We all know Babe Ruth was a pitcher. But did you know he was so good that he threw a perfect game?

OK, he didn't actually throw a perfect game, though only 27 Washington Senators batted that day. And he wasn't even in the game long enough to record an out. But in the record books it clearly shows Ruth was part of a combined no-hitter - one of the strangest no-nos ever thrown - on June 23, 1917, exactly 100 years ago.

Here's how it all went down: Ruth, then a star left-hander for the Boston Red Sox, started that contest against the Senators at Fenway Park. But after walking leadoff man Ray Morgan on four pitches to open the game, Ruth ripped into umpire Brick Owens, who ejected him; Ruth then charged at and punched Owens.

"Chester Thomas tried to prevent him from reaching Owens, who had not removed his mask, but Babe started swinging both hands," the Boston Globe's Edward F. Martin wrote that afternoon. "The left missed the arbiter, but the right struck him behind the left ear.

"Manager Barry and several policemen had to drag Ruth off the field. All season Babe has been fussing a lot. Nothing has seemed to satisfy him."

Ernie Shore took over for Ruth, and proceeded to pitch the game of his life. Morgan immediately tried to steal second and was thrown out; Shore then didn't allow another Senator to reach base by any means, as the Red Sox won 4-0.

So what does it all mean? Well, first the obvious: Ruth and Shore are credited for having thrown the first combined no-hitter recorded in baseball history. And Ruth gets his name in there despite having thrown just four pitches and zero innings in the contest. But the question remains: Did Ernie Shore throw a 26-out perfect game?

For years, the answer was actually yes. At the time, it was considered a perfect game (with most credit going to Shore), since 27 outs were recorded in succession. In fact, according to SABR, until 1991 it was listed by Major League Baseball as a perfect game - but a rule change that year retroactively downgraded it to a plain old no-hitter since Ruth walked the first batter.

Thus, sadly, Ruth did not actually contribute to a combined perfect game. But he did pitch part of a very weird no-hitter - and how many members of the 500-home run club can say that?

In case you're wondering, Ruth was fined $100, suspended 10 games, and forced to issue a public apology for punching the umpire. Shore, meanwhile, pitched his last game in 1920 and later became a sheriff in South Carolina - where he could forever boast about having combined on a no-hitter with George Herman Ruth.