Ron Necciai
Bristol Twins
27 K’s in one No-Hitter
May 13, 1952
In five total seasons of organized baseball (1950-53. 1955), right-handed pitcher Ron Necciai struck out 427 batters in 338 innings pitched. In 1954, he was out of action with the arm injury that would far too soon end his career. During that time, Necciai posted a 18-24, 3.62 ERA for his lower minor league career record and 1-6. 7.04 ERA for his partial service in 1952 with Pittsburgh of the National League.
On May 13, 1952, Ron Necciai grabbed a great big glob of baseball history pitching for the Bristol Twins against the Welch Miners of the Class D Appalachian League by pitching a no-hit game in which he also struck out 27 batters – or, all the outs he needed – to almost totally dominate the game. 17 of the 27 Welch batter strikeouts also went down swinging.
It wasn’t a perfect game. Necciai walked one; he hit one batter; another reached first one an error; and a fourth got on base when the catch could not corral a pitch that would have been a swinging strike three. It wasn’t a perfect game, bt seems the more difficult accomplishment to you? Retiring all 27 men you face, and probably most on batted balls? Or getting all the outs on 27 strikeouts – with only four men reaching base without the help of a credited hit?
Until Ron Necciai, no pitcher in organized baseball history had struck out 27 men in a nine-inning game – no hits or not!
Throw in the fact that Necciai almost didn’t pitch that day because of a painful flare-up of his ulcerated stomach. In spite of his tender age – he was still 19 and about a month shy of age 20 on May 13, 1952 – Necciai suffered terribly from anxiety, worry, and an acidic-spewing stomach that was eating up his body and his piece of mind. He was also an extremely heavy smoker as a young man, reportedly smoking as much as three packs of cigarettes in the clubhouse prior to a pitching start. We’re not sure what his pre-game nicotine input was on May 13, 1952, but we are very certain that the kid wasn’t paying 2014 cigarette prices for his mid-20th century addiction.
Ron Necciai
Ron Necciai had a mean fastball, but when his earlier Salisbury manager, George Detore, then taught him how to throw a curve that dropped at the plate due to its unusual release point, Ron was ready for his big moment in Bristol, his next stop up the line.
The career promotion line moved fast after Necciai fanned 27 in his no-hitter. With the showman’s support of GM Branch Rickey, Ron Necciai was up pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates before the season ended. It was too much. The fans expected too much. And the driven young pitcher probably tried too hard. He also hurt his arm, Back in the minors in 1953, Necciai wasn’t even able to play in 1954 and, after 1955, he was done.
Ron Necciai rediscovered himself in the sporting goods retail business and, rightfully so, settled for maturity and proving to himself that we was capable of success beyond baseball as more important than anything else. A long successful major league career was not in the cards for Ron Necciai, but neither was his life hinging upon “succeed as a pitcher or its back to the coal mines for you.” Ron Necciai had achieved success in life and peace of mind. And, as he did, guess what? The cigarettes and the ulcers went away.
Ron Necciai turns 82 on June 18, 2014. This early Happy Birthday wish goes out to you today, Ron! We hope all is well. You were very important to a lot of us slightly younger pitchers of that 1952 era who got little more than “get the ball over the plate – and throw it as hard as you can for as long as you can” as coaching. With that much to go on, a lot of us discovered that it was possible to get through one inning with a little heat, but then, as you began to tire and slow down, your accuracy in finding the plate began to meet with bats that came around to tee off on your predictability. Some of were done by age 14.
If you are still up to it, Ron, please leave a public comment below on anything you would like to say. Your fans from over a half century ago would love to hear from you.
The Pecan Park Eagle 
April 5, 2014 at 4:10 pm |
Bill, I sure you meant 2014, as opposed to 1982 for Ron’s 82 birth year, as those numbers add up with the history of the article.
One question I have that does not add up, is if one batter reached first on a passed ball by the catcher, then even though he recorded a strikeout, he did not record an out, unless he was picked off first or caught stealing, that means that there were only 26 outs recorded by strikeout; so how was the lone out, not by strikeout, recorded?
That guy probably was awarded the game ball that day for the MIners!
Regardless, a great story today, and quite a feat! I hope Ron replies with an update.
Mike
April 5, 2014 at 5:14 pm |
Mike,
Thanks for catching my latest brain freeze on what year we are now traversing. As for your question about the one out made by some other means due to the one strikeout victim that reached base on a passed ball, I have no answer. I’ve never read a mention of it. It ia possible that one of the four non-hitting base-runners was picked off, thrown out, or retired on a forced out play, but the forced out play is unlikely due to the belief here that the person reaching base as a result would have been mentioned somewhere among the other non-hitting base runners.- Ron, if you know the answer, please reply here.
Update: 6:30 PM CDT, 4/05/14: “Bristol scored in the bottom of the first when the Welch starter walked four of the first five batters. Necciai retired the Miners in order again in the second inning on two swinging strikeouts and a routine ground ball to shortstop.” – an excerpt from a June 1, 1987 article by Pat Jordan for Sports Illustrated.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1066032/1/index.htm
– The Pecan Park Eagle
April 6, 2014 at 1:14 am |
I think he had another game in which he struck out 24, so it wasn’t a fluke.
April 6, 2014 at 2:00 am |
You’re right, Cliff, it was no fluke. In the game that followed Necciai’s 27K no-hitter, he pitched a 24K 2-hitter, one that included 5k’s in one inning. It more than earned him a promotion to Burlington. Ron left Bristol with an ERA of 0.42 for the Twins. In 42.2 innings at Bristol, Ron Necciai struck out 109. Nothing fluky about the kid they came to call “The Rocket.”
April 7, 2014 at 1:47 pm |
Strange that after 62 years this still comes up. The 26th k might haveended the game, but the third strike was a curveball in the dirt and the batter got on. That brought up the next hitter who became# 27. Harry Dunlop my catcher has better memory than me on this. He still lives in Calif. and is available if you would like to talk to him. After Bristol came Burlington in the class b Carolina League. I led the league in strikeouts with 172 in 126 innings and an era of !.50.As to the 5ks in one inning I am told only one other has done it since. The early end came for me as a torn rotator cuff.In the early 1950s, doctors did not know what it was ,less even what to do. So I just called it an occupational hazard,and got on with my life. God has looked very favorably on my life,no regrets ,no looking back.Peace. Ron Necciai
April 7, 2014 at 2:22 pm |
Thank you, Ron, for making this whole conversation about your brief, but amazing career so important to kids like me. I was only 14 when you struck out 27 in that no-hitter for Bristol, but it filled many of us who were trying to pitch in that era with hope for our wildest dreams. We also got to learn too that it takes more than a dream to rack up 27 K’s in one game. There was only one Ron Necciai!
And, yes, I would love to talk with your catcher, Harry Dunlop, about that game. Please send me his phone number by e-mail and I will give him a buzz after I’ve organized the questions I want to most ask him.
Thanks, Bill McCurdy
In case you don’t still have it, my e-mail address is:
bill.mccurdy37@gmail.com