“Frank Selee’s justly celebrated Hitless Wonders, famed afar for their speed after the elusive fly, and their inability to land upon the shunting curve, fell by the wayside yesterday.” The Inter Ocean (Chicago), May 18, 1902, p22
“It is rather amusing that it should fall to the lot of the Cubs to bat a pitcher out of a job, for nearly all year the local club has been known as the hitless wonders.” Oakland Tribune, October 24, 1905, p10
- NOTE. Both of the above uses refer not to the White Sox but to the Cubs. There are also a couple of other uses of term in 1904 to refer to teams in Seattle and in Chatham, NJ. All of these occur before the first use of the term (1906) to describe the White Sox. (Ken Liss)
Previous earliest use (Dickson Baseball Dictionary, 3rd edition, 2009):
1ST USE. 1905 (The Sporting Life, Oct. 7, p. 13; Edward J. Nichols).
