Tony Mullane the first Irish Ambidextrous Pitcher to throw a No-Hitter
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In keeping with the Luck of the Irish and the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, I wanted to look for the perfect baseball player and their respected rookie card to showcase the essence of the day.
With that said, there is one player that undoubtedly came to mind and that is none other than Anthony John “Tony” Mullane (an ambidextrous pitcher who captivated baseball fans during the late 19th century) who hailed from County Cork in Ireland and was known as “The Count” and “The Apollo of the Box” among his baseball peers.
Anthony John "Tony" Mullane made his major league debut on July 18th 1882 and was not only the first ambidextrous pitcher to throw in the majors, he was also the first ambidextrous pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the majors which occurred on September 11th 1882 when he played for the Louisville Eclipse of the American Association.
Throughout his 13-year career with teams from Detroit, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville, St. Louis, and even Toledo he proved that he could handle most of what was proverbially thrown at him as his played in 555 career games, starting 504 of them and amassing a record of 284 wins with 220 losses, 15 saves,1,803 strikeouts and a career ERA of 3.05.
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From a collecting perspective, his 1887 N172 Old Judge card is one of the most prized cards from that era and recent graded sales range from $196 (PSA FR 1.5) to $810 (PSA Good+ 2.5). Although it should be noted that a graded sale of $478 (PSA VG - EX 4) took place back in 2015.
Passionate sports card collector and writer based in Queens, NY. Lifelong fan of the New York Mets, Jets, and Rangers. Covering sports cards and collectibles with deep industry knowledge and enthusiasm, while bringing a fresh perspective to the ever-evolving hobby world on http://SI.com/collectibles.
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