Wow, there really have been some awesome items posted in this thread so far. Congrats to all of those who have posted.
For my collection, this game ball from Boston's LHP HB Dutch Leonard's no-hitter on August 30, 1916 at Fenway has to rank at the top in terms of visual appeal. I have posted it on net54 before, but thought it would be a nice addition to this thread.
This was only the 2nd no-hitter ever pitched at historic Fenway Park. Two months earlier teammate George "Rube Foster" recorded the first no-hitter on June 16th.
This ball was gifted by Boston's Chick Shorten to a family that resided in upstate NY. The ball provides its own provenance by stating on the side panel: "Ball given by Shorten". Leonard was a polarizing figure, but pitched two no-hitters and is credited with the lowest single season ERA- 0.96 (yikes!) ever posted in the modern era in 1915. One of his pitches in his arsenal was the spitball and it definitely appears that he may have loaded up this orb upon close inspection.
The family kept the ball for more than 90 years in their attic until it surfaced a few years ago for the first time in the hobby, which is when I was thrilled to add it to my advanced no-hitter collection.
The photos are of the no-hit battery of Dutch Leonard and Bill Carrigan. The photo of Dutch Leonard dates is circa 1916 and the Carrigan snapper originates from his own personal collection, but is undated.
Last edited by Scott Garner; 10-28-2015 at 03:22 AM.
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10-28-2015, 03:08 AM
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