About Johnny Vander Meer
John Samuel Vander Meer was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, where he became the only pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw two consecutive no-hitters, an accomplishment which has long been considered to be impossible to replicate. He was a member of the 1940 World Series winning team. After the impressive start to his major league career, he experienced problems controlling the accuracy of his pitching, and his later career was marked by inconsistent performances. During his career he was nicknamed "The Dutch Master" and "Double No-Hit". He ended the season with a 15–10 record and a 3.12 earned run average for the fourth-place Reds. In 1936, he posted a record of 19 wins against six losses for Durham. He might have won more games, but spent nearly a month in the hospital being treated for boils late in the season. The American League team – having won four of the previous five All-Star games – was favored to win the game, but Vander Meer pitched three scoreless innings and allowed only one hit, as the National League went on to win 4–1.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.