Pete Dowling

Dowling was the eldest child of Michael J. and Ellen Dowling of St. Louis, Missouri.[2]

Dowling, a left-handed pitcher, made his major-league baseball debut with the Louisville Colonels on July 17, 1897.[2] In his first season, he had 30 starts, of which he won 13 and lost 20, with a 4.16 ERA.[2] After the ousting of Louisville from the National League following the 1899 season, Dowling had planned to play with the Pittsburgh club, but began to develop a serious drinking problem that put his career in limbo.[2]

He relocated to Kentucky, where his family lived, before playing with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1900.[2] He would later play in Sacramento, California as well, but his alcoholism further jeopardized his career, and he was terminated.[2] Afterward, Dowling played with the Butte Miners, and later with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1904.[2]

On June 30, 1901, pitching for the Cleveland Blues against the Brewers, Dowling threw what may have been the first no-hitter in the American League's young history.[3][4] He walked four batters and struck out none. The status of this game was disputed for 119 years, as Wid Conroy reached base in the seventh inning and some sources credit him with an infield single.[5][6] Conroy's career statistics do not credit him with a hit in this game.[7] As of December 18th, 2020, Retrosheet and Baseball-Reference have awarded Dowling with the no-hitter, but the Elias Sports Bureau (the official statisticians of Major League Baseball) has not recognized it.[8]

On June 30, 1905, Dowling was on his way to La Grande, Oregon, where he had joined a semipro team. Dowling missed his train at Fox Lake station in Union County, and decided to walk along the tracks en route to the game.[2] While walking on the track in Hot Lake, Dowling was struck by an oncoming train which decapitated him.[9] He was interred at Odd Fellows Cemetery in La Grande.[9]

• Lee, Bill (2009). The Baseball Necrology: The Post-Baseball Lives and Deaths of More Than 7,600 Major League Players and Others. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-44239-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)