May 6, 1962: Bo Belinsky of the Angels fires a fast ball at the Baltimore Orioles during his historic no-hitter.

Los Angeles Times file photo

April 1963: Bo Belinsky and fiancee Mamie Van Doren skip the Baseball Writers Annual Awards banquet to go dancing.

August 20, 1968

By Keith Thursby

Times staff writer

Bo Belinsky would have been something in the era of YouTube. A
left-handed pitcher who loved the limelight, he’d probably even have
his own blog.

Belinsky had a short, wild career that was filled with potential and
problems. He pitched the first no-hitter in Los Angeles major league
history for the Angels in 1962 and started his rookie season 5-0.

Ross Newhan, The Times’ longtime baseball writer, wrote in 2001 about his first encounter with Belinsky in Palm Springs in 1962.

"There he was sitting by the Desert Inn pool, wearing shades to
deflect the sun, a drink in his hand, perfectly at ease in the
sparkling environment, as if he was already the toast of the town and
this was just one more introductory news conference."

But the bright lights were too much for Belinsky, who dated
actresses and got lots of publicity, little of which apparently had to
do with his ability to throw a baseball.  His photo file in The Times’
library has as many shots of nightclubs, press conferences and
publicity appearances as pictures of Bo actually pitching. After
starting 5-0, he finished 10-11 in 1962. In 1964, he knocked out Braven
Dyer, the Times’ baseball writer who was 64 at the time, and the Angels
had seen enough. They suspended and ultimately traded him to
Philadelphia.

Photograph by Gary Ambrose / Los Angeles Times

June 1992: Bo Belinsky and Mamie Van Doren appear with Angels owner Gene Autry before a Legends of Baseball game.

By 1968 Belinsky was back in the minor leagues, pitching for Hawaii.
The Times ran a short story about his no-hitter in a Pacific Coast
League game over Tacoma. Even then, the wire story referred to him as
"the playboy pitcher."

Left-handers with potential get plenty of opportunities, and
Belinsky made a few more stops before his career ended in 1970. The
Angels even purchased his contract in 1969 but soon sold him to the
Pirates.

Belinsky died in 2001 at the age of 64 after battling bladder cancer
for years. He had struggled with alcohol and drugs but had found peace
in his last years, becoming active in a Las Vegas church.

The Times’ Chris Foster reported that Belinsky, ever the colorful
quote, said of his religious conversion: "Can you imagine? I had to
come to Las Vegas to discover Jesus Christ."

keith.thursby@latimes.com