Born in
Macon, Georgia, the , Hendley graduated from
Lanier High School and attended
Mercer University. He signed with the Braves in 1958, and was in his fourth season in the Milwaukee organization when he made his MLB debut on June 23, 1961, a
starting assignment against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He battled into the
eighth inning of a 2–2 tie, but left the game with the
bases loaded and
one out; two inherited runners then scored (one run was unearned), and Hendley took the 5–3 loss. He was a member of the Braves' starting rotation in both and , then was traded to the Giants in a six-player deal on December 3, 1963; one of the three players the Braves received was
Felipe Alou. Hendley was a member of the
1964 Giants' starting rotation, but began in the bullpen, making only two abbreviated starts among his first eight mound appearances. On May 28, Hendley,
Harvey Kuenn and
Ed Bailey were traded to the Cubs for
Dick Bertell and
Len Gabrielson. Although Hendley would be sent to
Triple-A Salt Lake City for seven games, he was able to return to a starting pitcher role for the Cubs upon his recall, leading to his two September matches against Koufax. In , Hendley became primarily a relief pitcher, earning seven
saves for a Cub team that lost 103 games that season. The following year, he was traded to the Mets on June 12, where, although he was again largely used out of the
bullpen, he registered the last two
complete games of his MLB career. The season also produced Hendley's only above-.500 record, as he won five of eight
decisions. In his seven-season MLB career, Hendley won 48 games and lost 52, with a 3.97
ERA in 216
games, 126 of them starts. He
struck out 522 batters and allowed 329 bases on balls and 864 hits in 879
innings pitched. He notched 25 complete games, six
shutouts and 13 saves. He pitched at Triple-A for the Mets in 1968 and 1969 before leaving baseball. After retiring from the game, he went on to coach in his hometown of Macon at two high schools, posting winning records at each.
Back-to-back 1965 battles with Koufax Hendley's career was hampered by elbow miseries. The one run Hendley gave up came in the
fifth inning and was
unearned. It came without the benefit of a hit: the Dodgers'
Lou Johnson took a
base on balls (Hendley's only free pass of the game), moved to second base on a
sacrifice bunt,
stole third base, and came around to score on a
throwing error by the Cubs' catcher. Although now trailing in the game, Hendley was still throwing a
no-hitter. Two innings later, however, Johnson got his club's only safety, a
pop fly over the head of Cub
first baseman Ernie Banks that fell for a
double. The walk and bloop hit were the only baserunners that Hendley permitted. Koufax's no-hitter was his fourth (over four consecutive seasons) and his only perfect game. He struck out 14 Cubs, including the last six hitters in a row. Five days later, the two pitchers faced each other in a rematch at
Wrigley Field. That time, Hendley gave up four hits and three bases on balls, but defeated Koufax 2–1. ==References==