April 20, 1910 – Addie Joss No-Hits Same Team Twice

By most contemporary accounts, Addie Joss was an unusual athlete. Nicknamed “The Human Hairpin” for his extremely long arms and unusual delivery style, Joss had a corkscrew delivery and turned his back entirely to the plate before using a sidearm motion. Despite this dramatic delivery and high leg-kick, he did not fall off the mound in the way that some corkscrew pitchers do. He completed his motion and was ready to field anything that came back up the middle.



Joss’ fielding was a crucial factor in his 1910 no-hitter. He recorded assists on 10 of the 27 outs, mostly on ground balls. Joss threw only two strikeouts in the entire no-hit performance. The day was not without controversy, however. In the second inning, White Sox shortstop Parent hit a weak topper to third base. Bill Bradley. Bradley juggled the ball and the throw to first was late. The play was initially ruled a base hit, but the scorer later changed it to a fielding error on Bradley.



Second basemen Terry Turner had the Naps’ lone RBI on the day with the double in the top of the 6th which scored Art Kruger. Having already thrown a perfect game against the White Sox in Game 152 of the 1908 season, Joss became the first pitcher to ever no-hit the same team twice. This record would stand for 104 years, until Tim Lincecum no-hit the San Diego Padres for the second time in 2014.



Joss played for only nine seasons, before he lost his life in April 1911 to tuberculosis meningitis. In 1977, the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors voted to waive the 10-year tenure rule in Joss’ case and make him eligible to the Hall of Fame. He was inducted by the Veterans Committee in 1978.

