From the archives: Iowa native Bob Feller throws baseball's only Opening Day no-hitter

Editor’s note: This story by former Register sports editor Sec Taylor originally ran on April 17, 1940, the day after Bob Feller threw an Opening Day no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox. It’s still the only no-hitter to be thrown on Opening Day. Cleveland officially changed its name from the Indians to the Guardians for the 2022 season.

CHICAGO – Bob Feller, all seven wonders of the baseball pitching world combined, opened the 1940 baseball season by hurling a no-hit contest.

The 21-year-old pitching star from Van Meter, already the holder of several major league records and apparently destined to break still more, unfurled the first no-hit opener in the history of the major leagues when he turned back the Chicago White Sox without a safe knock or a run. The fact that his club – the Cleveland Indians – won the game, 1-0, was only incidental to his marvelous twirling feat.

Delivering the ball carefully and with calm deliberation form the start of the hard fought contest, played before 14,000 half frozen fans in a stiff north wind that carried an October bite despite a bright sun, Feller kept the White Hose waving their handles futilely all afternoon, although he required some help from right fielder Ben Chapman, who patrolled his pasture with so much eclat that he converted two budding hits into putouts.

Feller had so much poise and so much stuff that it was apparent in the early innings that he might be on his way to another record-breaking performance. Twice in 1939 he unfurled one-hitters and so in the late frames the tension on the shivering spectators, most of them Chicago fans pulling for the enemy hurler, was terrific.

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After a severe sinking spell in the second inning, when he walked two batters behind an error by center fielder Roy Weatherly and then passed the first batter in the third, he gave the next 20 batters the one-two-three treatment, the last two in the ninth frame.

It was in the latter inning that the fans, as well as the blasé writers in the press coop showed more of the strain and tension than did the yet youthful hurler, who was as calm and unperturbed at the finish as when he first took the hurling hillock in the initial canto.

The Pale Hose had their strength up in this final attempt to spoil Feller’s day of glory. Mike Kreevich, diminutive former Des Moines outfielder and a good hitter, faced the youngster as the cheering spectators stood on their fee too intent on the proceedings to shout.

Little Mike took the first strike and then popped to second baseman Ray Mack as the fans emitted a concerted cheer.

Next came Julius Solters, a former Feller teammate, hitting in the cleanup position. Again the crowd watched with bated breath. The big left fielder swung and missed the first pitch. The next was a called strike down the middle. Solters trundled the third one to shortstop Lou Boudreau for an easy out.

Then followed the most trying moments in the historic game. Luke Appling came to bat. And again the crowd was as silent as the select group that attends an execution.

Feller’s first offering was outside for a ball, the next a called strike, then a foul strike, then a ball high and inside, followed by another foul. An outside pitch made the count three and two. Then the young Iowa, with all the poise of a Russian grand duke of ye old days, and the unconcern of a 4-year-old playing with a toy gun, pitched four successive strikes, each of which Appling fouled as the sports writers whispered curses at his obnoxious persistence. But in the end Feller walked him, the final pitch being outside.

That brought up Taft Wright, who played with Washington last season. A left-hand hitter, he had smacked the ball hard on two previous trips to the plate.

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The first offering to him was outside for a ball but he hit a hard bounder toward right field on the second pitch. It took two high hops, hit Mack’s glove and sifted through, skittering a couple of yards back on the second baseman, as the spectators moaned. But Mack arose to the occasion. He pounced on the errant pellet like a cat on a mouse, threw hurriedly toward first base, and Hal Trosky, another Iowan, pulled it in for the final putout that culminated Feller’s sensational achievement.

It was then that the crowd spilled its pent-up energy in an ear-splitting salvo of applause as the pitcher’s mates rushed to him, and then hurriedly bundled him off to the clubhouse to get him away from the enthusiastic fans who also wanted to pat him on the back and congratulate him.

Although he allowed no hits, Feller walked five batters while striking out eight. Four of the passes came in the first three frames. Two fell in the second, the only time the White Sox looked threatening. With one out in this inning, Weatherly misjudged a fly which Wright drove into the stiff breeze. The center fielder started fast for it, halted, and then resumed his sprint, just reaching the ball so that it hit his glove and sifted through. The official scorer, without hesitation, announced it was an error.

Eric McNair, next up, whiffed, but Feller lost control temporarily and Mike Tresh and Edgar Smith teased free trips to first from him, filling the bases for Bob Kennedy, Chicago’s home grown young thirdsacker, who also obliged by fanning.

Joe Kuehl opened the third inning with another walk, but the next three hitters flied out, although the White Sox first baseman pilfered second before Chapman made a pretty running catch of Appling’s liner for the third out.

Feller was greatly aided and abetted by Chapman, who rambled all over right field to capture six flies, one of which was a hard, long liner off Wright’s bat. Chapman was forced to angle back and grasp the ball while running at top speed.

That Cleveland won or how it won doesn’t seem to matter. Jeff Heath singled with one out in the fourth inning and, after Ken Keltner had flied out, Rollie Hemsley, Feller’s roommate and favorite teammate, punched a threebagger just out of Wright’s reach, Heath scoring the only run of the afternoon.

Edgar Smith, a southpaw who has a habit of pitching his best against Feller and Cleveland, saw an excellent pitching job wasted. He beat Feller in 11 innings in a late season night contest here in 1939, and on two other occasions last year he and the Indians’ star met in classic hurling battles.

He held Cleveland to six hits Tuesday, no two of them falling in the same inning, with the single exception of when the winning run was scored.

The two passes he exuded both came in the first frame, but he was extricated from a messy situation when Kuhel speared Trosky’s liner down the right field foul line and stepped on the bag for a double out.

Trosky batted in hard luck. He not only lost a hit on the latter play but another terrific drive lacked only a foot or so of being a home run into the right field stands.

A search of record books Tuesday proved that Feller probably is entitled to the honor of being the first major league pitcher to toss a no-hitter on Opening Day, although two others might dispute the claim.

April 19, 1900: Morris I Amole hurled a no-hit 8-0 victory for Buffalo over Detroit in an American League opening game, but that was before Ban Johnson raised the circuit to the status of a major league.

April 15, 1909: Leon K. Ames pitched nine no-hit, no-run innings for Brooklyn against New York in a National League opener, but later let down to the extent of seven hits and lost the game, 3-0, in the 13th inning.

Two other major league hurlers have pitched no-hit games early in April. Rube Marquard, famous New York Giants southpaw of the John McGraw era, turned in a no-hitter on April 15, 1915, and Eddie Cicotte of the White Sox did the same thing on April 14, 1917.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Cleveland's Bob Feller threw MLB's only Opening Day no-hitter