July 30, 1973: Bibby Tosses The First No No In Rangers History

On July 30, 1973,  in a 6-0 win over the defending champion A's in Oakland, rookie hurler Jim Bibby tossed the first ever no hitter in the history of the Texas Rangers organization. Bibby was just the 14th rookie to accomplish the feat. His bid for perfection was lost early when he walked Reggie Jackson to lead off the second but that wouldn't stop him from dominating the potent Oakland lineup. Bibby struck out 13 and walked 6 men before he put the no no in the books.The no hitter came one month after Bibby was picked up via trade from the St. Louis Cardinals. After he picked up the historic win Rangers owner Bob Short gave him a $5,000 raise which was pretty phat at the time considering he was making the league minimum  $15,000 before he outdueled Vida Blue in front of more than 21,000 in Oakland. Bibby's numbers over the years were average at best, in '75 he was moved to the Indians for Gaylord Perry then in '78 he signed a deal with the Pirates where he spent his most productive years. He went 50-32 with the Bucco's and was a key component of the 1979 championship season in Pittsburgh.

Here's the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK197307300.shtml

To date only 21 rookies have tossed a no hitter, you can check out the elite list here: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/rare_feats/index.jsp?feature=rookie_no_hitter