Special Memory or Event? Want to have some fun? Advertise your business? Dedicate this page

Clay Kirby

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
6-3, 175lb (190cm, 79kg)
Born: June 25, 1948 in Washington, DC us
Died: October 11, 1991 in Arlington, VA
Buried: National Memorial Park, Falls Church, VA
Draft: Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 3rd round of the 1966 MLB June Amateur Draft from Washington-Lee HS (Arlington, VA).
High School: Washington-Lee HS (Arlington, VA)
Debut: April 11, 1969 (12,804th in major league history)
vs. SFG 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 SO, 2 BB, 3 ER, L
Last Game: September 28, 1976
vs. NYM 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER
Full Name: Clayton Laws Kirby
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Notable Events and Chronology for Clay Kirby

SearchSearch Events, Dates and More Date (Newest)Title (A - Z)

May 28, 1969

Jerry Kidman sets the Mets strikeout record

July 21, 1970

Clay Kirby removed for a pinch hitter with a no hitter

September 18, 1971

San Diego’s Clay Kirby allows just one hit – a wind-blown homer in the 8th by Willie McCovey – in beating the Giants, 2 – 1

September 24, 1971

Wasting a heroic pitching effort by starter Clay Kirby, the Padres lose to the Astros, 2 – 1, in 21 innings. Kirby hurls 15 innings and strikes out 15 men.

September 19, 1973

Astros’ infielder Dave Campbell hits a first-inning two-run double against San Diego right-hander Clay Kirby to snap a 0-for-45 drought, tying a major league record set in 1909 by Bill Bergen, a catcher who played with Brooklyn. ‘Soup’, who will become a respected national baseball broadcaster, endured the futility while playing for three teams, combining a 17 at-bat hitless streak with the Padres and another 21 at-bats hitless streak for the Cardinals before hitting the two-bagger in his eighth at-bat with Houston.

November 9, 1973

Cincinnati trades OF Bobby Tolan and P Dave Tomlin to San Diego for P Clay Kirby

September 4, 1974

Don Wilson is taken out after eight innings of no-hit ball

December 9, 1974

1974 – Bobby Tolan, traded by Cincinnati for P Clay Kirby on November 9, 1973, finally signs a 1974 contract with the Padres, leading to a withdrawal of the grievance initiated by the Players’ Association on his behalf.

May 10, 1975

Will McEnaney provides 3 1/3 innings of hitless relief to seal the Reds’ 7 – 1 win over the Mets. Clay Kirby gets the win.

June 30, 1975

For the third time in four days, the Reds win on an extra-inning home run. This time, Johnny Bench belts a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 12th and the Reds whip the Astros, 9 – 6. Clay Kirby gets the decision.

May 15, 2018

The Padres remain the only franchise in the majors never to have seen one of their pitchers throw a no-hitter, as the latest bid, by Jordan Lyles, falls short against the Rockies. He retires 22 straight batters, the last being a strikeout of Carlos Gonzalez to open the 8th inning, but sees his dream snapped when Trevor Story follows with a single to left. The Padres win, 4 – 0, and many believe the team has been cursed since July 21, 1970, when manager Preston Gomez took the fateful decision of lifting Clay Kirby for a pinch-hitter after allowing a run but no hits through 8 innings against the Mets, only to see reliever Jack Baldschun allow 2 runs on 3 hits in the 9th to spoil the bid. Only two San Diego pitchers have made it as far as the 9th inning without allowing a hit since that day.

Clay Kirby Biography

Saddled with little support at San Diego, Kirby lost 20 games (the league high) as a rookie in 1969, and 18 in 1973, but registered a fine 15-13 (231 strikeouts) with the last-place Padres in 1971. He was 12-9 and 10-6 with the heavy-hitting Reds in 1974 and 1975.

On July 21, 1970 manager Preston Gomez of the Padres pinch hit for Kirby in the eighth inning of a game against the Mets in which he had not allowed a hit, but was losing 1-0. On September 4, 1974 Kirby was in the Reds’ dugout when the Astros’ Don Wilson was losing a no-hitter 2-1 after eight innings. Kirby’s teammate Don Gullett asked what the odds were that Gomez, managing the Astros, would pinch hit for Wilson; Kirby replied, “I guarantee he will.” He was right.

@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@