CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Baseball is a sport filled with superstitions and unwritten rules, with many surrounding one type of game: a no-hitter.
Whether the rule is to not talk to the pitcher during one; to not say the words “no-hitter”; or don’t warm up a pitcher in the bullpen during a no-no, baseball minds everywhere have their stances on these unwritten rules.
Illinois has a storied baseball history, but not one with many no-hitters. To find the most recent no-no in program history, you need to look back to April 1985, when Boo Champagne through nine no-hit innings for Illinois against Bradley.