I just picked up an awesome item for my no-hitter collection.
As many of you are aware, Johnny Vander Meer is the only pitcher in baseball history to throw back to back no-hitters. After a lackluster 3-5 beginning in his 1937 rookie season, Vandy would have had no idea that when he signed his 1938 contract that he was just about to set a baseball record that may never be broken. The contract that I just purchased was Vander Meer's personal copy of the contract. The back of the contract is signed by Reds VP and HOF'er Warren Giles.
Pete Rose, who knew a little about the difficulty of breaking iconic records, stated in an interview once that he believed that Vander Meer's back to back no-hitters was perhaps one of the most unassailable in the game. His point was that someone may eventually tie Vander Meer's record, but nobody would ever break it. In approximately 140 years of baseball, it's only happened once.
Three back to back to back no-hitters? C'mon!!!
