Donald Edward Nottebart (January 23, 1936 – October 4, 2007) 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 ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

. The

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

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 ...

appeared in 296

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

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), ...

for five teams over nine seasons (1960–1967; 1969). Nottebart pitched 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 Houston Colt .45s/Astros history in 1963. He was listed as tall and .

Early life

Nottebart was born in

West Newton, Massachusetts West Newton is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Among the oldest of the thirteen Newton villages, the West Newton Village Center is a National Register Historic District. ...

, the second child of Fred and Otta Alice Nottebart. He was a three-sport star at Lexington High School, graduating in 1954. In 1955 he married high school sweetheart Joanne Wilson—they would eventually have four children. He was signed as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

in 1954.

Career

He made his major league debut at age 24 on July 1, 1960 in an 8-7 Braves road loss to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. Nottebart started but had a rough debut, walking the first hitter he faced,

Julián Javier Manuel Julián (Liranzo) Javier (born August 9, 1936), better known as Julián Javier oo-lee-AN hah-vee-ER is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. Called ''Hoolie'' by his teammates, he was also nicknamed "The Phantom" by Tim McCarver ...

, pitching six innings and allowing six earned runs, nine hits and eight walks; however, he was not charged with the loss. After three years with the Braves, Nottebart was traded to Houston on November 30, 1962, along with two other players for veteran

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Norm Larker Norman Howard John Larker (December 27, 1930 – March 12, 2007) was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman who, early in his career, also frequently played corner outfielder, he appeared in 667 games in Major League Baseball ...

. He threw a 4–1 no-hitter for the Colt .45s against 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 ...

on May 17, 1963, despite giving up an

unearned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

Don Demeter Donald Lee Demeter (June 25, 1935 – November 29, 2021) was an American professional baseball outfielder, third baseman, and first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) over all or parts of 11 seasons for the Brooklyn / Los Angel ...

reached base on an

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

J. C. Hartman J C Hartman (born April 15, 1934) is an American former professional baseball player and Major League Baseball shortstop who appeared in 90 games over parts of two seasons, and , for the Houston Colt .45s. He also played in the Negro leagues for ...

and later scored on a

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

by Phillies

third baseman 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 ...

Don Hoak Donald Albert Hoak (February 5, 1928 – October 9, 1969), nicknamed "Tiger", was an American professional baseball third baseman and coach. He played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (–) for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Cin ...

. His catcher was John Bateman. That year was the best of his career to date, as he posted a record of 11–8 with a 3.17 earned run average in 31 games (of which he started 27, completing nine). Also in 1963, Nottebart was one of several of baseball players mentioned in a ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...

'' comic strip. When

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Luci ...

gets a hold of a bubble-gum card of

Charlie Brown Charles "Charlie" Brown is the principal character of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser," Charlie Brown is one of the great American ar ...

's (fictional) idol Joe Shlabotnik, he offers to trade dozens of cards, including Nottebart's, for Shlabotnik's, but she refuses. On September 13, 1965 he gave up

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...

' 500th home run. After three years with Houston, he was acquired by the

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 ...

in the 1965 Rule 5 draft. In 1966 for the Reds, he went 5-4 with a 3.07 ERA in a career-high 59 games (all but one as a reliever), ending in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

top 10 in both saves and games pitched. The following year he was 0-3 but with a sterling 1.93 ERA in 47 games, all as a reliever. In 1969 as part of a 30-day conditional purchase, he was acquired from the Reds by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, for whom he pitched four games before being returned to the Reds. One day later, on April 27, 1969, he was traded to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, for whom he pitched 16 games. His last major league game played was at age 33 on September 6, 1969. The final hitter he faced was

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...

. A muscle tear ended both his season and his career. Overall, Nottebart posted a 36–51

record A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

and a 3.65 earned run average. In 296 games, 89 as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, he had 16

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s and two

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, with 21 saves. He allowed 902

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and 283

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, with 525

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s, in 928

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

Later life

After his retirement as a player, Nottebart and his wife Joanne lived in southwest Houston for about 25 years, where he had owned a carpet and flooring business and ran a service station. Beginning around 1994, they split time between homes in

East Wakefield, New Hampshire East Wakefield is an unincorporated community in the town of Wakefield in Carroll County, New Hampshire. It is located in the eastern part of Wakefield along New Hampshire Route 153 New Hampshire Route 153 is a secondary north–south highway in ...

, and the Houston area. In 1996 he was a member of the inaugural class of the Lexington High School Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1999 he suffered a stroke after undergoing heart bypass surgery, and his health declined. Don Nottebart died at age 71 on October 4, 2007 while visiting his daughter in

Cypress, Texas Cypress is an unincorporated community in Harris County, Texas, United States, located completely inside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Houston. The Cypress area is located along U.S. Highway 290 (Northwest Freeway) is twenty-fo ...

. He was survived by his wife of nearly 52 years, Joanne; their three sons Ron, Bob and Dan and daughter Donna; 11 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and sister Elaine and brother Reigh. On May 17, 2013 Joanne Nottebart and family gathered in Houston to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his no-hitter.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nottebart, Don 1936 births 2007 deaths Atlanta Crackers players Baseball players from Massachusetts Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Evansville Braves players Hawaii Islanders players Houston Astros players Houston Colt .45s players Lexington High School alumni Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Braves players New York Yankees players People from Lexington, Massachusetts People from Wakefield, New Hampshire Quebec Braves players San Antonio Missions players Sportspeople from Carroll County, New Hampshire Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Newton, Massachusetts Tacoma Cubs players Wellsville Braves players Wichita Braves players

Early life

Career

Later life

See also

References

External links