Nicholas Maddox (November 9, 1886 – November 27, 1954) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He played in

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), ...

as a right-handed

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 ...

for the

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 ...

from 1907 through 1910. Maddox is one of the few pitchers to throw 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 ...

in his rookie season. Maddox was born in Govanstown, Maryland. He defeated the

Brooklyn Superbas The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

2–1 at

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

's Exposition Park on September 20, , one week after pitching a 4–0

shutout 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 ...

against 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 ha ...

in his major league debut. Not until

Cliff Chambers Clifford Day Chambers (January 10, 1922 – January 21, 2012) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 189 games in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to for the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals. He ...

in would another Pirate pitch a no-hitter, and the next no-hitter in Pittsburgh would not come until , when

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...

of the Cardinals no-hit the Pirates at

Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Built ...

, nor would another Pirate pitch a no-hitter in Pittsburgh until

John Candelaria John Robert Candelaria (born November 6, 1953) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. Nicknamed "The Candy Man", he played in MLB during the years 1975–1993 for eight teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates, California Angels, New York Mets, New Y ...

did so in . The Pirates' home stadium in between,

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of t ...

, had not witnessed a no-hitter in its 61-year (mid-–mid-) history. Through 2013, Maddox is still the youngest pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the majors. Maddox was also the last Pirate to win his first 4 career starts (in 1907) until the feat was matched by

Gerrit Cole Gerrit Alan Cole (born September 8, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. Cole played for the baseball team ...

in 2013. William F. Kirk of the New York ''American'' in 1908 called Maddox a "a well formed youth with a face like a dried apple."''The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers''
/ref> After his rookie season, Maddox spent two more years with the Pirates as a starting pitcher and finished his career in 1910 as a relief pitcher. In his career, he had 43 wins, 20 losses, and a 2.29

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 ...

. Maddox died on November 27, 1954, at the age of 68 in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maddox, Nick Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Baltimore Pittsburgh Pirates players Wheeling Stogies players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Wichita Witches players 1886 births 1954 deaths

See also

References

External links