For the Missus

Staring nervously out the clubhouse windows at the remorseless rain, young (23) Righthander Rex Barney scuffed the floor with his spikes. To keep the Dodgers in their waning National League pennant race (see above), he really had to win this one; the Bums had lost eight of the last ten, and dropped from first to third place. Besides, Mrs. Barney had got a baby-sitter and had come to watch, and Rex owed her a no-hitter (he had promised it after he pitched a one-hitter, nearly a month ago). If only the rain would stop . . . A Polo Grounds clubhouse boy handed Barney a hot dog; against his better judgment, he munched it.

By 9:26, almost an hour late, the tarpaulins had been hauled away. In the first inning, with only one out, Rex filled the bases with Giants--on a walk, his own error, and another walk. Between fast balls, he could still taste that hot dog. Manager Burt Shotton eyed the Dodger bullpen. Then, on a change-of-pace pitch, Willard Marshall grounded to Second Baseman Jackie Robinson for a double play.

In the third, Jackie muffed an easy grounder. That was the last Giant to get to first base; Pitcher Barney started the double play that wiped him out. From then on, it was three Giants up and three down, as Barney's fast ball and tantalizing curve both clicked.

On the Dodger bench, Eddie Miksis spread consternation among his superstitious teammates by blurting out the unmentionable: "Hey, they haven't got any hits." Out there on the mound, Rex Barney did not need to be told ("I always know when a guy comes up there what he's done the last time ... I remember the ones that have hit me, and there were none to remember").

In the sixth, the rain started again. In the ninth, the ball was slippery, and Barney was pressing. With the count three-and-two, the first batter swung at a pitch up around his neck. The second Giant popped a mile-high fly to First Baseman Gil Hodges, who wiped the rain from his face and caught it. Then Whitey Lockman, who had hit three home runs off Barney earlier in the season, stepped up. He got a piece of the ball, but it fouled off near the Dodger dugout. Looking up into the lights, Catcher Bruce Edwards thought he was "seeing dozens of baseballs coming down," but managed to catch the right one.

Pitcher Barney leaped "20 feet" into the air, and took off for the clubhouse like a man possessed. He was; he had the National League's first no-hitter of 1948. Score: 2-0.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.