A professional baseball player born in Marmarth flirted with three no-hitters in a span of one month, only to lose all three in the latter innings.

Red Hardy, for a while, was also a member of the 1951 New York Giants baseball team, which overcame a 13-game lead by the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the National League pennant.

Red Hardy's family moved to Minneapolis when he was young. A skilled athlete who excelled in all sports, Hardy came under the tutelage of the legendary coach Frank Cleve.

Cleve played minor league baseball with the Fargo-Moorhead Twins. Hardy's best friend at South High School was Don Wheeler, who was his catcher. Wheeler's father also worked for the railroad.

In 1942, Hardy and Wheeler were both signed to contracts by the New York Giants and assigned to play at Eau Claire in the Northern League, where Hardy compiled a 3-4 record.

At the conclusion of the season, Hardy joined the military and was sent to the Aleutian Islands to guard merchant ships.

After his discharge in 1946, Hardy was sent back to the Northern League, where he rejoined Wheeler as they played for the Giants' new franchise, the St. Cloud Rox.

After going 7-0 with a 1.70 earned run average, Hardy was then called to the Minneapolis Millers in the International League. For the Millers, Hardy appeared in five games and had no decisions.

For the next three seasons, Hardy was one of the main starting pitchers for the Millers, going 9-9 in 1947, 10-10 in 1948 and 4-4 in 1949 before being shipped to the Giants' other AAA franchise, the New Jersey Giants.

It was while playing for New Jersey in 1949 and 1950 that the New York Giants realized they had a potential ace pitcher in their farm system.

After the 1950 baseball season at New Jersey, Hardy believed he had a real chance of joining the New York Giants. He decided to concentrate on baseball during the off-season and pitched for Cienfuego in the Cuban Winter League.

In 1950, the New York Giants had finished in third place behind the Philadelphia Phillies and Brooklyn Dodgers. Manager Leo Durocher was optimistic about 1951. He retained the whole starting lineup except for their first-baseman. Durocher also had three quality starting pitchers in Sal Maglie, Larry Jansen and Jim Hearn, but had little depth behind them. If Hardy was to make the team, this was his chance.

In 1951, Durocher kept one rookie pitcher on the opening-day roster, George Spencer, but liked what he saw in Hardy. To get a better look at all of his top prospects, he scheduled a game between the two AAA franchises of the Giants, the Minneapolis Millers and the Ottawa Giants, who had replaced the New Jersey Giants.

Hardy got the call to start for Ottawa and believed, with a good showing, he would get an early call-up by the Giants. During the game, he was breezing along until the latter innings when a 19-year old outfielder, with one year of professional ball behind him, came to bat. The batter hit a home run over the clubhouse in left field, about 370 feet away. The outfielder's name was Willie Mays.

Hardy started the 1951 season at Ottawa and was having the best year of his career. On April 28, he had a no-hitter through six innings until Jack Wallaesa laced a single in the seventh, and Hardy finished with a one-hitter.

On May 4, he again had a no-hitter through six innings until Archie Wilson and Frank Carswell, for Buffalo, got hits in the seventh, and Hardy finished with a two-hitter.

Hardy's biggest opportunity to get a pitching gem occurred on May 29 when he had a no-hitter against Syracuse through eight and one-third innings. In the ninth, Vic Power stroked a single to spoil Hardy's attempt at a no-hitter.

In June, Hardy was called up by the Giants. His first game was against the St. Louis Cards on June 20. He came in to pitch in relief in the seventh inning, giving up a hit, a walk, and hitting a batter but not surrendering any runs.

On June 23, Hardy was again called on to pitch in the seventh against the Cubs. In this outing, he got only one batter out and gave up three hits and one run and was taken out of the game.

Hardy had a sore arm and had been unable to pitch effectively. When his arm refused to come around, Hardy was traded to the Oakland Oaks in early July. He made several starts for the Oaks, but with a lame arm, he did not pitch well.

Hardy tried out with the Oaks in the spring of 1952, but his arm was still sore. He retired and moved from Minneapolis to Phoenix, where he and his wife opened a novelty store.

Red Hardy died in Phoenix on Aug. 15, 2003.

(Written by Curt Eriksmoen and edited by Jan Eriksmoen.)