Detroit Tigers pitcher Rube Waddell took the mound for his battle with the star pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, Cy Young. Waddell was no slouch either: he would eventually be inducted into the hall of fame. But on that night, at least, his legacy was overshadowed by his opponent. Cy Young, born Denton True Young, began playing professionally for regional baseball leagues, and rose through the ranks as he displayed extraordinary pitching ability. He was signed by the National League Cleveland Spiders, where he earned the name “Cyrus”, before moving to the newly-created American league and leading the Boston Red Sox to the first World Series. As astounding as his pitching was, Cy’s next accomplishment would be more astounding still.

On this day, May 5, in 1904 Cy Young threw the first perfect game of the modern era. Twenty-seven went to up to face him, and twenty seven went down, eight of them swinging. Not a single one walked.

Cy Young pitched in over 900 games during his career, completing 749 them — a completions record that has not even been in danger of being beaten since. He won 511 of them. Cy’s ultimate honor was in having an award named after him for the top pitches in baseball, and for the four-line verse in “Lineup for Yesterday,” by Ogden Nash:

Y is for Young,
The magnificent Cy;
People batted against him,
But I never knew why.