Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
January 15, 2008
Cardwell Passes

Don Cardwell passed away on Monday. He was both a Cubs hero and villain:

Traded by the Phillies for Tony Taylor and Cal Neeman on May 13, 1960, Cardwell became the first pitcher to pitch a no-hitter in his first start with a new team.

The only baserunner was Alex Grammas on a first-inning walk. Cardwell retired the next 26 batters, including two in the ninth on nice catches by George Altman and Moryn.

"It was great, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it," Cardwell said later. "All my career, people have come up to me and said, 'Did you pitch a no-hitter?' and I can say, 'Yes, yes I did.' "

Many forget that Cardwell also helped the Mets overcome the 1969 Cubs, pitching a 1-0 shutout on Sept. 12 and driving in the only run. It was the ninth victory in 10 games for the Mets, who had passed the Cubs two days earlier.

Cardwell was not a great pitcher, but with the no-hitter and his run with the 1969 Mets, he's well remembered. My thoughts go out to his family and friends.


Posted by David Pinto at 08:13 AM | Deaths | TrackBack (0)
Comments

re: alex grammas & don cardwell

I don't have to mention that Alex Grammas, who spent much of his career as a player and coach with the Reds, is a member of the all-time all-star greek-american baseball hall of fame, if such a thing ever were to come to pass. Of course, we're still rooting for our first actual Hall of Famer, but Milt Pappas' chances are looking slimmer by the year.

--art kyriazis, philly

Posted by: art kyriazis at January 15, 2008 08:11 PM
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