Larsen, Don (James) (1929– )

US baseball pitcher. He was known during his 21 years in organized baseball as a colourful player of average major league abilities. On 8 October 1956, however, in the fifth game of the New York Yankees–Brooklyn Dodgers World Series, with his 97th and final pitch of the day, Larsen struck out Dodgers pinch-hitter Dale Mitchell and became the only pitcher in baseball history ever to pitch a perfect World Series game (2–0). During his career Larsen pitched for nine major league teams and had a mediocre 81–91 record. Upon retirement, in 1968, he became a salesman for the Blake-Moffit & Towne paper company of San Francisco, California. Larsen was born in Michigan City, Indiana.