(Photo: cocicoco)
The Major League Baseball team of Houston, Texas is the Astros. Before that team adopted its space-themed name, it was known as the Colt .45s. On April 23, 1964, pitcher Ken Johnson threw a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. That's a game in which the opposing team is unable to land a single hit from the pitcher.
It's quite an accomplishment for a pitcher. But Ken Johnson did not take pride in it because the Colt .45s lost anyway. In a 1990 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Johnson explained how an error that he made secured a loss:
"It wasn't until a few years later that it set in that I had pitched a no-hitter. I was proud to have pitched it.
"For a pitcher, a no-hitter is the ultimate."
Johnson's frustration at the time is understandable. His ninth-inning error contributed to the loss.
With one out, Pete Rose bunted down the third-base line, and Johnson's throw to first was wide, enabling Rose to go to second. He went to third on a groundout and scored on an error by second baseman Nellie Fox.
"After the game, I saw Nellie sitting there with his head down and went over and told him, 'Hey, it was my fault. It was my error that cost us the game.'
"Runnels overheard me, and that's when he pointed out that at least they'd be talking about this for 20 or 30 years.
"It wasn't much consolation at the time."
-via The Houstorian
P.S. Be sure to read Eddie Deezen's article about the only double no-hitter in baseball history.