Being the first do anything in baseball history can be special.
Gus Triandos caught the first of his two no-hitters on Sept. 20, 1958. He was behind the plate for his second six years later on June 20, 1964. As a result, he became the first catcher to be involved in no-hitters in both the American and National leagues.
Future National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm was on the mound for the Baltimore Orioles in 1958 with Triandos catching as the knuckleball specialist blanked the New York Yankees 1-0 at Memorial Stadium.
Wilhelm fanned eight and walked two as he tossed the initial no-hitter for the Orioles since their move from St. Louis where they were the Browns.
Triandos was the offensive hero of the contest as he blasted a solo homer.
The second no-hitter was a perfect game by Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies. Bunning struck out 10 as he beat the New York Mets 6-0 in Shea Stadium.
Triandos was again a part the action at the plate. He had a RBI double in the second and a run-scoring single in the sixth.
The California native appeared in four all-star games during his 13-year career in the major leagues. He was a lifetime .244 hitter with 167 homers and 608 RBI. His best seasons were with the Orioles.
In 1956, he had 21 home runs and career-highs with 88 RBI and a .279 batting average. Two years later he banged out 30 homers with 79 RBI, while batting .245. He had 25 long balls and 73 RBI in 1959.
He led the AL in assists in 1957 and 1959, while topping the league in putouts in 1958.
Started with the Yankees
He originally signed with the New York Yankees in 1948 and made it to the big club in 1953 and 1954.
Prior to the 1955 season, the catcher was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in an 18-player deal that had the Yankees getting pitchers Don Larsen and Bob Turley.
The Detroit Tigers picked Triandos up in a deal from the Orioles after the 1962 season. He was only there for one year before he was shipped to the Phillies with Bunning.
He was purchased by the Houston Astros in the middle of 1965, which was his final season.
Wilhelm First to 1,000
Wilhelm began his major league career in 1952 as a 29-year old rookie with the New York Giants.
He was with nine teams during his 21-year career that ended in 1972 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Retiring at the age of 49, he was the first pitcher to appear in over 1,000 contests.
He was 143-122 with a ERA of 2.52 in 1,070 games.
The right-hander was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985.