Thomas Harold Phoebus was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Baltimore Orioles (1966-1970), San Diego Padres (1971-1972) and Chicago Cubs (1972). When Tom, his nickname, made his debut on September 15, 1966 , he became the second Mount St. Joseph's High School (Baltimore, MD) graduate to reach the majors, their first right-handed pitcher. Do you know what lefty preceded Phoebus, whose rookie card is pictured below? [ Answer ]

Tom Phoebus Rookie Card | 1967 Topps Baseball Card (#204 | Checklist ) | Baseball Almanac Collection

Tom Phoebus was born in Baltimore, went to a private school in Baltimore, and was signed directly out of high school by the Baltimore Orioles, his favorite team, in 1960. Six years later he got the opportunity to play for them and did not disappoint, pitching a complete game shutout during his first start ( September 15th ), then duplicated that feat five days later, on September 20th , back-to-back shutouts. Not a lot of ways to beat that type of perfomance, unti he put together this gem:

Tom Phoebus No Hitter ( April 27, 1968 )

If ever a pitcher was destined not to toss a no-hitter, it was 26-year-old Tom Phoebus. He hadn't pitched for one week, he had a sore throat, the game was delayed one hour and twenty-three minutes at the start because of rain, and Phoebus's catcher was an outfielder who had caught only three big league games.

But with a paid crowd of 3,147 (14, 715 total) watching on Saturday, April 27th , at Memorial Stadium, Phoebus whitewashed the defending America League champion Boston Red Sox . Phoebus took a 2-1 record into the fray against fourth place Boston's Gary Waslewski .

Phoebus, in the midst of a three-year spurt in which he won 43 games, used 110 pitches. He struck out nine and walked three with seven balls being caught in the outfield.

The third place Orioles made several outstanding defensive plays in support of Phoebus. The most stunning was a diving catch by third baseman Brooks Robinson , that robbed Rico Petrocelli of a base hit in the eighth.

Two of Phoebus's walks came in the first inning. After getting Mike Andrews on a swinging third strike. Phoebus passed Joe Foy and Carl Yastrzemski . But catcher Curt Blefary gunned down Foy trying to steal third. Phoebus then retired Reggie Smith on a grounder to second.

Inside The Dugout: Curt Blefary had been converted to a catcher during his senior year at high school, and played the position in the minors. During Spring Training games, the Orioles used him occasionally behind the plate. In 1967, Andy Etchebarren threw out 29% of base stealers, about 12% below the league average, prompting the team to "experiment" with Clank at catcher.

Phoebus struck out George Scott and Petrocelli in the second inning and Elston Howard and Waslewski in the third. After Waslewski fanned, the game erupted into controversy when Andrews hit a high bouncer off Phoebus's glove. Shortstop Mark Belanger raced in behind the mound, swept up the ball and threw to first where Andrews was called out by umpire Bill Valentine.

Andrews , who appeared to have beaten the throw, slammed his helmet to the ground, and was quickly ejected from the game. A big argument ensued, the Red Sox maintaining then, as well as after the game, that Andrews was safe.

When the dust settled, the Orioles exploded for four tuns in the bottom half with the big blows being Robinson's three-run double and an RBI single by Davey Johnson . Johnson , who had three hits, singled home another run in the fifth, and Phoebus, who also had two hits, drove in the final run in the eighth.

From the first until the sixth, Phoebus retired 13 men in a row. He walked Howard leading off the sixth, but got pinch-hitter Jose Tartabull on a pop foul to first, Dalton Jones on a fly to right and Foy on a swinging third strike.

With two outs in the seventh, Belanger made another fine defensive play on a checked-swing bouncer off the bat of Joe Lahoud . Belanger charged the lazy roller, and his throw to first beat Lahoud by a step.

In the eighth, Scott took a called third strike, then Petrocelli lined a shot down the third base line. Robinson dove to his right to make a backhanded catch to save the no-hitter. Gene Oliver followed with a pop-fly to first.

Phoebus had an easy time in the ninth. He set down pinch-hitter Norm Siebern on a fly to Curt Motton in left. Jones grounded back to the mound where Phoebus threw to Boog Powell at first for the out. Then Foy went down swinging to end the game.

Tom Phoebus No-Hitter | The South Bend Tribune | April 28, 1968
Did you know that the year ( 1967 ) before he threw his no-hitter, Phoebus won 14 games, lost only 9, struck out 179 batters, finishing with a 3.33 ERA and won Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award ? Tom, however, did not win the BBWAA Rookie of the Year Award . Do you remember what future Hall of Fame player won it that season? [ Answer ]