The no-hitter is one of baseball’s rarer feats. Since the first no-hitter was thrown in the 1870’s, there have only been 278 more – or an average of about 2 per year. No-hitters are often thrown by great pitchers, and in fact, even some of baseball’s all-time greats have gone their entire career without throwing the much-heralded no-no.
But we’re not here to celebrate greatness. We’re here for funny names. And it turns out that two of baseball’s most improbable no-hitters were thrown by two great named guys – Bobo Holloman and Bumpus Jones.
The man, the myth – Bumpus Jones. (Credit: sabr.org)
Charles Leander “Bumpus” Jones was not a very good pitcher. However, despite having a career that spanned all of eight games, Bumpus hurled a no-hitter in his first major league appearance! Unbelievable. That incredible no-no awesomeness is matched only by Johnny Vander Meer’s insane feat of pitching no-hitters in back-to-back starts! But back to Bumpus. On October 15, 1892, the last day of the season, Bumpus bested the Cincinnati Reds, 7-1 (the one run scored on an error), giving up four walks. The next season, he appeared in seven games, going 1-4 with a 10.19 ERA. He would never pitch in the Majors again. He finished his short career with a 2-4 record, a 7.99 ERA, and 10 strikeouts.
Which brings us to Alva Lee “Bobo” Holloman. In terms of no-hitter awesomeness, Bobo is a complete and utter slacker compared to Bumpus. Bobo didn’t throw a no-no in his first Major League appearance. It took him until his second appearance – but first start – to get his no-no, beating the Philadelphia A’s on May 6, 1953. Like Bumpus, Bobo didn’t do much after that, pitching only 20 more games, compiling a career record of 3-7 with a 5.23 ERA and 25 strikeouts in his three-month career.
And there you have it – Bumpus and Bobo. Baseball’s most unlikely no-nos.
Those are truly funny names. Not just odd. Not just a bit different or out there.Truly funny lol names. Bumpus and Bobo. *shaking head* Thanks, Rob!
My pleasure!
Rob, I think that “Bobo is a complete and utter slacker compared to Bumpus.” might be my favourite sentence you’ve ever written on this blog!
Why thank you! It’s definitely a sentence you don’t hear every day. And that u in favourite is so Canadian! 🙂
Lol! I know; WordPress keeps wanting to spellcheck me, and I’m like, no no, I’m international .
You must think you’re super special with the whole italicization of international. 😉 You sure are a colourful gal, though.
Of course 😉
But you can be special too, muffin. Put em and /em in the little pointy brackets around words and you can have as much italicization as you want!
Rob-what a great post. Bumpus and Bobo great names. What I can’t believe is that Ogden Nash didn’t immortalize them. . .
Haha, yeah. Ogden only wrote poems about great baseball players. But it would be awesome if he had written a funny named baseball players poem!
That would have been awesome. 🙂
Yeah, and I like that Rob used the term “no no” so often here!
Ohhh, you have no idea how happy the name Bumpus Jones has made me. I actually think that is the best name I’ve ever heard in my life. In fact I’m going to change my name to Bumpus Jones. Damn, I just love saying it. Bumpus Jones. Bumpus Bumpus Bumpus. Christ, I enjoyed that. 🙂
Wow, you sure are excited about Bumpus!
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