In the annals of baseball history, no-hitters are cherished moments of pitching mastery. For Pittsburgh Pirates fans, August 9, 1976, stands out as a particularly sweet day. On “Candy Night” at Three Rivers Stadium, John Candelaria, in his sophomore major-league season, delivered the franchise’s first home no-hitter in nearly seven decades. The young left-hander, affectionately known as “Candy,” baffled the Los Angeles Dodgers, relying on a potent mix of fastballs and curveballs, and retired the final 19 batters he faced in a 2-0 victory that sent the Pittsburgh crowd into raptures.
The Pirates’ history, rich as it is, had been surprisingly devoid of home no-hitters for an extended period. Back in September 1907, Nick Maddox had achieved the feat against the Brooklyn Superbas at Exposition Park. However, after moving to Forbes Field two seasons later, and remaining there until June 1970, neither home nor visiting pitchers could replicate Maddox’s gem across 4,728 games. It wasn’t until August 1971, a little over a year after the Pirates shifted to Three Rivers Stadium, that the city witnessed another no-hitter. St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer Bob Gibson broke the drought, pitching a no-hitter in Pittsburgh.
Almost 69 years separated Maddox’s feat and Candelaria’s when the Dodgers arrived for a three-game series opener. The 22-year-old Candelaria had already shown flashes of brilliance, notably striking out 14 Cincinnati Reds in Game Three of the 1975 National League Championship Series during his impressive debut season. He continued his ascent in 1976, bringing a six-game winning streak into this highly anticipated start against Los Angeles.
John Candelaria in action, showcasing the pitching form that led to his no-hitter, a moment celebrated by Pittsburgh Pirates fans.
Despite a history of division titles, the 1976 Pirates were struggling, trailing the Philadelphia Phillies by a significant 14 games in the National League East. Hoping to boost attendance, a youth knothole promotion was organized, drawing a modest midweek crowd of 15,131. Adding to the festive atmosphere, the Pittsburgh-based D.L. Clark Company, famous for its Clark Bars, provided giveaway candy bars, perfectly timed with Candelaria’s start – a delightful coincidence for “Candy Night.” Adding another layer of intrigue, Bob Gibson, the man who had broken Pittsburgh’s post-Maddox no-hitter drought and now a retired broadcaster, was present at Three Rivers Stadium as a commentator for ABC’s Monday Night Baseball telecast.
The game commenced with Dodgers’ leadoff hitter Davey Lopes hitting Candelaria’s second pitch sharply to left-center. However, Al Oliver, the Pirates’ center fielder, made a crucial catch just short of the warning track. Ted Sizemore then popped out to shallow right, with Dave Parker making a running catch near the foul line. Bill Russell grounded out, and Candelaria navigated the first inning cleanly.
On the mound for the Dodgers was 27-year-old left-hander Doug Rau, returning to action after a 1-0 loss to J.R. Richard of the Houston Astros on August 4. The Dodgers were in a slump, having lost five straight, including a demoralizing four-game sweep at home by the Cincinnati Reds, leaving them 13 games behind in the NL West. Rau quickly demonstrated his sharpness, picking off speedy shortstop Frank Taveras to keep the Pirates scoreless in the first.
The Dodgers’ lineup boasted formidable right-handed hitters in the heart of their order: Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, and Dusty Baker. While Garvey and Cey were having excellent seasons, Baker was hampered by a knee injury sustained in the offseason. Candelaria efficiently retired all three in the second. Taveras fielded Garvey’s grounder, Cey struck out on a full-count fastball, and Baker popped out to second.
Rau matched Candelaria by retiring the Pirates in the second. In the third, however, Los Angeles faced a setback. Bill Buckner, the only left-handed-hitting position player in their lineup, injured his hand on a check swing against Candelaria’s curveball and had to leave the game. Lee Lacy replaced him and promptly struck out. Steve Yeager then walked, but Taveras turned Rau’s ground ball into an out.
Lopes hit a routine grounder to Taveras, but an error allowed Lopes to reach first. Sizemore then hit a hard grounder that deflected off third baseman Bill Robinson’s glove for another error, loading the bases. Facing a bases-loaded situation with only one out, Candelaria remained composed. He induced Russell to ground out to Taveras, who cleanly executed a force out at second, escaping the jam unscathed.
Rau continued his strong pitching performance, striking out the side in the third. Candelaria, undeterred, again cruised through the Dodgers’ lineup in the fourth, striking out Garvey and Cey.
In the bottom of the fourth, Al Oliver broke Rau’s streak of seven retired batters with a one-out single. However, Willie Stargell followed with a weak grounder that Sizemore turned into a double play, tagging Oliver and throwing to first. Candelaria maintained the scoreless tie by retiring the Dodgers in the fifth.
The Pirates’ offense finally broke the deadlock in the bottom of the fifth. Richie Zisk led off by singling to left. Parker then singled to the opposite field, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Bill Robinson, enjoying a career resurgence at age 33, stepped to the plate.
Robinson, primarily an outfielder throughout his 16 major-league seasons, had been filling in at third base due to Richie Hebner’s slump. Facing Rau, Robinson connected with a breaking ball, driving it down the left-field line. Zisk scored from second, and when the ball caromed off the bullpen fence and away from Lacy, Parker also scored from first, giving Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead.
With a lead to protect, Candelaria needed only six pitches to retire the Dodgers in the sixth. Taveras was perfectly positioned to handle Sizemore’s sharp liner, and handled all three outs. Rau kept the game close with a clean bottom of the sixth, working around an error and a stolen base.
Candelaria faced the heart of the Dodgers’ lineup for the third time in the seventh and dispatched them efficiently in eight pitches. Garvey struck out, Cey flied out to deep right-center, and Baker grounded out to Taveras. Candelaria had now surpassed his previous longest no-hit bid, which had been broken up with two outs in the seventh against Atlanta in August 1975.
After Rau’s final inning in the seventh, Lacy led off the eighth with a grounder back to Candelaria. The 6-foot-7 pitcher instinctively reacted, deflecting the ball, recovering it barehanded, and throwing out Lacy by a comfortable margin. Yeager then bounced to Robinson, who made a strong throw to first for the second out. Dodgers manager Walter Alston sent Rick Auerbach to pinch-hit for Rau. On a 2-2 count, Auerbach swung through a high fastball, becoming Candelaria’s seventh strikeout victim. Lanny Frattare, a young broadcaster for KDKA, the Pirates’ flagship radio station, made his way from the press box to field level, anticipating a postgame interview with Candelaria.
Three outs away from a no-hitter, Candelaria batted in the eighth and received a standing ovation before flying out to left field. The game moved to the ninth, with the top of the Dodgers’ order due up. No Dodger had reached base since the third inning. Lopes grounded to Taveras for the first out. Sizemore then flied out to right.
Bill Russell represented the Dodgers’ final hope. In Candelaria’s previous start against the Dodgers in May, Russell had broken up a perfect game bid with a home run in the sixth inning. This time, Candelaria started Russell with a curveball for a strike. The next pitch was a fastball, outside for a ball.
Candelaria’s 101st pitch was low and inside. Russell, jammed, popped the ball towards short center field. Center fielder Oliver sprinted in, while Taveras also raced towards the ball.
Al Oliver secures the final out of John Candelaria’s no-hitter, a defining moment of teamwork and athleticism in the game.
Avoiding a collision, Oliver took charge and caught the final out. Candelaria erupted in joy, jumping into the arms of catcher Duffy Dyer. Teammates swarmed the mound, celebrating the end of Pittsburgh’s long wait for a home no-hitter, achieved against the descendants of the same Brooklyn Superbas whom Nick Maddox had no-hit decades earlier.
Frattare interviewed Candelaria for radio, and Gibson interviewed him for television. In the clubhouse, Candelaria’s teammates continued the celebration, adorning his locker with white towels and, fittingly, candy bars.
“I was thinking no-hitter from the first inning on,” Candelaria admitted, basking in the glow of the major leagues’ third no-hitter of 1976. “Any pitcher who tells you different isn’t telling the truth. You get those first three outs, look up at the scoreboard and see those zeroes, and what else is there to think but no-hitter?”
“He had two great pitches that he could throw for strikes all night,” Dyer remarked. “His curve was as great as his fastball and he kept them both down.”
“It’ll probably be some time before this really sinks in,” Candelaria reflected. “But I don’t know how I can be any higher that I am right now, how I could feel any better than I do. I mean how many kids dream of pitching a no-hitter in the bigs like I did and then have that dream come true?”
Sources
In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, I consulted the Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org websites for pertinent material and the box scores noted below. Other sources included recordings of the ABC-TV and KDKA-AM game broadcasts, available at the YouTube links noted below, and telephone interviews with Al Oliver, Pittsburgh’s center fielder in the game, and Lanny Frattare, an announcer for KDKA-AM’s broadcast of the game.
baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT197608090.shtml
retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1976/B08090PIT1976.htm
youtube.com/watch?v=4w3CxGQfINg
youtube.com/watch?v=gS-ZmYDjxWQ
Notes
1 Brooklyn’s National League team was known as the Superbas between 1899 and 1909. After intermittently using Superbas, Dodgers, and Robins for many years afterward, the franchise solely became the Dodgers in 1932. The Dodgers relocated from Brooklyn to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. Ed Coen, “Setting the Record Straight on Team Nicknames,” SABR Baseball Research Journal, Vol. 48, No. 2 (2019): 67-75.
2 Maddox was a 20-year-old rookie, making his third major-league start. “Maddox Proves Bright Star in Sensational Slab Battle: Pitches First Hitless Game in History of Pittsburgh Baseball Club,” Pittsburgh Post, September 21, 1907: 7.
3 Pittsburgh’s Bob Moose, Candelaria’s teammate with the 1976 Pirates, had the closest no-hit bid at Forbes Field. In June 1968 Moose, then a 20-year-old rookie making his fifth major-league start, held the Houston Astros hitless until former Pirate Julio Gotay singled with two outs in the eighth inning; Moose finished with a two-hitter and a 3-0 win. Les Biederman, “Moose Barely Misses No-Hitter, 3-0: Astros Hitless until Two Out in 8th Inning,” Pittsburgh Press, June 15, 1968: 8.
4 Neal Russo, “Gibson Fires First No-Hitter,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1971: 1B.
5 The Pirates had three road no-hitters during that period: Cliff Chambers against the Boston Braves in 1951, Moose against the Mets in 1969, and Dock Ellis against the Padres in 1970.
6 Sammy Davis Jr.’s song “The Candy Man” appeared in the 1971 motion picture Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and topped Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart in June 1972. Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits (New York: Billboard Books, 2003), 313. Pittsburgh newspapers referred to Candelaria as “The Candy Man” as early as his fourth major-league start, in June 1975. Dave Fink, “Candelaria Lights Up on Stennett HR, 5-2,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 27, 1975: 12.
7 After Candelaria left the October 7 game in the eighth inning, Cincinnati won 5-3 in 10 innings, completing the three-game NLCS sweep. Charley Feeney, “Reds Score Two in 10th, Eliminate Bucs, 5-3,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 8, 1975: 22.
8 “When Candy first came up, he had awesome stuff,” Al Oliver, Candelaria’s Pittsburgh teammate from 1975 to 1977 and the Pirates center fielder in this game, remembered in 2020. “Any time he took the mound and had his slider going, he was almost unhittable. That’s how good he was. When he had his location, we knew that we didn’t need too many runs. When he came up, I thought that he was capable of throwing a no-hitter on any given day.” Al Oliver, telephone interview with author, May 22, 2020.
9 The paid attendance was 9,860; the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that 5,271 youths attended through the knothole program. Charley Feeney, “Candy No-Hits Dodgers; 1st Modern Buc Here,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 10, 1976: 12.
10 The D.L. Clark Company produced candy products from 1886 to 1999, operating for most of that time from Pittsburgh’s North Side, near Three Rivers Stadium. Its signature product was the Clark Bar, flavored with peanut butter and chocolate and packaged in a red and blue wrapper. Jonathan D. Silver, “Billions of Candy Bars Later, Clark Quietly Closes,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 2, 1999: C-1.
11 Neal Russo, “One More Year for Gibby,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 27, 1975: 1B.
12 “That was the best play of the game,” Candelaria said afterward. “I thought it was going to fall in.” Bob Smizik, “Candy Bars LA from Hit Column: Sweet Night for Big John,” Pittsburgh Press, August 10, 1976: 21.
13 Ross Newhan, “Dodgers Have a Nothing Night with Astros, 1-0,” Los Angeles Times, August 5, 1976: Part III, 1.
14 Ross Newhan, “All That’s Left for L.A. is the Concession Speech: Needing a Sweep, the Dodgers Are Swept; Reds Lead by 13,” Los Angeles Times, August 9, 1976: Part III, 1.
15 Taveras’s 37 stolen bases entering the game tied Cincinnati’s Joe Morgan for the National League lead. He ultimately stole 58 bases in 1976, third in the league behind Morgan and Lopes.
16 Garvey batted .317/.363/.450 in 1976 and finished sixth in the National League Most Valuable Player voting; his 4.7 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), as determined by Baseball-Reference, were ninth among National League position players. Cey batted .277/.386/.462 and finished 23rd in the MVP race; his 6.1 Wins Above Replacement were fifth among NL position players.
17 The Dodgers acquired Baker, a California native, in a six-player trade with the Braves. Two weeks later he injured his knee in a pickup basketball game. Jason Turbow, They Bled Blue: Fernandomania, Strike-Season Mayhem, and the Weirdest Championship Baseball Had Ever Seen (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019), 228-9. Baker batted .242/.298/.307 in 1976 and had negative 0.4 WAR, making it his least productive season between earning his first regular role in 1972 and retiring in 1986.
18 The injury sidelined Buckner for the next night’s game, but he returned to the Dodgers’ lineup on August 11. Ross Newhan, “Buckner Says He’s Wasted; L.A. Wins, 2-0,” Los Angeles Times, August 12, 1976: Part III, 1.
19 Smith had bruised his left rib cage, knee, and hip in a catch that denied Cincinnati’s George Foster of a home run at Dodger Stadium on August 7. Ross Newhan, “Foster Leaves the Dodgers Bruised, 4-1,” Los Angeles Times, August 8, 1976: Part III, 1. In Smith’s absence, Los Angeles manager Walter Alston, piloting the Dodgers in the final season of his 23-year tenure, moved Baker from center field to right field, shifted Lopes from second base to center, and inserted Sizemore at second base. As writer Jason Turbow observed in They Bled Blue, the Dodgers, dating back to Branch Rickey’s time running the organization while in Brooklyn, followed the developmental practice of “taking dramatic liberty in shifting ballplayers all over the diamond with little regard to the positions they’d be trained to play.” Turbow, They Bled Blue, 18.
20 “What Doug had going for him was great control,” Oliver, who batted .250/.294/.469 in 35 career regular-season and postseason plate appearances against Rau, remembered in 2020. “He was not necessarily overpowering, but he had good location with his breaking ball — he never left it up.” Al Oliver, telephone interview with author, May 22, 2020.
21 Bob Smizik, “Now Is the Time for Bill Robinson,” Pittsburgh Press, July 6, 1976: 23.
22 Robinson had two hits in each of Rau’s previous 1976 starts against Pittsburgh, including a solo home run on May 15 at Three Rivers Stadium. Russ Franke, “Medich Cools Off Dodgers, 4-2: Moose, Giusti Apply Stitches to Grave Situation in Ninth,” Pittsburgh Press, May 16, 1976: D-1.
23 “That was their best-hit ball,” Candelaria said. Bob Smizik, “Candy Bars LA from Hit Column.”
24 “If he pulls it, it’s gone,” Candelaria said. Smizik, “Candy Bars LA from Hit Column.”
25 Rowland Office broke up the no-hitter in Atlanta’s 6-2 win. Vince Leonard, “How Sweet It Wasn’t for Bucs’ Candy Man,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 28, 1975: 16.
26 Rau threw 84 pitches in seven innings. He followed this outing with a third consecutive hard-luck loss: Ray Burris and the Cubs beat him 2-0 on August 14. In seven starts between August 4 and September 5, Rau allowed only seven earned runs in 55⅓ innings — a 1.14 ERA — but won just four of seven decisions. He finished 1976 with a 2.57 ERA, second in the National League behind John Denny’s 2.52 ERA.
27 “Candy’s big feet saved him,” Pirates catcher Duffy Dyer said. “His size 13s saved him. The ball hit him in the foot. If he wears a size nine or 10 it might have gone right past him.” Bob Smizik, “Candy Bars LA from Hit Column.”
28 After the 1975 season, Westinghouse Broadcasting, which owned KDKA-AM, the Pirates’ flagship station, fired popular broadcasters Bob Prince and Nellie King. Veteran play-by-play man Milo Hamilton and Frattare, who had called games for Pittsburgh’s Triple-A Charleston (West Virginia) team in 1975, served as KDKA-AM’s broadcast team in 1976. During that season, Frattare handled play-by-play in the third and seventh innings for radio-only games, including this one. In a 2020 interview, Frattare indicated that postgame radio interviews were customarily conducted in the clubhouse, but that Hamilton sent him to the field in hopes of catching Candelaria before ABC-TV’s interview. Frattare broadcast Pirates games through 2008. Bill Utterback, “No Doubt About It: Frattare’s Boyhood Dream Has Come True in the Majors,” Pittsburgh Press, April 2, 1989: D3; Lanny Frattare, telephone interview with author, May 13, 2020.
29 Candelaria pitched a complete game on May 14 at Three Rivers Stadium, but lost 3-2 on home runs by Russell and Yeager. Russ Franke, “Pirates ‘KO’ John, but LA Lands Final Punch: Yeager, Russell Homer in 3-2 Victory,” Pittsburgh Press, May 15, 1976: 6.
30 “My legs were shaking,” Candelaria reported afterward. Bob Smizik, “Candy Bars LA from Hit Column.”
31 The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Candelaria recorded 71 strikes in 101 pitches. Charley Feeney, “Candy No-Hits Dodgers; 1st Modern Buc Here.”
32 “Geez, what a way to lose it,” Candelaria reported thinking as the ball headed toward the outfield. “Oh my goodness,” Dyer thought. “It might drop in.” Bob Smizik, “Candy Bars LA from Hit Column.”
33 “That’s the fastest I’ve run all year,” Oliver said afterward. “Lucky we didn’t collide or someone might have got killed.” Smizik, “Candy Bars LA from Hit Column.”
34 “What was Frankie doing out there?” Oliver exclaimed in 2020, when remembering the final out. “Frankie and I came a lot closer to each other than you can tell from watching the film. I didn’t even know Frankie was there. As a center fielder, you have to come hard when a guy gets jammed. I was fortunate to get a good jump on the ball. I definitely had it all the way, no question about it.” Al Oliver, telephone interview with author, May 22, 2020.
35 The Dodgers had not been no-hit in a regular-season game since Vern Bickford of the then-Boston Braves held the then-Brooklyn Dodgers hitless in August 1950. Hy Hurwitz, “Vern Bickford Pitches No-Hitter, Walks Four; Braves Win, 7-0,” Boston Globe, August 12, 1950: 1. Don Larsen of the Yankees pitched a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game Five of the 1956 World Series.
36 David Fink, “Candy Bar Night a Sweet Affair,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 10, 1976: 1.
37 Larry Dierker of the Astros pitched a no-hitter against the Expos on July 9. Blue Moon Odom and Francisco Barrios of the White Sox combined for a no-hitter in Oakland on July 28. Later, on September 28, John Montefusco of the Giants pitched a no-hitter in Atlanta.
38 Ross Newhan, “Candelaria Throws a No-Hitter at Dodgers: Pittsburgh ‘Candy Man’ Never Threatened, 2-0,” Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1976: Part III, 1.
39 Fink, “Candy Bar Night a Sweet Affair.”
40 Newhan. Candelaria finished 1976 with a 16-7 record and 3.15 ERA. In 1977 he won 20 games and led the National League with a 2.34 ERA. Candelaria pitched in 19 major-league seasons, winning 179 games, including one 1979 World Series game for the Pirates and one 1986 American League Championship Series game for the Angels.
