Was fortunate to grab one of these tickets recently to go with my beautifully scored program.
59 years ago today Boston’s Earl Wilson threw the first no-hitter by an African-American pitcher in the American League. He defeated the Angels 2-0 and is one of only four pitchers to also hit a home run during his no-hitter.
Elijah “Pumpsie” Green gets the infamous footnote in history as the first black player on the last team to integrate in 1959, but Wilson debuted only a week later and was actually the first and only African-American the Red Sox had in their system for 3 years after he signed in 1953. The Sox famously passed over Jackie Robinson in 1945 and Willie Mays in 1950.
I’d like to think this no-hitter was a rare bright spot and incredible feat for Wilson in a very difficult chapter of Boston’s history.
