8/5 Happenings: First Radio Game; Maz HoF; S-Rod Back; Burleigh Deal & More

• 1916 - The Pirates picked up RHP Burleigh Grimes from Birmingham of the Southern Association for 1B Doc Johnston, who spent five years in the junior circuit, P Larry Douglas, who appeared in two games for the Baltimore Terrapins and IF BW Cleveland, a lifetime minor leaguer. Old Stubblebeard would work five years and notch 48 wins as a Pirate in three Steel City stops, but overall he won 270 games and a place in the Hall of Fame over his 19-year career. 

Harold Arlin 1921 (photo KDKA Radio)

• 1921 - KDKA aired the first broadcast of a Major League game as Harold Arlin described the action during the Pirates' 8-5 win over the Phillies at Forbes Field. Jimmy Zinn worked six innings of one run relief for the win and added two hits. That broadcast started a list of firsts for Arlin and KD: he followed with another first when he took his equipment to the Allegheny Country Club for a live broadcast of the Davis Cup tennis match between Australia and Great Britain the next day. In October, he and KDKA became part of a three-station Westinghouse network that broadcast the Yankee-Giants World Series for the first time. Then, later in October, Arlin returned to Forbes Field for another first, a college football game between Pitt and West Virginia. He returned, at Bob Prince’s invitation, to call a few innings of a 1972 game against San Diego at TRS with his grandson, Steve Arlin, on the hill. 
• 1926 - OF Max Carey stole his last base as a Bucco against the Boston Braves during a 4-3 win at Braves Field. Carey is the all-time team leader in swipes with 688. He also had two of the Pirates six hits, as the Bucs gave Ray Kremer just enough support for the win. 
• 1980 - The Bucs traded minor league OF Rick Lancellotti and IF Luis Salazar to the San Diego Padres for IF Kurt Bevacqua and RHP Mark Lee. Bevacqua, who had played for the Pirates in 1974, got in 51 games between 1980-81 for Pittsburgh w/.200 BA, then spent four more years with San Diego, all as a deep bench piece. Lee spent most of his time in AAA, working 16 times for the Bucs in 1980-81. Salazar, who had yet to play a MLB game, was the keeper of the deal, playing for five teams over the next 13 years and retiring with a .261 BA. 
• 2001 - Bill Mazeroski was inducted into the Hall of Fame along with Dave Winfield, Kirby Puckett, and Negro League star Hilton Smith. A teary Maz had a big speech written out, but instead said "I think you can flush these 12 pages down the drain," and delivered 2-1/2 minutes of thanks before leaving the podium.

Maz 2001 HoF (photo Henny Ray Abrams/Getty)

• 2005 - Hard-nosed Ty Wigginton was featured on the cover of The Sporting News in a collision at the plate for the story (and issue theme) “How’s That Feel?” 
• 2017 - The Pirates brought back utilityman Sean Rodriguez by sending Connor Joe to the Atlanta Braves. S-Rod missed most the year with a shoulder injury suffered in a pre-season car crash. It showed; he was hitting just .167 w/19 K in 47 PA. He was a Bucco glue man in 2015-16, playing everywhere competently, hitting .260 w/22 HR while a popular guy in the clubhouse & among fans before signing a two-year deal w/the Bravos as a FA ($5.75M in 2018). Connor Joe, 24, was a 2014 sandwich pick (39th overall) who was a man without a position (1B, 3B, OF). He was hitting .240 at Altoona. They also snapped up 32-year-old, seven-year vet RHP George Kontos from the Giants to bolster the pen, releasing RHP Jhan Marinez. Although Kontos was on revocable waivers, SF let the Pirates claim stand without working out a deal. The FO had always been high on George; he was one of the players they tried to pry from the Yankees in 2008 before settling on Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf and Daniel McCutchen.