Max Von McDaniel (April 18, 1939 – August 20, 1995) was an American professional baseball player. Initially a right-handed pitcher, he was a rookie sensation at age 18 when, just days out of high school, he pitched a complete game, two-hit shutout for the St. Louis Cardinals in his first Major League (MLB) start against the defending National League champion Brooklyn Dodgers on June 21, 1957. McDaniel went on to have a sparkling debut season in the Majors. Winning his first four decisions, he pitched 19 consecutive scoreless innings, bested his first start by recording a one-hitter, and posted a 7–5 win–loss record and a 3.22 earned run average in 17 games and 86 innings pitched. But a breakdown in his pitching mechanics resulted in severe control problems that curtailed both his mound and MLB careers and caused him to eventually become a third baseman in minor league baseball. Major League debut The younger brother of Lindy McDaniel, Von was born in Hollis, Oklahoma; he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Upon his 1957 graduation from Arnett High School, he signed with the Cardinals for a $50,000 bonus and was placed on the Redbirds' Major League roster per the bonus rules of the era. Lindy, then 21, was in his third season with the Cardinals; he was an established big leaguer who would win 15 games for St. Louis that season, and go on to pitch for 21 years in Major League Baseball. Von McDaniel joined the Cardinals and pitched effectively in relief, gaining his first Major League win against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field with four innings of shutout relief five days prior to his June 21 debut as a starter. In his two-hitter on June 21 at Busch Stadium, he allowed an infield single to Jim Gilliam and a bunt single to Duke Snider, both of them in the sixth inning. But he worked out of a bases-loaded, no out jam to preserve his shutout. He issued three bases on balls and struck out four. With the McDaniels winning six games between them, the Cardinals won 18 of 24 games between May 31 and June 23, rising to second place in the National League standings, where they finished at year's end. Von's one-hitter took place July 28, also at Busch Stadium; he allowed only a second-inning double to Gene Baker, blanking the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4–0,