Robert "Bo" Belinsky (December 7, 1936 – November 23, 2001) was an American
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
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 for the
Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
,
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
,
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
,
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
, and
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
of
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), ...
from 1962 to 1970.
Belinsky became a local celebrity as a rookie with the Angels when he won his first four starts, including a
no-hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
. Belinsky is one of only two pitchers in Angels franchise history to start his career with a four-game winning streak or better, the other being
Jered Weaver
Jered David Weaver (born October 4, 1982) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres. Weaver was drafted in the first round (12th overall ...
.
Early life
Belinsky was born on the
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets.
Traditionally an im ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in New York City, the son of Anna (Polnoff) and Edward Belinsky. His father was a Polish-American Catholic and his mother was Jewish. When he was a child his grandmother, who was a Russian Jew, called him "bubelah". He was raised mostly in
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.[pool hustler
Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling (or gambling for higher than current stakes) with the hustler, as a form of both a confidence tr ...]
. He attended
Trenton Central High School
Trenton Central High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Trenton, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Trenton Public Schools.
As ...
.
Baseball career
Belinsky was already notorious as a minor leaguer for his
night life
Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
during several seasons in the Oriole farm system. His career and life changed when the Angels picked him in a minor league draft for the 1962 season. His pre-season contract holdout and charismatic personality made him a star before he'd thrown a single pitch in major league competition.
Belinsky had a career record of just 28–51, but threw the first
no-hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
in the history of the
Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
and the first one at Chavez Ravine (
Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ( ...
), beating the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
2–0 on May 5, 1962.
But the no-hitter—his fourth straight win at the start of his rookie season—would immortalize his name and, perhaps, mark the beginning of his long downfall. Belinsky would finish the 1962 season with a 10–11
win–loss record
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
, a 3.56
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
, 4th in the league in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (6.966) and the league lead in
walks (122).
[Bo Belinsky Stats , Baseball-Reference.com]
/ref> He finished the season second in the American League in home runs per 9 innings pitched (0.577), third in hits per 9 innings pitched (7.158), and sixth in shutouts (3).
Perhaps tellingly, however, after throwing the no-hitter Belinsky also said, "If music be the food of love, by all means let the band play on." The 1962 season was a raucous one for Belinsky in that he became glittering copy for southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
sportswriters with his wit and unapologetic womanizing
Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...
. "Within days of his no-hitter Belinsky would be heralded as sport's most original and engaging playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
-athlete," pitcher-turned-journalist Pat Jordan
Pat Jordan (17 July 1928 – 1 September 2001) was a British Trotskyist who was central to founding the International Marxist Group.
Jordan was born in Chelsea, London,Cohen, S. 'Pat Jordan (1928-2001) in ''Revolutionary History'' Vol.8 No.3 pg ...
wrote in a striking 1971 ''Sports Illustrated'' profile. "His name would become synonymous with a lifestyle that was cool and slick and dazzling ... But in time the name Belinsky would become synonymous with something else. It would become synonymous with dissipated talent."
In addition to pitching the first no-hitter in Angels' history, Belinsky was also on the losing end of the first no-hitter ever pitched against the Angels— Earl Wilson's 2–0 gem at Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...
on June 26 of the same 1962 season. The Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
pitcher hit a home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
in that game, one of four no-hit pitchers ever to do so.
Belinsky fell to 1–7 in 1963, and was sent to the Angels' minor league team in Hawaii, where he pitched his way back and finished the year 2–9 in the Major Leagues.
Belinsky was 9–7 with a career-best 2.86 ERA in August 1964 when came the incident that ended his days with the Angels: a hotel room fight with elderly ''Los Angeles Times'' sportswriter
Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...
Braven Dyer. He was suspended from the Angels, then traded to the Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
after the season for Costen Shockley and Rudy May
Rudolph May, Jr. (born July 18, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher in and from to for the California Angels, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expo ...
. After spending a little over a season with the Phillies, in which he was used mostly as a long reliever before his outright release back to the minors, he also pitched for the Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
, Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
and Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
before his career ended in the Cincinnati minor league system in 1970.
Later life and death
Belinsky became a kind of protégé to fading but still influential and show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produc ...
-connected newspaper columnist
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...
Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and co ...
. He was linked romantically, at one time or another, to such women as Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson (born April 28, 1941) is a Swedish–American actress, singer, and dancer. As an actress and singer, she is credited as Ann-Margret.
She is known for her roles in ''Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), ''B ...
, Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia; August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn, New York City to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until age 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in r ...
, Tina Louise
Tina Louise ( Blacker; born February 11, 1934) is an American actress widely known for her role as movie star Ginger Grant in the CBS television situation comedy ''Gilligan's Island''. With the death of Dawn Wells in 2020, Louise became the las ...
and Mamie Van Doren
Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film ''Untamed Youth'' (1957).
Early life
Van Do ...
, the last his fiancee
An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
for a year. Contemporary player Mike Hegan
James Michael Hegan (July 21, 1942 – December 25, 2013) was an American professional baseball player, who later worked as a sports commentator. In Major League Baseball (MLB) he was a first baseman and outfielder, and played for three different ...
once said, "Bo had more fun off the field than he did on the field."
"What was clear," Jordan wrote, "was that Belinsky had dissipated a promising career, that people had grown tired of him, and that most of the problem could be traced to his personality. He did not have the knack of such later athletes—the Namaths, Harrelsons and Sandersons—of cultivating his personality precisely up to, but not beyond, that point at which the public became bored with it."
Belinsky married and divorced ''Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' Playmate of the Year Jo Collins
Janet Canoy (born August 5, 1945 in Lebanon, Oregon), known professionally as Jo Collins, is ''Playboy'' magazine's Playmate of the Month for December 1964 and Playmate of the Year for 1965. Her original pictorial was photographed by Mario Casil ...
, then heiress Janie Weyerhaeuser. He eventually overcame alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
to become first a counselor and spokesman for the alcohol abuse
Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of unhealthy alcohol drinking behaviors, ranging from binge drinking to alcohol dependence, in extreme cases resulting in health problems for individuals and large scale social problems such as alcohol-relat ...
program he entered in Hawaii, and then an auto agency representative at Saturn of West Sahara in Las Vegas. Clean, sober and a born-again Christian ("Can you imagine," he was quoted as saying, "finding Jesus Christ in Las Vegas?"), Belinsky battled bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become mali ...
before his death in Las Vegas of an apparent heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
at age 64. He is interred at Davis Memorial Park in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Veteran sportswriter Maury Allen
Maury Allen (born Maurice Allen Rosenberg; May 2, 1932 – October 3, 2010) was a Russian-American sportswriter, actor, and columnist for the ''New York Post'' and the ''Journal-News''. He was also a voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Allen wrot ...
wrote a biography of Belinsky, ''Bo: Pitching and Wooing'', "with the uncensored cooperation of Bo Belinsky," in 1973.
Criminal accusation
Gloria Eves, a former nightclub cashier and hatcheck attendant, filed a $150,000 damage suit against Belinsky claiming an assault on June 13, 1962. Eves, a resident of 7130 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...
, claimed to have been dragged by Belinsky from the rear seat of his late model Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
.[ She asked $50,000 for ]disfigurement
Disfigurement is the state of having one's appearance deeply and persistently harmed medically, such as from a disease, birth defect, or wound. General societal attitudes towards disfigurement have varied greatly across cultures and over time, ...
and $100,000 for medical costs and punitive damages
Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are damages assessed in order to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. ...
. Prior to the 5 A.M. incident, Belinsky had partied with a group of Hollywood celebrities, including Eddie Fisher
Edwin Jack Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010) was an American singer and actor. He was one of the most popular artists during the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show, ''The Eddie Fisher Show''. Actress Eli ...
, Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...
, Keely Smith
Dorothy Jacqueline Keely (March 9, 1928The reference work ''The Encyclopedia of Native Music: More Than a Century of Recordings from Wax Cylinder to the Internet'' gives Smith's date of birth as March 9, 1932. – December 16, 2017), profession ...
and Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics.
Born and rai ...
.[''Belinsky, Chance Fined After 5 A.M. Ruckus'', ''Los Angeles Times'', June 14, 1962, pg. B1.] Eves refused to press charges immediately afterward.
Eves received six surgical sutures
A surgical suture, also known as a stitch or stitches, is a medical device used to hold body tissues together and approximate wound edges after an injury or surgery. Application generally involves using a needle with an attached length of threa ...
after hitting her head during the altercation. Earlier on the same evening Eves and her roommate, Bridget (Bright) Whitaker, 33, had attended a party at the Ambassador Hotel and another at a private home in Beverly Hills. A Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
officer held Belinsky for questioning before he was released after his story was corroborated by Whitaker and his teammate, Dean Chance
Wilmer Dean Chance (June 1, 1941 – October 11, 2015) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher,https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/chancde01.shtml Dean Chance Page at Baseball-Reference.com he played in 11 Maj ...
. Both confirmed his statement that Eves' eye injury sustained during the fracas was accidental, but in any event Belinsky's encounter with Eves was detrimental to his career, tarnishing his reputation following his no-hitter.
In popular culture
In the ''My Favorite Martian'' episode " Rx for Martin", Martin plans to take a baseball personally autographed by Bo Belinsky (complete with his picture engraved on it) back to Mars.
Belinsky is, along with a random assortment of other figures, name-checked in Allan Sherman
Allan may refer to:
People
* Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name
* Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker
* Allan (footballer, born 1989) (Al ...
's "Oh Boy!" (based on the melody of Las Chiapanecas) on his 1962 debut album ''My Son, the Folk Singer
''My Son, the Folk Singer'' is an album by Allan Sherman, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1962. On the album sleeve, the title appears directly below the words "Allan Sherman's mother presents."
The album, recorded before a live audience, ...
'' ("Oh boy! Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
! Oh boy! Bo Belinsky! Oh boy! David Dubinsky
David Dubinsky (; born David Isaac Dobnievski; February 22, 1892 – September 17, 1982) was a Belarusian-born American labor leader and politician. He served as president of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) between 1932 ...
and Minsky and Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...
, oh boy!").
See also
* List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
Below is a list of Major League Baseball no-hitters, enumerating every no-hitter pitched in Major League Baseball history. In addition, all no-hitters that were broken up in extra innings or were in shortened games are listed, although they are no ...
References
External links
Bo Belinsky
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Bo Belinsky
at Baseball Almanac
Bo Belinsky
at Baseballbiography.com
at Astros Daily
Bo Belinsky
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belinsky, Bo
1936 births
2001 deaths
Aberdeen Pheasants players
Amarillo Gold Sox players
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
American people of Polish descent
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Asheville Tourists players
Baseball players from New York (state)
Brunswick Pirates players
Cincinnati Reds players
Hawaii Islanders players
Houston Astros players
Indianapolis Indians players
Knoxville Smokies players
Licoreros de Pampero players
Little Rock Travelers players
Los Angeles Angels players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Navegantes del Magallanes players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Pensacola Dons players
Sportspeople from Las Vegas
Philadelphia Phillies players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
San Diego Padres (minor league) players
Baseball players from Trenton, New Jersey
Stockton Ports players
Tiburones de La Guaira players
Trenton Central High School alumni
Vancouver Mounties players
American Christians