Cedar Rapids Astros 6 Danville Warriors 0

July 25, 1973

Danville Stadium as it looked in 1970. Bill Wynn reports that it looked better earlier and would again later.

After nearly a week of inactivity due to three rainouts and the Midwest League All-Star game, the Cedar Rapids Astros were finally able to get a game in on July 25, 1973. Actually, a doubleheader had been scheduled, but rain began falling in the sixth inning of the first game, and the second game was postponed. Fortunately, they were able to finish the first one, because Bob Dean and Paulo DeLeon were able to combine on the first no-hitter in the Astros system since Eleno Cuen's middle-of-the-triple-header effort the previous August, and the first true no-hitter for Cedar Rapids in over four years. There's a little unexplained strangeness here, because Bob Dean was removed by manager Leo Posada after only two innings. The Gazette reports only that Dean had tired in the "hot, muggy evening." Dean had struck out no-one, walked two and had uncorked a wild pitch in his short stint, so perhaps he would not have been able to keep the thing going anyway. DeLeon was much sharper, as he got at least the first nine men he faced; his three walks came in the last two frames. The Gazette also reported that "the hardest hit ball by a Danville hitter was a line shot hit directly to Fred Mims in the sixth," and that "only seven balls were hit to the CR outfield."

Also note that 1972 first-round draft pick Steve Englishbey was a monster in this game. Danville ended up winning the South division before bowing to Wisconsin Rapids in the league finals. The Astros finished fourth in the North with a 61 - 60 record, 10-1/2 back of the Clinton Pilots. Dean would pitch in the Astros' system until 1977, gettin as high as AA Columbus, and although he'd compiled a 1.13 ERA at Covington in '71, only once more would he come home under 4.00--in 1975, for Dubuque, when he was undoubtedly on the bench watching on August 17, 1975, for the Astros' other Midwest League no-hitter, when 13-game winner Jose Alfaro would bamboozle the same Cedar Rapids franchise. For DeLeon's part, his minor league numbers were better than Dean's, but he didn't last as long. His last year in the Astros chain was with the same Dubuque club Dean and Alfaro were on. Overall, DeLeon finished 32 - 26 in his short minor league career,with an ERA in the mid to low threes.

The two pitchers' unnumbered 1973 TCMA issues for the Cedar Rapids club

Cedar Rapids Astros AB R H RBI Ramon Perez, ss 3 2 1 0 Steve Englishbey, lf 4 2 2 3 Alfredo Javier, rf 4 0 1 1 Fred Mims, cf 4 0 1 1 Rafael Tatis, 1b 1 0 0 0 Pastor Perez, 2b 3 0 0 0 Neil Rasmussen, 3b 2 1 0 0 George Vasquez, c 4 0 0 0 Bob Dean, p 1 0 0 0 Paulo DeLeon, p 2 1 1 0     Cedar Rapids totals 25 6 6 5

Danville Warriors AB R H RBI Sam Mejias, cf 2 0 0 0 Osvaldo Ortiz, 3b 3 0 0 0 Dick Davis, lf 3 0 0 0 Price Thomas, 1b 3 0 0 0 Gerald Mantio, c 3 0 0 0 Roger Danson, rf 1 0 0 0 Salvador Rosario, ss 2 0 0 0 Tim Hamilton, 2b 3 0 0 0 Roger Alexander, p 1 0 0 0 Richard Baker, p 0 0 0 0 Bob Dunn, ph 0 0 0 0 Roger Miller, p 0 0 0 0 Danville totals 21 0 0 0