June 26, 1962: Earl Wilson's Slugging No-Hitter

June 26, 1962: The Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels, 2-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Earl Wilson becomes the 1st black pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the American League, and hits a home run to help his own cause. It wasn't a perfect game: He walked 4 batters.

The losing pitcher had already thrown a no-hitter that season: Bo Belinsky.

Boston sports' racial history is complicated. On the one hand, there was the phony tryout that the Red Sox gave to Jackie Robinson and 2 others in 1945, the Sox being the last MLB team to desegregate, the treatment of Bill Russell, and even Tommy Harper's firing as a Sox coach for apparently racial reasons in 1985; and the fact that white fans filled the Boston Garden for regular-season games for the Bruins while they were lousy in the 1960s, while they shunned the place for the Celtics while they were winning titles, only packing it during the Playoffs so they could celebrate the wins.

On the other hand, the Braves integrated early with Sam Jethroe, the Celtics were the 1st team to draft a black player with Chuck Cooper in 1950, Red Auerbach fully embraced integration with the Celtics, the Bruins were the 1st NFL team to integrate with Willie O'Ree in 1958, and Wilson pitched a no-hitter before any black man had done so in the AL.

Wilson would go on to win a World Series ring with the 1968 Detroit Tigers, pitching like almost anyone else’s ace but behind Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich. He went 121-109 for his career, and died in 2005.

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June 26, 1962 was a Tuesday. Basketball star Jerome Kersey was born. And these other baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Minnesota Twins, 5-0 at Yankee Stadium. Camilo Pascual allowed 9 hits, but no walks, striking out 12, and pitched a shutout, beating Rollie Sheldon. Rich Rollins hit 2 home runs, and Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-3 with a walk, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Mickey Mantle was injured and did not play. In his place in center field, usual right fielder Roger Maris went 0-for-4.

* The New York Mets lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Former Pirate Frank "Big Donkey" Thomas got 2 hits for the expansion Mets, but the rest of the team combined got only 3. In the other direction, Donn Clendenon hit a home run for the Pirates, and would go on to become a World Series hero for the Mets. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Philadelphia Phillies swept the Houston Colt .45s, 2-0 and 6-4 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Jack Hamilton pitched a 2-hit shutout in the 1st game. The Colts became the Houston Astros in 1965.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 1-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Charley Lau, later to become one of baseball's best hitting instructors despite his own lifetime batting average of .255, singled Dave Nicholson home with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th to win it. Milt Pappas pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 2-1 at District of Columbia Stadium (later Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) in Washington.

* A doubleheader was split at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The Detroit Tigers won the opener, 6-0. Jim Bunning pitched a 4-hit shutout. The Cleveland Indians won the nightcap, 3-1. Al Luplow hit a home run in the top of the 12th inning. Al Kaline was hurt, and did not appear in either game.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 15-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Stan Musial, 42 years old, sat this game out. The Cards didn't need him, getting home runs from Ken Boyer, Bill White, Gene Oliver and Charlie James. Ernie Banks went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. The winning pitcher for the Cardinals was Ernie Broglio. The man for whom he would later be traded, Lou Brock, went 1-for-4 with a walk for the Cubs.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Despite 13 strikeouts, Sandy Koufax was outpitched by Lew Burdette. (Burdette was also the winning pitcher 3 years earlier when Harvey Haddix of Pittsburgh pitched a perfect game before losing in the 13th inning.) Hank Aaron went 2-for-4.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Orlando Cepeda singled Felipe Alou home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Willie Mays went 0-for-5. Frank Robinson went 2-for-5 with a home run.