The Pecan Park Eagle

Had it not been for something that happened on April 23, 1964, former Houston Colt .45 right-handed pitcher might today be simply another blurred name on the pages of early Houston big league history.  The 6’4″ pitcher had been with Houston since its first 1962 MLB season when he took the mound to face the Cincinnati Reds at Colt Stadium, but it’s unlikely he had any better idea than the rest of us about what was about to happen.

I wasn’t in Houston when this one happened. I was living in New Orleans, finishing up my second year of graduate school at Tulane, but I got hooked on the voice of Gene Elston over the radio at my apartment and, based on what I was hearing, I was in no hurry to go to a social gathering where no one else there would give a hoot for the fates of my Colt .45s.

The game moved scoreless through six and, more importantly, Ken Johnson was pitching a no-hitter. – If only he could keep it up, I thought. – If only we could get him a run, at least.

Through eight, the situation held steady. 0-0, Reds-Colts, and not even whispering the possibility of hits for the Reds off Johnson was in style among Houston fans. Where is this thing going? Short of injury, it wasn’t likely the Colts would take Johnson out with a quiet no-no going. – And we didn’t even know the phrase “pitch-count” back in 1964.

“Where is this thing going to go?” Yes, it had to be the question on all our Colt fan minds. – And, much to our universal astonishment, we were about to find out in the ninth inning.

Top of the 9th

Reds pitcher Joe Nuxhall led of the top of the 9^th with an easy 5-3 ground out from Bob Aspromonte to Pete Runnels.

Then Pete Rose reached first base on a bunt that pitcher Ken Johnson mishandled. With Rose hustling to first, Johnson threw the ball down the right field line, allowing Rose to make second on a two-base throwing error.

Rose on second base by any means was never good news. On this special day, however, that impression was about to be marked in bold type.

Chico Ruiz then smashed a ball that ricocheted perfectly off pitcher Johnson’s leg to Aspromonte who then quickly got the ball to Runnels at first for the second out.

Rose advanced to third on the play.

Vada Pinson then reached first on a bobbled routine grounder to the great Nellie Fox at send base. Rose scored on the play. Still no hits for Cincy, but the Reds were now up, 1-0.

Frank Robinson then lofted a fly ball out three to Jimmy Wynn in left field to end the carnage at 1 run, on 0 hits, 2 errors, and 1 runner left on base.

Bottom of the 9^th

 Routine stuff. Nuxhall struck out Eddie Kasko and then got Nellie Fox on an easy ground out. Pete Runnels then reached on an error, but Nuxhall then got Johnny Weekly on a called strike three to seal Ken Johnson’s no-hitter as a 1-0 loss.

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Ken Johnson died Saturday, November 21, 2015 at the age of 82 at his home in Pineville. Louisiana. Here is the link to his obituary:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thetowntalk/obituary.aspx?n=Kenneth-Travis-Johnson&pid=176602448

Rest in Peace, Ken Johnson!

Here are some nice notes on Johnson’s career from SABR friend and colleague Mark Wernick that I also think you will enjoy too:

“In 1963, he had a 2.64 ERA and a 119 ERA+, yielding 204 hits in 224 innings. His W-L record that year was 11-17. His WAR that season was 4.1, and his career WAR was 20.4. The Colt .45s scored 2.8 runs per game for Johnson in 1963. They scored 2.9 runs per game for him in 1964, and they scored 3.0 runs per game for him in 1962. From 1962 – 1964, Johnson had 20 Ltuf, or tough lossses, according to baseball-reference. com. During those three seasons, he left games in position to record a win 11 times, only to have the bullpen blow the game. The other nine tough losses were quality starts that the team couldn’t win. Johnson is famous for being the only pitcher in MLB history to pitch a complete 9-inning no-hitter and lose it. He lost it in the 9th inning with the help of his own throwing error. I listened to this game on the radio. Johnson had more than his fair share of tough luck pitching for the Houston Colt .45s, but he did quite nicely later pitching for the Atlanta Braves.” – Mark Wernick, SABR Member, Larry Dierker Chapter.

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Here also is a link to Astros Daily and their great coverage of Ken Johnson and the lost game no-hitter:

http://www.astrosdaily.com/history/19640423/

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Tags: Ken Johnson lost a no-hitter he picthed against the Reds in 1964.

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