this game.” Boston’s bats, meanwhile, gave him plenty of support. Early tallies built a comfortable lead, and by the middle innings the Beaneaters could do little but marvel at the show their pitcher was giving them. Manager Frank Selee, no stranger to guiding championship-caliber clubs, spoke with evident pride: “Young Pittinger has come along quicker than any of us could have guessed. To pitch a no-hitter in only his second season—why, that is the dream of every hurler. More than the victory, it shows the steel he carries in his frame. He didn’t let the walks trouble him, didn’t let the crowd rattle him. He kept his head, and now Boston has a game to remember.” The win lifted the Beaneaters to 25–15, keeping them hard on the heels of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League chase. For Pittinger, in just his sophomore year in the majors, it was a day that announced him as a force to be reckoned with. As one Chicago writer muttered leaving the grounds, “The Orphans never had a chance — not against history.”