Former MLB pitcher Dave Morehead, who spent most of his 8-year big league career with the Boston Red Sox, has passed away at the age of 82.
A native of San Diego who attended the same high school as Red Sox legend Ted Williams, Morehead was signed by the Red Sox in 1961. Morehead made his MLB debut with the Bosox at the age of 19 on April 13,1963 when he tossed a complete game five hit shutout against the Washington Senators striking out 10 batters.
Morehead would be a mainstay in the Red Sox starting rotation from 1963 through 1965. Unfortunately, these were lean years in Boston and Morehead would have his fair share of struggles on the mound. The worst of these years was in 1965 when the Red Sox lost 100 games with Morehead leading the AL in losses with 18.
In view of these circumstances, it is understandable why only 1,247 fans showed up to Fenway Park on the afternoon of Thursday, September 16, 1965, to see the Red Sox face the Cleveland Indians. It was a day which began with Tom Yawkey firing GM Mike "Pinky" Higgins.
But the news of Higgins' firing would soon be overshadowed by Morehead no-hitting the Tribe. Aside from a second inning walk to Rocky Colavito, Morehead was perfect. All Morehead needed was a triple by Dalton Jones in the fifth and a home run by Lee Thomas in the seventh to come away with a 2-0 win. On a curious note, future Red Sox legend Luis Tiant was on the mound for Cleveland striking out 11 batters in an 8-inning complete game loss.
It would be more than 35 years before another Red Sox pitcher would toss a no-hitter when Hideo Nomo did so in his Bosox debut against the Baltimore Orioles in April 2001. The following season Derek Lowe would throw the first Red Sox no-hitter at Fenway since Morehead's no-no when he dominated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
The no-hitter proved to be epoch of Morehead's career. Morehead sustained a shoulder injury which severely reduced his effectiveness although he would be part of the 1967 Impossible Dream Team making two appearances in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Following the 1968 season, the Kansas City Royals selected Morehead in the expansion draft, and he would pitch the final two years of his career with KC. In 177 career appearances (134 of them starts), Morehead went 40-64 with a 4.15 ERA striking out 627 batters against 463 walks.
Dave Morehead leaves this world with a piece of baseball immortality. R.I.P.
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