John Purdin

John Nolan Purdin (July 16, 1942 – March 28, 2010) was a Major League Baseball pitcher.

Purdin was born in Lynx, Ohio. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers before the start of the 1964 season.

He served in the US Air Force in Germany, at Wiesbaden Air Base, in the early ‘60s, pitching successfully for the base team, the Wiesbaden Flyers.

In the minors, Purdin threw a perfect game against Lexington in 1964. The game went seven innings, on the backend of a doubleheader. During warmups, he pegged his usual starting catcher, Butch Johnson, in the eye. Jim Connor came in from third base to replace him for the night, and Ed Knipple moved to third. Purdin struck out 11 batters in the perfect outing, with Knipple driving in the only run of the game.

At Salisbury, Purdin posted a 14–3 record with a 1.91 ERA and 182 strikeouts in 137 innings pitched, while only giving up 27 walks.

Purdin died in Charleston, South Carolina, at the age of 67.