Here’s what appears to be, for now, the earliest known Negro league no-hitter (that is, a no-hitter in a game between top-flight black professional teams in the U.S.), preceding Frank Wickware’s 1914 gem by two years.
(New York Press, August 29, 1912, p. 7)
This was one classic game—Dick Redding in a no-hit, 1-0 victory over José Méndez, at that point the most accomplished and most famous pitcher outside the major leagues. I’d love to find an actual box score.
Apparently Bill Holland claimed that Redding threw some 30 no-hitters in his career, but I can’t recall anyone, player or historian, mentioning this one—versus the Cuban Stars in 1912—in particular. There is this article, which says he went 43-12 in 1912 with seven no-hitters, including a perfect game. I couldn’t find seven, but I did come up with one more no-hitter, the one mentioned briefly in the story above—and it was in fact a perfect game:
(New York Press, August 5, 1912, p. 7)
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