Sam Jones Marquee

On May 12, 1955, pitching for the Cubs against Pittsburgh, he walked the first three men in the ninth inning and then struck out the next three. It is the first no-hitter thrown by a Black pitcher in the major leagues. He led the National League in strikeouts that season with 198 and in walks with 185.

He came from the Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro American League and reached the major leagues at twenty-five. In 1959, for San Francisco, he went 21-15 with a 2.83 earned run average — the lowest among qualifiers in the league — and finished second in the Cy Young voting when the award covered both leagues.

Fourteen seasons gave him 102 wins against 101, a 3.59 earned run average and 1,376 strikeouts, and he led the league in strikeouts three times. He chewed a toothpick on the mound, which is where the name came from. He died of neck cancer in 1971, at forty-five.