 On September 28, 1974, Kunkel was the first base umpire when Nolan Ryan pitched the third of his record seven no-hitters.On September 28, 1975, exactly one year later, Kunkel was behind the plate when four Oakland Athletics pitchers—Vida Blue, Glenn Abbott, Paul Lindblad and Rollie Fingers—combined to no-hit the California Angels, 5–0.On September 30, 1980, Kunkel caught pitcher Rick Honeycutt of the Seattle Mariners using a thumb tack to illegally alter baseballs during a game against the Kansas City Royals.