Richmond no-hitters through the years

HARRISBURG, Pa. – On Thursday night, four Richmond Flying Squirrels pitchers combined to throw the first nine-inning no-hitter in the franchise’s history. Matt Frisbee, Joey Marciano, Matt Seelinger and Patrick Ruotolo held the Senators hitless in a 2-0 Richmond win.

Just how rare was the feat? Since 1954, the first season for the Triple-A Richmond Virginians, there have only been six no-hitters thrown by Richmond professional baseball teams. Only four of them have been nine-inning no-hitters.

The final out. pic.twitter.com/3ojTnvYD6B

— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) May 14, 2021

On May 12, 1962, Al Downing pitched a no-hitter for the Richmond Virginians, an affiliate of the New York Yankees, at Parker Field in a 4-0 win over the Syracuse Chiefs.

There was only one other no-hitter thrown for the home team at Parker Field in the stadium’s 30 seasons. Mickey Mahler tossed the first no-hitter in Richmond Braves history on June 1, 1977 against the Toledo Mud Hens. That was a nine-inning game and a 7-0 win for the Braves.

On June 17, 1989, Charlie Puleo and Steve Ziem combined for a nine-inning no-hitter on the road, beating the Oklahoma City 89ers, 3-0. It was the last full-length no-hitter the Richmond Braves would throw.

Three years later on May 3, 1992, Pete Smith twirled a seven-inning perfect game for the Richmond Braves on the road against the Rochester Red Wins in a 1-0 win, which stands as the only perfect game on record for Richmond baseball teams.

More than two decades passed before a Richmond team put together another no-hitter. On April 5, 2013, just the second day of the season, Jack Snodgrass and Daryl Maday combined for a seven-inning no-hitter in a 1-0 win against the New Britain Rock Cats. That is the only no-hitter thrown by a Richmond team at The Diamond in the stadium’s 37-year history.

In total, there have been 17 no-hitters pitched by professional baseball teams from Richmond on records dating back to 1884. Thirteen of them have spanned nine innings (and one covered 10 innings).

The earliest came on June 26, 1884, when Ed Dugan and the Richmond Virginias held the Newark Domestics hitless in a 9-1 victory in the short-lived, major-league American Association. The following year on Sept. 7, 1895, Jesse Tannehill pitched a no-hitter for the Richmond Bluebirds against the Roanoke Magicians in an early version of the Virginia State League.

There is one other no-hitter on record from the nineteenth century. Thomas Frank “Tully” Sparks, who went on to play a long career in the National League, led the Richmond Bluebirds to a 6-0, no-hit win over the Newark Colts.

Richmond fielded a team in the Virginia League beginning in 1906, occasionally nicknamed the Lawmakers early on, but primarily known as the Colts. The Colts put together four no-hitters during that era, with hitless performances thrown by Frank Still (July 13, 1906 vs. Roanoke Tigers), Michael Cassidy (10 innings on Sept. 1, 1906 vs. Portsmouth Truckers), Jack Quinn (Aug. 28, 1908 vs. Norfolk Tars) and Harry Griffin (June 25, 1913 vs. Roanoke Tigers).

Eighteen years passed before the next no-hitter on record.

After moving up to the International League from 1915-1917, Richmond returned to hosting the Colts in the Virginia League from 1918-1928 until the circuit folded. There was no professional baseball team in Richmond for more than two years before the city fielded a team in the Eastern League beginning in 1931. That year, Jimmy Pattison fired a no-hitter for Richmond against the Springfield Ponies on July 24, 1931.

In 1933, Richmond began a two-decade run with the Colts playing in the Class B Piedmont League. Those years yielded three no-hitters from Jim Bivin (June 19, 1940 vs. Durham Bulls), Julian Acosta (June 5, 1943 vs. Portsmouth Cubs) and Robert Ennis (June 14, 1951 vs. Lynchburg Cardinals).

So Thursday’s no-hitter was the 17th on record over the last 137 years for a Richmond professional baseball team and just the fourth nine-inning no-hitter in nearly seven decades. The feat was 11 years in the making for the Richmond Flying Squirrels, but Richmond fans had gone more than 30 years without seeing their home team throw a nine-inning no-hitter.

The no-hit outing on Thursday was also the first nine-inning no-hitter for a San Francisco Giants Double-A affiliate since David Wilhelmi pitched one for the Shreveport Captains on May 3, 1983. His was the first nine-inning no-hitter for a Giants Double-A team since Migel Puente no-hit the Shreveport Braves for the Amarillo Giants on Aug. 15, 1969.

The Flying Squirrels tossed just the seventh nine-inning no-hitter for a Giants Double-A squad. It was also the twelfth all-time Giants Double-A no-hitter.