Oh, no! John Rawls no-hits Mets
Marion Mets Substack – Issue 8
For Johnson City (Tennessee) Press sports columnist Henry Jenkins, the big news out of Marion, Virginia, Monday night was not what happened at the ballpark, but the fact that it had not happened in more than three years.
And, when it did happen back in the summer of 1962, it was Detroit Tigers young pitching star Denny McLain who did it.
The “it” was a no-hitter in an Appalachian League baseball game. McLain gave up zero hits on July 19, 1962, as a member of the Harlan (Kentucky) Smokies in victory over Salem (Virginia), and, as we know, went on to have a successful, and controversial, 10-year career in the majors.
Three years later, in Marion, Bluefield Orioles’ pitcher John Rawls accomplished a similar feat, no-hitting the Marion Mets in 7-0 win on July 19, 1965. The game was the first of a double header – Marion won the second contest, 2-1 – and thus only seven innings were played. But, that did not diminish Rawls’ accomplishments against a decent-hitting Marion team that was holding down second place in the Appy League.
Wearing No. 27 with “Baltimore” scripted across his jersey’s chest – it likely was a hand-me-down uniform from the parent club, 380 miles north east – the 21-year-old Rawls got off to a shaky start in the game, issuing two walks in the first inning.
Mets’ leadoff hitter Lou Pacchioli reached base on “four wide pitches,” the Smyth County News reported, and the next batter, Thomas Garrett, walked, too. Marion newcomer Dale Del Bello flew out toward the cinderblock wall in left, giving Rawls his first out. The right hander from Cambria, Virginia, quickly got out of the jam, however, when Pacchioli and Garrett ran their way into a double play, ending the Met threat.
The Smyth County News’ account of the play is a bit confusing. The paper reported that “On an attempted double steal, Paccioli was thrown out at first and Garrett, apparently not catching the signal until too late, was thrown out trying for second.”
It’s likely the Smyth County News reporter meant to write that Pacchioli was thrown out at third, not first. That’s the way Pacchioli remembers it anyway, 65 years later.
“I think I was out at third and the guy from first got a late start and was thrown out,” Pacchioli wrote in an email on October 22, 2021, from his home in Pennsylvania. “Yeah, it was Tommy [Garrett],” Pacchioli wrote in a follow-up email minutes later, “He got a late start and was thrown out by the third baseman.”
Depending on which newspaper you read, Rawls either walked a batter in the sixth, or a Met reached first on an error. Either way, the runner was negated by yet another double play by the Bluefield defense. Those free passes, by the way, were all that stood between Rawls and a perfect game.
“Wasn’t a good night offensively,” Pacchioli,” wrote.
The game was Rawls’ third start since joining the Orioles two weeks earlier. His no-hitter could not have come at a better time in terms of advancing his career. Attending the games in Marion were big league scouts representing the Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds.
Unlike McLain, Rawls never made it to the majors, but did have a solid minor league experience. He sported a 2.50 ERA in Bluefield before being called up to single A Fox Cities in Appleton, Wisconsin. Rawls pitched for the single A Miami Marlins of the Florida State League in 1966 and ’67. His first year there, he tossed another no-hitter. It, too, was a seven-inning win.
“A no-hitter is a no-hitter,” Rawls told the Miami News after the game, “whether it’s seven innings or nine innings. Makes the same difference to me.” The story of the no-hitter ran under the comical headline “Young, Balding Rawls Has No-Hitter Knack.”
The performance was cause for celebration in the Marlins locker room after the games – they lost the first game of a double header with Orlando – and Rawls’ teammates had the perfect plan.
Beer!
“Let’s see those IDs,” Marlins outfielder Fred Rico said, soaking wet walking from the shower to the cooler.
Rawls certainly looked old enough to drink, according to an inquiring clubhouse visitor who asked the pitcher, “How old are you?
“Twenty-one,” Rawls replied.
“Oh, I thought you were older,” the visitor replied.
“I just got a lot of miles on this young body,” said Rawls, who reporter Al Levine described as “prematurely balding.” (Later in the season, the Miami paper ran a story featuring Rawls that included a photo of the top of Rawls head.)
In his start prior to the no-hitter, Rawls pitched four perfect innings at Tampa, but rain washed away the game before it could be completed, and those innings did not make it into the stats sheet.
Rawls, whom the Orioles drafted out of East Carolina College in the 22-round of the 1965 MLB draft, finished his baseball career after pitching the 1967 season with High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms of the Carolina League.
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My son and I walked around taking photos of an empty Marion Stadium late one evening in June 2022. I’ll share a few of those pictures at the end of this newsletter each week.
That’s all for now. But before you go, this is my weekly reminder that I’m always looking for stories about the Marion Mets. If you were a player, fan, ball boy, concession stand work… anything… and have a story to share, I’d love to talk with you. You can reach me at chadoz97@gmail.com.
See ya next week!
Great story! Thanks again for your hard work and research.