Dave Morehead, 1960s Red Sox pitcher who tossed a no-hitter, dies at 82

Dave Morehead, who pitched for the Boston Red Sox from 1963-68 and the Kansas City Royals from 1969-70, passed away on Nov. 23. He was 82.

Born in San Diego on Sept. 5, 1943, Morehead signed with the Red Sox after graduating from Herbert Hoover High School. The Red Sox had already struck gold at the school once before; Ted Williams had been the baseball team’s star hitter and pitcher in the mid-1930s. During Morehead’s senior year, Williams returned to Hoover to observe him on the Red Sox’s behalf.

Fellow Hoover alum Ray Boone, who became a scout after finishing his 13-year MLB career with the 1960 Red Sox – and whose grandson currently manages the New York Yankees – signed the newly-graduated Morehead as an amateur free agent in 1961. By 1962, Morehead was pitching for Boston’s Triple-A Seattle Rainiers and being managed by Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky. The following season, the Red Sox promoted Morehead and Pesky to the big leagues, the latter named manager.

Morehead made his major league debut at Fenway Park on April 13, 1963. That day, at 19 years old, he pitched a complete-game shutout of the visiting Washington Senators (now Minnesota Twins), propelling Boston to a 3-0 victory with five hits, four walks and 10 strikeouts. It was the first of six complete-game shutouts Morehead would throw over his eight-year career, and just the fourth such debut in MLB history by a pitcher younger than 20.

Morehead was the sixth pitcher in franchise history to pitch a complete-game shutout in his first career game. Four years and one day later, teammate Billy Rohr became the seventh – and to date – most recent Red Sox pitcher to achieve the feat.

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