Albert Wright Atkinson (March 9, 1861 – June 17, 1952) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played three seasons; one in the Union Association and parts of three seasons in the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. He became the first player to desert his existing contract to jump over to the Union Association. He is one of the few pitchers in Major League history to throw two no-hitters.

Career

Atkinson was born in

Clinton, Illinois Clinton is the largest city in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,225 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of DeWitt County. The city and the county are named for DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York, 1817–1823 ...

, and he began his Major League career with the Philadelphia Athletics in , pitching in 22 games, winning 11 and losing 11. Later in the season, Al jumped to the new Union Association, remaining there until season's end. With that move, Al became the first player to desert his existing contract and join the Union Association. He played for two teams during his time in the Union Association, a league that folded following the season. He began play with the Chicago Browns and later played for the Baltimore Monumentals and had a combined record of 20 wins and 26 losses during the 1884 season. On May 24, 1884, he pitched his first no-hitter. He tossed his gem against the

Pittsburgh Alleghenys The following is a history of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. Franchise beginnings (1870s-1899) Early baseball in Pittsburgh and the American Association The earliest mention of "base ball" in the region was found in the journal ...

in a 10–1 victory. This no-hitter is also notable for the fact that Al allowed the first batter of the game on base with a hit by pitch and then retired the next 27 batters in a row. The only run scored when

Ed Swartwood Cyrus Edward Swartwood (January 12, 1859 – May 15, 1924) was an American professional baseball player and umpire. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as a right fielder and first baseman. Swartwood playe ...

, the player hit by the pitch, stole second base‚ took

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

on a putout‚ and then scored on a passed ball. He played for an independent minor league team, the Chicago Blues, during the season, but returned the Athletics for the season. He pitched his second no-hitter on May 1, 1886, against the

New York Metropolitans The Metropolitan Club (New York Metropolitans or the Mets) was a 19th-century professional baseball team that played in New York City from 1880 to 1887. (The ''New York Metropolitan Baseball Club'' was the name chosen in 1961 for the New York ...

in a 3–2 victory.

Post-career

After his career, he became a

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...

. Al died at the age of 91 in

McDonald County, Missouri McDonald County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,083. Its county seat is Pineville. The county was organized in 1849 and named for Sergeant Alexander ...

, and is interred at the Macedonia Cemetery in Stella, Missouri.baseball-almanac
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Al 1861 births 1952 deaths Baseball players from Illinois 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Philadelphia Athletics (AA) players Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies players Baltimore Monumentals players Lincoln Tree Planters players Toronto Canucks players Rochester Flour Cities players People from Clinton, Illinois

Career

Post-career

See also

References

External links