Rufus Meadows

Rufus Rivers Meadows

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut April 23, 1926
• Final Game April 23, 1926
• Born August 25, 1907 in Chase City, VA USA
• Died May 10, 1970 in Wichita, KS USA

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Biographical Information

Rufus Meadows pitched once in the majors, and played fourteen years in the minors. Meadows' chief distinction is that he is the only pitcher in major league history to have faced one and only one batter in his career. This record was broken by Larry Yount in 1971, who faced 0 batters in his only career appearance after suffering an injury during warm-up pitches.

Meadows did get the out when he pitched in the majors, and left with an ERA of 0.00. He was 18 at the time, and went on to win 147 games in the minors. On June 19, 1932, Rufus Meadows of the Newark Bears pitched a no-hitter against the Montreal Royals. He was 25-6 for the Tyler Trojans in 1937.

Only one other player, through 2019, has carried the name Rufus. That player, Rufus Smith, made his major league debut in 1927, the year after Meadows appeared. There have also been a couple people remembered with the name Rufe.

Through 2019, he is the only big leaguer born in Chase City, VA, a small town in south-central Virginia.