Bill Bevens and His "Almost No-Hitter"

The Ultimate Baseball Heartbreak

Nine years before Don Larsen pitched the only no-hitter (a perfect game no less) in World Series history, Bill Bevens, also of the New York Yankees, almost turned the trick. Against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1947 World Series, Bill Bevens had walked ten batters, but had not allowed a hit after eight and two thirds innings of work. In a pitching performance that was far from perfect, Bill Bevens came within one out of throwing a no-hitter, but his dream of glory was replaced with heartbreak in an instant.

The setting was Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, Game Four of the 1947 World Series. The Yankees had taken the first two games at Yankee Stadium, by 5-3 and 10-3 scores. When the Series moved to Flatbush, the Dodgers survived the first pinch-hit homer in Series play, slammed by a young catcher named Yogi Berra, to outlast the Bronx Bombers 9-8. This set the stage for Game Four, where right-hander Bill Bevens would oppose the Dodgers' righty, Harry Taylor.

Bill Bevens had come to the Yankees as a 27 year old in 1944. In his first three seasons, Bill Bevens had gone 33-23, but he struggled in 1947, especially with his control. Bill Bevens walked as many as he struck out, and he wound up with a record of 7-13, along with a 3.82 ERA, after winning 16 games the previous season. Still, manager Bucky Harris had enough faith in Bill Bevens to send him out to the mound on October 3rd to try to put a stranglehold on the Dodgers' hopes. Harry Taylor had been 10-5 for the campaign, put he never got as much as one out on this afternoon. After singles by Snuffy Stirnweiss and Tommy Henrich, shortstop Pee Wee Reese made an error on a double play ball hit by Berra to load the bases. When Taylor walked Joe DiMaggio to force in a run he was pulled by Brooklyn skipper Burt Shotton and replaced by Hal Gregg, who prevented any further damage by inducing a pop-up and a double play ball.