Howard Ehmke

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Howard Jonathan Ehmke (April 24, 1894 – March 17, 1959) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Born in Silver Creek, New York, he played professionally from 1916 to 1930. In 1915, he played for Buffalo Blues in the Federal League before the league folded. He then played for three American League teams: the Detroit Tigers (1916–1917 & 1919–1922); the Boston Red Sox (1922–1926); and the Philadelphia Athletics (1926–1930).

With the Red Sox, Ehmke pitched a no-hitter against the Athletics on September 7, 1923. He followed the performance up with a one-hitter against the Yankees four days later. He still holds the American League record for fewest hits allowed (1) in two consecutive games (Johnny Vander Meer's consecutive no-hitters in 1938 is the Major League record). Ehmke won 20 games for the Red Sox in 1923 and 19 in 1924. He led the American League in innings pitched in 1924 with a total of 315.0 innings.

In winning game 1 of the 1929 World Series against the Chicago Cubs, Ehmke, near the end of his career, was a surprise starter for the A's, striking out a then-World Series record 13 batters in a 3-1 win over Chicago. At the time, Ehmke also set a record for lowest win total during the regular season by a World Series game 1 starter. Ehmke was 7-2 during the regular season. This record would stand until 2006 when St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Anthony Reyes started game 1 of the 2006 World Series after having gone 5-8 during the regular season.

Howard Ehmke retired from Major League Baseball after the 1930 season with a record of 166-166 and a career ERA of 3.74.