Bicentennial moments: Reuschel brothers make MLB history with shutout of Dodgers

This is the second in a series of stories highlighting the greatest sports moments in Adams County history as it celebrates its bicentennial.

QUINCY — There are nearly 100 instances in the history of Major League Baseball where brothers have been teammates.

Only once, though, have two brothers combined to pitch a shutout.

They just happened to have been born and raised in Adams County.

On Aug. 21, 1975, Rick and Paul Reuschel, who grew up in Camp Point and graduated from Central High School, combined to shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers as the Chicago Cubs earned a 7-0 victory at Wrigley Field. According to the Society of Baseball Research and the Elias Sports Bureau, they became the first-ever brothers to combine on a shutout.

No siblings have accomplished it since.

Paul Reuschel graduated from Central in 1965 and was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 26th round of the MLB draft. Instead of signing, he chose to attend Western Illinois University, and he was subsequently drafted each of the next three years by the Washington Senators, California Angels, and Chicago Cubs, respectively.

He signed with the Cubs in June 1968 and began his journey to the big leagues.

Two years younger than Paul, Rick Reuschel followed his brother to Western Illinois University and was selected in the third round of the 1970 draft by the Cubs. Rick made his MLB debut on June 19, 1972, against the San Francisco Giants and struck out the only batter he faced.

Ironically, when Rick was called up from Triple-A Wichita, Paul was promoted from Double-A San Antonio to take Rick’s spot on the Wichita roster.

Three years later, they were teammates with the Cubs.

In fact, Rick pushed for Paul to be promoted, telling a Sporting News reporter in 1974, “He’s got better stuff than I have. He’s been pitching relief the last couple of years at Wichita, and I know he can help somebody up here.”

Paul made his MLB debut on July 25, 1975, pitching two innings against the New York Mets, allowing one earned run and two hits with one strikeout. Rick started the game and took the loss, allowing five runs in 4.1 innings as the Mets won 6-3.

They didn’t pitch again in the same game for another month.

Rick made five starts between the outings with his brother, going 2-2 with one no-decision. Meanwhile, Paul made 10 relief appearances before the game against the Dodgers, putting together a streak of seven consecutive scoreless outings that included his first MLB victory with two scoreless innings in a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Rick threw a complete game on Aug. 16, 1975, beating the Houston Astros 3-2 as he allowed two unearned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts.

His next start came against the Dodgers and allowed a one-out single to Lee Lacy in the first inning, but he induced John Hale to hit into an inning-ending double play. Rick induced another inning-ending double play in the second inning off the bat of Ron Cey.

The Dodgers went down in order in the third inning, and Hale doubled with two outs in the fourth before Steve Garvey popped out on the infield to end the frame. A two-out walk in the fifth caused no harm, and Rick Reuschel stranded another runner in scoring position in the sixth as Davey Lopes singled with one out and stole second base before Lacy grounded out and Hale popped out in foul territory.

In the seventh, Garvey singled leading off and Reuschel got Willie Crawford grounded out. That’s when Cubs manager Jim Marshall went to the bullpen and summoned Paul Reuschel.

After getting Cey to fly out, Paul Reuschel hit Steve Yeager with a pitch to put two runners on base, but he got pinch-hitter Leron Lee to ground out to end the inning.

A two-out error allowed Lacy to reach safely in the eighth, but Paul struck out Hale for the third out. In the ninth, Garvey led off with a single, but Paul Reuschel got Crawford to fly out, Cey to ground out and Yeager to fly out to end the game and preserve the victory and the shutout.

Rick Reuschel allowed five hits with one walk and no strikeouts over 6.1 innings to earn his 10th victory of the season. Paul Reuschel allowed one hit and struck out one in 2.2 innings.

After the game, Paul Reuschel told reporters he was “just happy to be of help.”

According to the Society of Baseball Research, the Reuschels are one of eight pairs of siblings to to pitch in the same game since 1900, joining Christy and Henry Mathewson (1906), Dizzy and Paul Dean (1934), Eddie and Johnny O’Brien (1956), Von and Lindy McDaniel (1957), Phil and Joe Niekro (1973-74), Rick and Mickey Mahler (1979) and Ramon and Pedro Martinez (1999).

But the boys from Camp Point are the only brothers to ever combine on a shutout, a moment that won’t ever be forgotten where they grew up.