August 30,1912: Earl Hamilton Records The First No-No in Browns/Orioles History

     On August 30, 1912, Earl Hamilton of the St. Louis Browns no-hit the Tigers in Detroit, as he led the way to a 5-1 win. The lone Tigers run came in the fourth when Ty Cobb worked a walk out of the lefty. That was followed by what looked to be a fielder's choice off the bat of Sam Crawford that turned into an error. An alert Cobb turned it into a run as he rounded the bags, and beat a late throw to the plate. While the shutout was erased, Hamilton's no-no remained intact, and at the end of that day he had recorded the first no-hitter in the history of the franchise that we all know today as the Baltimore Orioles.

     His 115-147 record might not impress some, but the fact is in many ways he was a victim of circumstance who played on some bad teams. His lifetime E.R.A of just 3.00 alone tells you that he was a quality pitcher, but as luck would have it even during a season that he held a 2.50 e.r.a., he still had a losing record (16-18). However, his career did span over 14 seasons and he had a no-hitter on his resume that would be remembered more than 100 years later, as we celebrate it today.

Check out Hamilton's career numbers here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hamilea01.shtml