Nick Maddox

Nicholas Maddox (November 9, 1886 in Govanstown, Maryland – November 27, 1954 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1907 through 1910 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Maddox is one of the few pitchers to throw a no-hitter in his rookie season.

He defeated the Brooklyn Superbas 2–1 at Pittsburgh's Exposition Park on September 20, 1907, one week after pitching a 4–0 shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals in his major league debut. At the age of 20 years and ten months, he became the youngest pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter in major league history.

Not until Cliff Chambers in 1951 would another Pirate pitch a no-hitter, and the next no-hitter in Pittsburgh would not come until 1971, when Bob Gibson of the Cardinals no-hit the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium. The Pirates' home stadium in between, Forbes Field, had not witnessed a no-hitter in its 61-year (mid-1909 to mid-1970) history. Through 2013, Maddox is still the youngest pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the majors.

Maddox was also the last Pirate to win his first 4 career starts (in 1907) until the feat was matched by Gerrit Cole in 2013. William F. Kirk of the New York American in 1908 called Maddox a "...a well formed youth with a face like a dried apple."[1]

After his rookie season, Maddox spent two more years with the Pirates as a starting pitcher and finished his career in 1910 as a relief pitcher. In his career, he had 43 wins, 20 losses, and a 2.29 earned run average.