Major League Baseball Player. Born in Orleans, France and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, he was a pitcher for 7 seasons, primarily with the Montreal Expos. A 9th round pick by Montreal in the 1978 amateur draft out of the University of Memphis, he made his Major League debut with the Expos on June 12, 1980 as the starting and winning pitcher in a 9-1 win over the San Diego Padres. The 6' 4" right hander would go on to start 19 games that season, finishing with a 7-5 record and a 3.72 ERA. Lea would make baseball history the following season when on May 10, 1981, he threw a 4-0 no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants in the second game of a double header at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. In so doing, he became the first French-born player to throw a no-hitter. Becoming a full-time member of the Montreal rotation the following year, his best seasons were 1983, when he accrued a 16-12 record with a 3.12 earned run average and 1984, when he went 15-10 with a 2.89 ERA. He missed both the 1985 and 1986 season due to an injury to his pitching shoulder. After appearing in just 1 game in 1987, he signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Twins on February 4, 1988. 1988 would prove to be his final season in the majors, as he pitched to a 7-7 record with a 4.85 ERA in 23 games. Granted free agency after the season, he would retire from baseball, eventually becoming a radio analyst with the minor league Memphis Redbirds. Over the course of his career, Charlie Lea accrued a 62-48 record with a 3.54 ERA in 152 games. He was found dead in his home in Collierville, Tennessee from an apparent heart attack.
Major League Baseball Player. Born in Orleans, France and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, he was a pitcher for 7 seasons, primarily with the Montreal Expos. A 9th round pick by Montreal in the 1978 amateur draft out of the University of Memphis, he made his Major League debut with the Expos on June 12, 1980 as the starting and winning pitcher in a 9-1 win over the San Diego Padres. The 6' 4" right hander would go on to start 19 games that season, finishing with a 7-5 record and a 3.72 ERA. Lea would make baseball history the following season when on May 10, 1981, he threw a 4-0 no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants in the second game of a double header at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. In so doing, he became the first French-born player to throw a no-hitter. Becoming a full-time member of the Montreal rotation the following year, his best seasons were 1983, when he accrued a 16-12 record with a 3.12 earned run average and 1984, when he went 15-10 with a 2.89 ERA. He missed both the 1985 and 1986 season due to an injury to his pitching shoulder. After appearing in just 1 game in 1987, he signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Twins on February 4, 1988. 1988 would prove to be his final season in the majors, as he pitched to a 7-7 record with a 4.85 ERA in 23 games. Granted free agency after the season, he would retire from baseball, eventually becoming a radio analyst with the minor league Memphis Redbirds. Over the course of his career, Charlie Lea accrued a 62-48 record with a 3.54 ERA in 152 games. He was found dead in his home in Collierville, Tennessee from an apparent heart attack.
Bio by: Frank Russo
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