On this Clarence Shepard Day Jr. in 1880 , Lee Richmond of the Worcester Ruby Legs twirled baseball ’s first - ever perfect plot — allowing no hit , walks or strike batsmen to give the Ruby Legs a 1 - 0 winnings over the Cleveland Blues . rent ’s look back at some of this now - fabled secret plan .
1.The WorcesterEvening Gazettedescribed the gameas " a wonderful shut out " and " the best baseball game game on record " but the first consumption of the terminal figure " everlasting game"didn’t appearuntil a 1909Washington Postarticle .
2.Richmond was a star baseball and football game player at Brown University . In fact , he started his pro career while still captain Brown ’s squad . In his first ever pro start — an exhibition game for which he was paid $ 10 on June 2 , 1879 — Richmond threw a no - striker . He would contrive a second no - hitter that same time of year for Worcester , all while still competing on the collegiate degree .
3.The perfect game came in the midst of a 42 - inning scoreless streak pitched by Richmond . That ’s almost 5 staring games .
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5.Just four days later , on June 16 , Richmond graduated from Brown University . His Ruby Legs director , Frank Bancroft , was so desperate to get his lead pitcher back that very same day that he hired a particular train to induce Richmond from Providence to Worcester .
6.Five days after Richmond made baseball game history , John Ward tossed the second perfect plot ever . But this hardly became the trend . Although thefirst two come within a weekof one another , the third thoroughgoing plot in the National League — then the sole Major League — wouldn’t go on for another 84 years .
