Al Atkinson (baseball)
Encyclopedia
Albert Wright Atkinson was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 who played three seasons; one in the Union Association
Union Association
The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for only one season in 1884. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season...

 and parts of three seasons in the American Association
American Association (19th century)
The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...

. He became the first player to desert his existing contract to jump over to the Union Association. He is one of the few pitchers in Major League history to throw two no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...

s.

Career

Atkinson was born in Clinton, Illinois
Clinton, Illinois
Clinton is the largest city in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,225 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of DeWitt County.The city and the county are named for DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York, 1817-1823...

, and he began his Major League career with the Philadelphia Athletics
Philadelphia Athletics (American Association)
The Philadelphia Athletics were a professional baseball team, one of six charter members of the American Association, a 19th-century major league, which began play in 1882 as a rival to the National League. The other teams were the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Red Stockings, Eclipse of...

 in , pitching in 22 games
Games pitched
In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...

, winning
Win (baseball)
In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...

 11 and losing 11. Later in the season, Al jumped to the new Union Association
Union Association
The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for only one season in 1884. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season...

, remaining there until season's end. With that move, Al became the first player to desert his existing contract and join the Union Association. He played for two teams during his time in the Union Association, a league that folded following the season. He began play with the Chicago Browns
Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies
The Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies were a short-lived professional baseball team in the Union Association of 1884. They were to battle the Chicago White Stockings, of the National League, for the Chicago baseball market, however the Browns lost that battle to the White Stockings...

 and later played for the Baltimore Monumentals
Baltimore Monumentals
The Baltimore Monumentals were an American baseball team in the short-lived Union Association. In their lone season of 1884, they finished fourth in the UA with a 58-47 record.-History:The team was managed by William Henderson...

 and had a combined record of 20 wins and 26 losses during the 1884 season. On May 24, 1884, he pitched his first no-hitter. He tossed his gem against the Pittsburgh Alleghenys in a 10-1 victory. This no-hitter is also notable for the fact that Al allowed the first batter of the game on base with a hit by pitch
Hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...

 and then retired the next 27 batters in a row. The only run scored when Ed Swartwood
Ed Swartwood
Cyrus Edward Swartwood was an American professional baseball player and umpire. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as a right fielder and first baseman. He played for the Buffalo Bisons , Pittsburgh Alleghenys/Pirates , Brooklyn Grays , and Toledo Maumees...

, the player hit by the pitch, stole
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...

 second base‚ took third base
Third Base
is a 1978 Japanese film directed by Yōichi Higashi.-External links:...

 on a putout
Putout
In baseball statistics, a putout is given to a defensive player who records an out by one of the following methods:* Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base...

‚ and then scored on a passed ball
Passed ball
In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control. When, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a runner on base advances, the catcher is thereby charged...

.

He played for an independent minor league team, the Chicago Blues, during the season, but returned the Athletics for the season. He pitched his second no-hitter on May 1, 1886 against the New York Metropolitans
New York Metropolitans
The Metropolitan Club was a 19th-century professional baseball team that played in New York City from 1880 to 1887...

 in a 3-2 victory.

Post-career

After his career, he became a farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...

. Al died at the age of 91 in McDonald County, Missouri
McDonald County, Missouri
McDonald County is a county located in Southwest Missouri in the United States of America. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 23,083. Its county seat is Pineville...

, and is interred at the Macedonia Cemetery in Stella, Missouri
Stella, Missouri
Stella is a village in Newton County, Missouri, United States. The population was 158 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Stella is located at ....

.

External links

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