Early in the 1934 season, if any pitcher looked like a candidate to get 30 wins, it was Lon Warneke, not Dizzy Dean.
A Chicago Cubs right-hander, Warneke pitched a one-hitter on Opening Day versus the Reds and followed that with another one-hitter in his next start against Dean and the Cardinals.
Warneke is the only big-league pitcher to follow a one-hitter on Opening Day with another one-hitter in his second start.
Humming along
A native of Mount Ida, Arkansas, called the quartz crystal capital of the world, Warneke was 19 when he became a professional pitcher in 1928. His debut with the Cubs came in relief against the Cardinals at St. Louis in April 1930. Boxscore
Two years later, Warneke, 23, had a breakout season, leading the National League in wins (22) and ERA (2.37) for the 1932 pennant winners.
J. Roy Stockton of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch nicknamed him “The Arkansas Hummingbird” because of a darting fastball. Stockton’s colleague, Bob Broeg, described Warneke as “a scarecrow with a chaw of tobacco stuck in a straw cheek” and with “shoulders as wide, and as thin, as a coat-hanger.”
“I kept calm with my chew of tobacco,” Warneke told the newspaper. “I always had a chew of tobacco in my mouth. Being without the chew was like being without my glove.”
Reds rooters
In 1933, Warneke was 18-13 overall but 0-5 against the Reds. Nonetheless, he got the starting assignment in the Cubs’ 1934 season opener at Cincinnati.
Facing a lineup with ex-Cardinals Jim Bottomley, Chick Hafey and Bob O’Farrell, Warneke “had everything _ fast ones, curves, some change of pace and control,” the Dayton Daily News noted. “He made the ball behave just as he wanted it to _ and that means he made the batters behave in the same way.”
After holding the Reds hitless through six innings, the Crosley Field spectators “adopted Warneke as their hero for the afternoon” and rooted for the pitcher to complete a no-hitter, the Chicago Tribune reported.
When Adam Comorosky broke the spell with a one-out single to center in the ninth, the fans booed.
Warneke retired the last two batters, completing the one-hit shutout and securing the 6-0 win. He struck out 13, the only time in his 15 years in the majors that he fanned more than nine in a game. His teammates hoisted him to their shoulders and carried him off the field, bringing cheers from the crowd.
“No team in baseball could have beaten Lon this afternoon,” Reds player-manager Bob O’Farrell told The Cincinnati Post. “He kept that curveball on the outside corner. His control was remarkable. He could have thrown the ball through a knothole, so true was he aiming.” Boxscore
Si Burick of the Dayton Daily News predicted, “You will have to go a long way in this budding season to see a game as nearly flawlessly pitched as Warneke’s.”
Five days later, though, Warneke pitched another one-hitter.
One and done
On April 22, 1934, a Sunday afternoon at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, Warneke was matched against Cardinals ace Dizzy Dean. On Opening Day, Dean beat the Pirates, holding them to a run in nine innings, but the Cardinals hadn’t won since.
It turned out to be no contest. The Cubs scored four in the first, two in the second and Dean was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the third.
Though Warneke walked six, he allowed just one hit _ a Rip Collins double in the fifth. Warneke, who lashed two singles, had twice as many hits as he allowed the Cardinals. The Cubs won, 15-2. Boxscore
Warneke’s back-to-back one-hitters occurred four years before the Reds’ Johnny Vander Meer became the only big-league pitcher to toss consecutive no-hitters.
“The big thing with me was get the wins and not worry about how many hits I gave up,” Warneke said to the Post-Dispatch.
One-hitter wonders
Others who have pitched and won Opening Day one-hitters include Herb Pennock of the 1915 Athletics, Jesse Petty of the 1926 Dodgers and Bob Lemon of the 1953 Indians. In 2015, Sonny Gray (eight innings) and Evan Scribner (one inning) combined on an Opening Day one-hitter for the Athletics. None of those pitchers followed with a one-hitter in his second start.
Bob Feller of the 1940 Indians pitched the only Opening Day no-hitter but he was shelled for six runs in three innings in his second start.
Like Warneke, others have pitched one-hitters in consecutive starts, though none did so in his first two appearances of a season. Those who joined Warneke in pitching back-to-back one-hitters are Rube Marquard (1911 Giants), Mort Cooper (1943 Cardinals), Whitey Ford (1955 Yankees), Sam McDowell (1966 Indians), Dave Stieb (1988 Blue Jays) and R.A. Dickey (2012 Mets).
In 1923, Howard Ehmke of the Red Sox pitched a no-hitter on Sept. 7 and followed with a one-hitter four days later. In consecutive September starts in 1925, Dazzy Vance of the Dodgers had a one-hitter and a no-hitter.
Grover Cleveland Alexander had four one-hitters for the 1915 Phillies but never pitched a no-hitter in 20 years in the majors.
The pitchers with the most career one-hitters are Bob Feller and Nolan Ryan. Each had 12.
Pitcher to arbiter
Warneke was 22-10 for the 1934 Cubs. Dizzy Dean, 1-2 with a 7.17 ERA after his first four starts, finished 30-7 for the league champion Cardinals and got two more wins in the 1934 World Series.
The next year, when the Cubs claimed the pennant, Warneke won 20, plus two more in the 1935 World Series.
He was traded to the Cardinals in October 1936 (Rip Collins was one of the players the Cubs got in return) and pitched a no-hitter against the reigning World Series champion Reds in 1941.
Warneke was 83-49 for the Cardinals and 192-121 overall in the majors.
He was a National League umpire from 1949-55 and then became a county judge in Arkansas.