A Brief History
On May 5, 1904, Denton “Cy” Young of the Boston Americans pitched an historic American League game against the Philadelphia Athletics, not allowing any base runners in the first major league “Perfect Game” of the modern baseball era.
Digging Deeper
The name “Cy” was a shortened form of “Cyclone,” a nod to his ability to demolish fencing like a cyclone with his fastball. Born in Ohio in 1867, Young first played professionally in Canton, Ohio, moving up to the Big Show with the Cleveland Spiders of the National League.
Young embarked on a major league career that led to a record of 511 career wins, 749 complete games pitched, and another record of 25 1⁄3 consecutive hitless innings pitched among other achievements. He hurled a total of 3 no-hitters.
His last victory came at the expense of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a 1-0 shutout. Young has become the embodiment of the ace pitcher, and his name graces the award given to the best pitcher in each of the major leagues each year.
Playing more than half his career for Cleveland baseball teams, Young is enshrined in the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame as well as the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, and of course, the Baseball Hall of Fame. He died in 1955 at the age of 88.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Browning, Reed. Cy Young: A Baseball Life. University of Massachusetts Press, 2000.
Freedman, Lew. Cy Young: The Baseball Life and Career. McFarland, 2020.
The featured image in this article, a photograph of American major league baseball pitcher Cy Young, is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1928, and if not then due to lack of notice or renewal. See this page for further explanation.
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