6/17: Cutch's First, Nate Great, Tike Takes Over, Todd Tough, Walk & Candy #100, Hebs Hot, Game Days, Neil Signs, HBD Mason, Bennie, Joe, Zeb, Bob & Pete

1861 - OF Pete Browning was born in Louisville. One of the great hitters (and terrible fielders - he was known as “The Gladiator” because of his fights with fly balls and also for his tussles with league suits and the media) of early baseball, he played 50 games for 1891 for Pittsburgh, batting .291. He wasn’t here long, but he had an influential 13-year major league career. Per Wikipedia: One of the ballers to jump to the outlaw Players League (he actually helped create it), Browning's decision to sign with Pittsburgh in 1891 helped cement the team's new nickname of "Pirates." When the PL collapsed, its members were supposed to return to their original franchises. Pittsburgh, though, signed several players who were theoretically under the control of other clubs, starting with second baseman Lou Bierbauer. Other franchises decried these acts of "piracy", and the name stuck. Browning is also remembered as the inspiration behind Hillerich & Bradsby's iconic "Louisville Slugger" (another of his nicknames) bats. He was the first player to buy bats from the company and they used the name a few years later to both recognize its roots and cash in on Pete’s fame. The Gladiator retired with a .341 lifetime BA, leading SABR to name him as an overlooked but deserving 19th Century Hall of Fame player. The fact he was an early union agitator and helped form the Players League along with his later bouts of alcoholism, all of which made his relations with the media contentious, hurt his cause.

1887 - OF Bob Coulson was born in Courtney, in New Eagle Township in Washington County, and raised in Donora. That Mon Valley community raised stars like Stan the Man Musial and Ken Griffey Sr (Junior was born there), but Bob was the first player the town contributed to the majors. He played three years for three big league teams (Cincy, Brooklyn & Pittsburgh), finishing his career at home by playing 18 games for the Federal League Rebels in 1914, hitting .203. The Penn State product spent two more seasons in the bushes with stints in Newark, Kansas City and Portland before retiring to Washington County where he became the Register of Wills, Department of Labor inspector and Assessment Officer. He passed away in 1953 and is buried in Beallsville Cemetery.

1890 - The Alleghenys were booked to play the Cleveland Spiders at Recreation Park, but a train accident delayed the Cleves, leaving some 200 fans at the park without a game. So the team split up, drafted some local players, got a gent named Howell to umpire (by the newspaper accounts, a 300-pound guy, bulk probably being a pretty good attribute for an old-timey arbiter) and played on for the cranks. It was a 2-1 finale, with Charlie Gray tossing a three-hitter to top Will Gumbert, who surrendered just five knocks. It was a slick PR move by a team that ended the year with just 23 wins and moved some home games to the road as they couldn’t draw after deep raids by the Players League had decimated its roster.

Zeb Terry - 1915 via The Day Book

1891 - SS Zeb Terry was born in Denison, Texas. He was raised in California and attended Long Beach Poly HS, which has produced 19 MLB players including Tony Gwynn, Milton Bradley, Rocky Bridges and Chase Utley, before going to Stanford and then the majors. Zebelon played seven years in the show, spending the 1919 season with the Pirates. He batted .227, then spent three more pretty solid campaigns with the Chicago Cubs (.280 BA). Zeb and his wife grew tired of the travel and in 1922, Terry retired to the life of a real estate developer in Los Angeles. In 1955, he was part of Stanford’s first Sports Hall of Fame class along with guys like Ernie Nevers, Frankie Albert, Bob Mathias and Hank Luisetti.

1892 - Before 2B Cub Stricker got to play a game for the Pirates, he was traded three days after being acquired from the St. Louis Browns for Pud Galvin to the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Adonis Terry. Terry did a nice job in his stay with Pittsburgh, with a line of 30-16-1/3.42 during his three-year stint; Stricker was finished after the 1893 campaign.

1910 - RHP Joe Bowman was born in Kansas City. He tossed for the Bucs from 1937-41, splitting time between starting and the pen, and posting a record of 33-38-6/4.35. Joe knew his way around a batter’s box, too, hitting .281 with 38 RBI as a Pirate and used as a pinch hitter. Bowman became the Scouting Director for Charlie Finley's Kansas City A's from 1960 to 1968. When the A's moved to Oakland in 1968, Bowman became a regional bird dog for the Braves for a short time before spending two decades scouting for the Orioles.

1932 - RHP Bennie Daniels was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He underperformed in his Pittsburgh years, going 8-16-1 with a 5.84 ERA, though his FIP was a more solid 3.98. He was traded to the Washington Senators, where he put up workmanlike numbers for five more seasons. Bennie bounced around after baseball and even served time for embezzlement, but then flew straight, working as a clerk in the VA system and later moonlighting on the autograph session circuit.

1969 - Richie Hebner was the man in a twinbill sweep at Forbes Field against the first place Chicago Cubs, driving in the game’s only run in a 1-0 victory in the opener and then plating a walk-off RBI in a 4-3 nightcap win. Bob Veale won the lidlifter with a save by Bruce Dal Canton. Steve Blass won the second game in relief, and helped himself to the dub by scoring the winning run. 

The Gravedigger - 1969 Pirates Photo Pack

1983 - The Candy Man won his 100th MLB game by a 2-1 count over the Phils at TRS. He went seven innings, giving up an unearned run on four hits with a walk and eight whiffs before his arm stiffened; Manny Sarmiento and Kent Tekulve covered the last two frames. Marvell Wynne, Mike Easler and Dave Parker each had a pair of hits, with the Cobra’s fourth inning triple being the pivot point, driving in a run before scoring the game winner. The Pirates made it interesting, losing two guys on steal attempts with another thrown out on the bases. Candelaria’s dad came in from Puerto Rico to see the game; it was only the second time he saw his son toss in the MLB, the first being during the ‘79 World Series. Candy won 177 games over 19 seasons for eight teams; 124 victories were with Pittsburgh.

1993 - Bob Walk tamed the Mets and Doc Gooden 6-2 at TRS to notch his 100th win (77 were as a Bucco). Walkie gave up six hits and went the distance for his milestone victory. The Pirates broke out of a slump to chase Gooden after three frames, with the attack led by Jeff King, who had three hits and drove four runners home. It was Walkie’s last big league campaign; he ended up with a career slash of 105-81-5/4.03 after 14 seasons.

2000 - LHP Mason Montgomery was born in Austin, Texas. Drafted by Tampa in the sixth round of the 2021 draft out of Texas Tech, he took his first MLB bow in 2024. Mason became a Pirate as part of the ‘25 offseason Brandon Lowe trade and broke camp with the club. His bread-and-butter is 99MPH heat. He’s another guy with huge K numbers but offset by a wild streak. In ‘26, Mason has filled multiple roles, from an opener starter to late-inning guy.

2001 - The Pirates scored at the eleventh hour with two outs and the bases empty in the ninth when Brian Giles singled and came around on Aramis Ramirez’s double to claim a 1-0 win for Todd Ritchie against the Cleveland Indians at PNC Park in front of 36,694 fans. Ritchie went the distance, giving up just four hits to the Tribe; the Pirates had just three knocks. They won the next night to run up a four-game winning streak; four-in-a-row was as good as it would get for the Buccaneers during a 100-loss campaign, Lloyd McClendon’s first at the Bucco helm.

Todd Ritchie - 2001 Upper Deck

2004 - Tike Redman broke up a pitching duel between Kris Benson and Bartolo Colon by banging homers in the seventh and eighth innings to lead the Pirates to a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Angels at PNC Park. Jack Wilson also went long between Tike’s bombs and his solo shot was the game winner. Bell, Daryl Ward and Rob Mackowiak each collected two hits. 

2004 - C Neil Walker of Pine-Richland HS signed with the Bucs for an estimated $2M. The Pirates first pick (#11 overall), he was the top rated prep catcher in the draft after hitting .657 with 13 home runs during his senior campaign. Walker inked his deal, took in the game after his presser, even getting in some batting practice swings, and the next day flew to Bradenton to begin pro play with GCL Pirates. He caught before converting to 3rd in the minors, and debuted with the Buccos in 2008. The next year he was flipped again to second base, and owned the position for the next half-dozen years in Pittsburgh, batting .272 with 93 HR.

2007 - Nate McLouth doubled twice to drive in four runs and Jack Wilson scored three times as the Bucs held off the Chicago White Sox 8-7 at PNC Park. Jose Bautista and Xavier Nady each had two hits and two RBI. Matt Capps yielded two runs in the ninth to keep it close but hung on to save Shawn Chacon’s win.

2009 - Andrew McCutchen hit his first MLB homer off future teammate Francisco Liriano of the Minnesota Twins at the Mall of America Field during an 8-2 Buc win. He added another knock to record his sixth multi-hit game in 13 starts. Andy and Adam LaRoche both went yard, the first brother combo to homer in the same game for Pittsburgh since the Waners circled the bases in 1938. Ian Snell won the contest with help from John Grabow and Steven Jackson.

2012 - Pedro Alvarez had a big day at Progressive Field, driving in six runs in a 9-5 win over the Cleveland Indians. El Toro homered twice and doubled, banging his first bomb off future teammate Jeanmar Gomez. Alex Presley also went long in a game won by Tony Watson, the second of five Pirates pitchers. It was Petey’s breakout power year as he homered 30 times; he went long twice the game before this and it was the second time this season he had back-to-back two homer games.

6/16 Through the 1960s: Bailey & Groat Signed, Max Gem, Waner Hot, 5 For Carey, Game Days, HBD KY, John, Dave, Max, Pete, Fritz, Ralph & Marr

1857 - SS Marr Phillips was born in Allegheny City (now Pittsburgh’s North Side). He played for three years and 198 MLB games, spending four of those contests as an American Association Allegheny in 1885 and batting four-for-15 after coming over from the Detroit Wolverines. He played pro ball from 1877-9, living out the rest of his days in the North Side. 

1888 - The Alleghenys swapped 3B’men with the NY Giants, picking up Elmer Cleveland in exchange for Art Whitney. Cleveland, 25, was untried and remained with Pittsburgh for just the rest of the year, hitting .222, with his big league days limited to one more go-around with Columbus in 1891. But the club didn’t have much leverage in the trade as Whitney, 30, was holding out for a new deal. An excellent glove man, he was coming off a .260 campaign, but after he left town, he had just four more MLB seasons left and batted .213 over that span. 

1889 - OF Ralph Capron was born in Minneapolis. The former Minnesota Gopher quarterback got into three big leagues games, his first with Pittsburgh in 1912 - he never got to bat - and a couple of years later pivoted and played a little football, following the career course of his older brother George, who also couldn’t decide which sport to commit to. Ralph was the first ballplayer from the U of Minnesota to reach the majors; big bro George topped out in the PCL before turning down a Barney Dreyfuss offer, deciding instead to remain on the West Coast.

1890 - 1B Fritz Mollwitz was born in Coburg, Germany and raised in Milwaukee. The sweet fielding first baseman played from 1917-19 for the Pirates, hitting .245. The Bucs sold him to the Cards in August, 1919, and that was his last MLB stop after a seven-year career. Fritz played pro ball from 1909-24 before retiring to become a Wisconsin small-town cop.

Pete Coscarart - 1945 Play Ball

1913 - IF Pete Coscarart was born in Escondido, California. He spent the last five years of his career in Pittsburgh (1942-46) after an All-Star stint at Brooklyn. Coscarart backed efforts in 1946 to form a players union and voted to strike for its acceptance, and as a result, he found himself out of the major leagues. After his career, Coscarart scouted for the Minnesota Twins (he signed Graig Nettles) and the New York Yankees. He later worked in real estate for 30 years. He joined a group that sued MLB baseball in 2001 for royalties associated with the use of their names and images, lost the case and passed away a few months later at age 89.

1916 - Boston RHP Tom Hughes tossed a no-hitter against the Bucs, striking out Honus Wagner to end the game and seal a 2-0 victory at Braves Field. The Pittsburgh Press cited Hughes’ fastball and change of pace, while noting “he has ever been a Buccaneer hoodoo.” Hard luck starter Erving Kantlehner worked his third straight game without the Pirates scoring.

1922 - RHP Max Surkont was born in Central Falls, Rhode Island. Max had been an effective pitcher for the Boston Braves, but during his Bucco years (1954-56) he sailed in rough waters. He was beset with nagging injuries and tossed for a Pirates team noted for its futility, posting a line of 16-32/4.92 in those three years. He stayed in baseball until 1963 (he spent four decades in pro hardball, with nine years toiling in the major leagues) before retiring. He opened a bar and traveled widely, lending his name and effort to a host of charitable fundraisers. Max Moment: In 1953 as a Brave, he set the MLB record for consecutive strikeouts with eight, a record that stood until 1970.

1925 - The Pirates blew a 9-4 lead, allowing the NY Giants to come back and tie the game in the ninth frame and then jump ahead by a pair in the 10th. But the Bucs answered with four runs of their own, with Glenn Wright’s two-run homer (he posted four hits on the day) the game winner, to claim a 13-11 victory at Forbes Field for Lee Meadows, despite giving up a pair of tallies in his inning of work. Vic Aldridge started and Ray Kremer was the victim of the ninth inning uprising. Max Carey collected five hits for the eighth time in his Pirates career (he and Roberto Clemente share the Pittsburgh mark, although Maxie ended up with a ninth five-spot as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers). Earl Smith added a trio of raps; three other Bucs had a pair of hits.

Max Carey - 1925 Hand Cut

1926 - Kiki Cuyler collected two hits and three RBI to lead the Bucs to a 6-3 win over Boston at Braves Field. It ran his hitting streak to 22 games, which ended the next game when he was held hitless, although drawing a walk and HBP. Vic Aldridge went wire-to-wire for the win, helping his own cause by collecting a pair of knocks and scoring twice on his own behalf.

1927 - Lee Meadows defeated Boston 6-0 behind the smokin’ bat of Paul Waner. Big Poison ran his hitting streak to 19 games, his multi-hit and RBI streak to 12 games and his extra-base hit streak to 11 games, going 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBI. Meadows did his part, too, spinning a six-hitter against the overmatched Braves at Forbes Field for his ninth win.

1940 - Max Butcher tossed a complete game, two-hit shutout against a New York Giants team that boasted five .300+ hitters in their lineup, taking a 5-0 decision in the opener of a Polo Grounds double header. Elbie Fletcher went 4-for-5 with a triple to support Butcher. The Bucs also took the nitecap 5-3 with Rip Sewell earning the win after Ken Heintzelman came in to retire the last Giant. Debs Garms had three hits and three RBI in game two.

1952 - Dick Groat was signed out of Duke University as a bonus baby, reportedly for $25,000 plus $5,000 annually for the next five years. At the time of his signing, the media speculated that it was more like $75,000, and the Pirates never officially announced a figure. The backstory is that the Pirates offered Groat a contract the year before, but the All-America hoopster and infielder told them that he wanted to play out his last college season, but if the team came back with the same offer after that, he'd sign with them. He was true to his word.

Dick Groat - 1961 Bazooka

1960 - GM Dave Littlefield was born in Portland, Maine. He came from the Miami Marlins, where he was assistant GM, but he had a stormy reign in Pittsburgh with questionable deals, drafts and desertion of the Latino player market, hindered by a club that was perpetually cash poor. In September, 2007, Littlefield was canned by the Pirates and replaced on an interim basis by Brian Graham, the club's director of player development before Neal Huntington was hired. Littlefield then worked as a scout for the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers, and in 2015 became Motown’s VP of Player Development, then their special assignments scout in 2021.

1961- Pirate scouts Bob Hughes and Jerry Gardiner inked Woodrow Wilson HS grad Bob Bailey, 19, to a deal featuring a $150,000 signing bonus. He didn’t blossom into the next big thing (he never hit .300 or had 30 HR in his 17 year career) but the corner player (3B/1B/OF) did have a lengthy stay in the show, ending with a .257 BA, 189 HR and 773 RBI. Bailey played seven years with Montreal, five more seasons with the Pirates and had shorter stops in LA, Cincinnati and Boston. He picked up the nickname “Beetles” after the cartoon GI from the Gunner, Bob Prince.

1967 - RHP John Ericks was born in Tinley Park, Illinois. The big righty (6’7”, 220), a first round pick of the Cards, spent his entire 1995-97 MLB tour in Pittsburgh, slashing 8-14-14/4.78. He missed ‘93 with a shoulder injury, was released and signed with the Bucs as Ted Simmons, then Bucco GM and before that a Cardinal staffer, was aware of his potential. Ericks and his 98 MPH heater were headed toward a breakout campaign in 1997, with John going 6-of-7 in saves with a 1.93 ERA as full-time closer and eying a decent contract when he went down again with shoulder woes. Two operations later, his big league career was done.

1969 - 1B Kevin Young was born in Alpena, Mississippi. Young played 11 of his 12 seasons for the Pirates (1992-95, 1997-2003), hitting .259 with 138 HR. At the time of his retirement in 2003, he was the only player remaining who had been a member of the last winning Pirate team in 1992. KY has been part of the AT&T SportsNet gang since 2020.

6/16 From 1970: Casey At Bat, Streak Ends, 1sts, Kendall Signs, Bonus Ball, Game Days, Hit Man POTW, Roster Restock, HBD Arquimedes & Chris

1971 - Dock Ellis went from the penthouse to the outhouse as he carried a no-hitter and 4-0 lead into the sixth inning against Houston in the Astrodome when the ‘Stros erupted for five hits to tie the game. But the Bucs answered when Roberto Clemente homered with Gene Clines aboard in the next frame, and the Docktor recovered his form, giving up just two singles over the next three innings to claim a 6-4 complete game victory and justifying manager Danny Murtaugh’s faith by leaving him on the hill. Clines had four hits and Clemente a pair with three runs plated; Al Oliver banged a big triple, driving in a run and later scoring.

1971 - IF Chris Gomez was born in Los Angeles. Chris closed out his 16-year big league career in Pittsburgh, hitting .273 for the Buccos while playing all four infield positions. He was released after the campaign and then was cut by the Orioles out of camp in 2009. He retired a season later after playing nearly 1,500 MLB games and batting .262 during his tenure.

1980 - Mike Easler was named the National League Player of the Week. He hit for the cycle against the Reds on the 12th and overall went 13-for-23 (.619) with two homers in six games. It was a strong campaign for The Hit Man, who finished batting .338 w/21 HR and 74 RBI.

1986 - The Pirates were behind at Three Rivers Stadium 4-1 in the sixth inning when it rained; ump John Kibler shooed the clubs in with a pair of short delays before calling the game, giving it to the Cards. The Bucs protested as the NL had guidelines for the time required before a contest can be banged, and Kibler missed the mandated wait time badly (to his credit, he even called the league offices that night to report he had screwed up). And hey, the Pirates won the protest, a rare occurrence, with the game being picked up at that spot the next night (the 18th). It proved to be a moral victory only; the Redbirds hung on to win 4-2.

Arqy Caminaro - 2015 Topps Update Notable Newbies

1987 - RHP Arquimedes Euclides Caminero (named after Archimedes and Euclid) was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The speed demon - he’s hit 100 on the radar gun - had his contract sold to the Pirates by the Miami Marlins in 2015. In 112 appearances with the Pirates from 2015-16, he went 6-3-1/3.73 before being dealt to the Seattle Mariners. He later went to Japan, then tossed in the Mexican and Dominican leagues through 2022.

1992 - For seven innings, it was a barnburner at TRS between Philadelphia and the Pirates. The Reds took a 5-4 lead that frame on a three-run blast by Mario Duncan; the Bucs tied it up when Jay Bell put one in the seats in the Pittsburgh half. Then it settled into a drought as the pens put up zeroes. The Buccos came close in the 11th when Bell doubled with two outs with Cecil Espy aboard, but the Phils cut him down at home. In the 12th, the home nine wouldn’t be denied. A single, walk, sac bunt and intentional walk loaded the sacks for the Pirates, and Spanky Valliere’s grounder got through the right side to plate Andy Van Slyke. Bob Patterson, the sixth Buc hurler, got the win while the Phillies burned through seven pitchers.

1992 - After two weeks at the table, the Bucs signed first-round (#23 overall) draft pick Jason Kendall to a then-club record $336K bonus and assigned him to their GCL team to start his career. The teen was plucked from San Diego’s Torrance HS and debuted with Pittsburgh in 1996. JK played nine years for the Bucs, batting .306 and earning three All Star nods.

1994 - The Pirates beat the Cardinals 7-5 in 10 innings. They made it hard on themselves by banging into a NL record-tying seven double plays at Busch Stadium, but put up a three spot in the 10th frame for the win. The Pirates even scored their last run on a DP; Carlos Garcia’s sac fly brought home Orlando Merced while Gary Varsho, who had started on first base, was thrown out trying to get to third behind the play at the plate.

Mark Smith - 6/16/1997 photo AP/Post-Gazette

1997 - It was a day for Pirates firsts: It was the Pirates first interleague road game, Mark Smith homered in the first at-bat by a Pirates Designated Hitter in franchise history, and Kevin Polcovich swatted his first career long fly (both dingers were off Scott Aldred). The result was a quick 8-0 Pirates lead, and the Bucs managed to outlast the keep-on-coming Minnesota Twins 8-6 at the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome. Kevin Young, who also homered, and Adrian Brown had three hits while Jason Kendall added a pair of doubles. Winning pitcher Jason Schmidt was the beneficiary of the eight-run, 15-hit attack while Rick Loiselle got the save.

1998 - The start and finish at Veterans Stadium was a disaster for the Pirates. Starter Jose Silva was given a 4-0 lead, but only lasted an inning as he was hit just above the wrist by Phils’ pitcher Tyler Green as he squared up to bunt in the second frame. Jose suffered a break and wouldn’t take the hill again until mid-September. Still, Esteban Loaiza (who would replace Silva in the rotation as reliever Mike Williams was called up from Indy to join the staff) and Elmer Dessens kept the Philly bats quiet and a three-run bomb by Aramis Ramirez gave the Bucs a 7-1 lead going into the ninth. But as good as Loaiza and Dessens were, well, that’s how bad Ricardo Rincon and Rick Loiselle were. Rincon allowed all four batters he faced to reach, bringing in Loiselle. He took the final inning to two-outs with two on and a 2-2 count on Mike Lieberthal, who drove the next pitch into the left field stands to give Philadelphia an 8-7 walkoff win. To add salt to the wound, the last four runs were unearned thanks to shortstop Lou Collier’s muff.

2004 - The Pirates snapped a nine-game losing streak by scoring five times in the fifth inning, capped by Daryle Ward’s two-out, three-run bomb, to drop Anaheim 5-3 at PNC Park, also snapping a 14-game losing streak against AL West clubs. Josh Fogg got the win; he was also the last starter to earn a dub before that streak started. Jose Mesa notched his 15th straight save, although he left runners at second and third before turning out the lights. 

2005 - Randy Johnson and New York shut down the Bucs pretty easily by a 6-1 score at Yankee Stadium, but Michael Restovich’s fourth inning solo shot left Pittsburgh as the only team with an extra-base hit in every game for the season, with the streak at 64 contests. The skein was stopped after 71 games on June 24th by the Cards' Jeff Suppan and Ray King.

Mike Restovich - 2005 Topps Update

2009 - The Bucs visited Minnesota and were clobbered 8-2 by the Twins in the final season of the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome. That was just one of 99 defeats for the Pirates that season but was marked by a career-ending bit of jakery by Craig Monroe. The FA was hitting .215 and struck out swinging in the eighth with Pittsburgh behind by a boatload. The ball got away and Monroe took a quite leisurely stroll to first; the fact that he was safe on a bad throw didn’t ameliorate the lack of hustle in the eyes of the FO. The 32-year-old took a seat on the pine for the next two weeks and was released July 1st; he never played again in the majors. Then as today, the MLB’s MO is to send the team a message via a bubble player.

2012 - Pedro Alvarez homered twice and Casey McGehee/Alex Presley also went long to lead the Pirates to a 9-2 win over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. McGehee had four RBI and El Toro added three. AJ Burnett picked up the win with Jared Hughes and Doug Slaten mopping up.

2020 - Perhaps the Pirates fans’ most anticipated regular-season series of 2020 was lost when the New York Yankees set was canceled thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and MLB’s schedule fudging. The contest at PNC Park was slated to be Bill Mazeroski’s Gold Glove Bobblehead Night and a celebration to honor the 60th anniversary of the Pirates’ 1960 World Series championship. As an added bummer, the capricious Pittsburgh weather cooperated beautifully as it was sunny and in the low 80’s. The City’s 1960 World Series shindig was pushed back to the annual fallback date of October 13th, when the Game 7 Gang partied hardy once again to toast the Greatest Home Run in baseball history at Schenley Plaza on the lawn behind the old red brick Forbes Field wall.

2023 - The stumbling Pirates bolstered their rebuild auditions by bringing up their top gun, first round prospects. First came RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (#31 - 2020). He was followed quickly by C/OF Henry Davis (#1 - 2021), then 2B Nick Gonzales (#7 - 2020) the next week, then next was RHP Quinn Priester (#18 - 2019; traded in 2024) in mid-July. A pair of Latin players originally signed as international free agents, C Endy Rodriguez (injured), a Top 50 MLB Prospect, and IF Liover Peguero (now in the Phils system), in-and-out of the Top 100, were called up with Priester. They joined OF Andrew McCutchen (#11 - 2005), OF Connor Joe (# 39 - 2014 & since traded) and 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (#32 - 2015) as Buc first-rounders on the current roster. The other #1’s in the system were IF Temarr Johnson (#4 - 2022) who is now at Indy with RHP Tom Harrington (#36 - 2022), who’s gotten a quick peep in Pittsburgh. OF Travis Swaggerty (#10 - 2018), who has wrestled with the injury bug, was DFA’ed in July. RHP Paul Skenes was picked as the overall #1 this year, and he made the big club in 2024, pitching at an MLB elite level.

6/15 Player Moves: Jim, Digger, Moose, Johnny, Ducky & Elbie Join; Ed, Robinson, Schwall, Gino, Freese & Wally Go; Rumor Mill

1939 - The Pirates picked up 1B Elbie Fletcher from the Boston Bees for IF Bill Schuster and cash. Fletcher played seven seasons for Pittsburgh (he lost three campaigns because of WW2) and hit .279 with 60 HR and 464 RBI for the Bucs. Broadway Bill Schuster was a sub who hit .234 over a five-year career, also missing three wartime years.

1943 - The Pirates traded RHP Dutch Dietz to the Phillies for RHP Johnny Podgajny. For the 31-year-old Dietz, it was his last MLB season after 3-1/2 seasons as a Bucco (13-15-4/3.51). Podgajny slashed 0-4/4.72 in 15 appearances for Pittsburgh, then was traded in the off-season with OF Johnny Wyrostek to the Cards for Preacher Roe. Johnny became a minor league arm after that, surfacing for six big-league outings in 1956 with the Indians.

1949 - The Pirates dabbled in what was basically a three-way deal. They began the day by buying Hank Sauer’s brother Ed, an outfielder, from the St. Louis Cards; before the sun set, they had sent him to the Boston Braves for C Phil Masi. Masi was solid, playing in 48 games and hitting .274, but he was sold in the off season to the Chicago White Sox. 

1951 - The Pirates received RHP Ted Wilks, IF Dick Cole, C Joe Garagiola, OF Bill Howerton and LHP Howie Pollet from St. Louis for LHP Cliff Chambers and OF/3B Wally Westlake. Pollet and Chambers ended up as washes as far as hill success went, but Westlake played six more seasons with five teams before retiring with a lifetime .272 BA. Wilks pitched creditably out of the pen for the Bucs from 1951-52 (8-10-16/3.19), Garagiola hit .262 for Pittsburgh from 1951-53 and Howerton batted .279 as a Pirate with 1952 being his last campaign.

Ted Wilks - 1952 Bowman

1954 - Les Beiderman of the Pittsburgh Press wrote that trade talks between the Bucs and Cards fizzled. The Redbirds wanted RHP Max Surkont and dangled $50,000 and a couple of minor leaguers; the Pirates Branch Rickey asked for Solly Hemus as the return, and no deal was struck. Max was 9-18/4.41 in 29 starts for Pittsburgh while bench IF Hemus hit .304.

1958 - SS Johnny O’Brien and 3B Gene Freese were traded to the Cards for IF Dick “Ducky” Schofield, who would play a key role in the Bucs 1960 NL championship as a sub for the injured Dick Groat during the stretch run. Ducky, a lifetime .227 hitter, had a .333 BA for the 1960 Buccos and hit .248 in his eight Pittsburgh seasons. Freese had a 12-year career and rejoined the Pirates from 1964-65. It was the first time Johnny and his twin brother Eddie played for different teams and was Eddie’s last campaign; Johnny was gone a year later.

1961 - Pittsburgh sent OF Gino Cimoli to the Milwaukee Braves for IF Johnny Logan. Cimoli was a bench player for the Braves, went on to start for KC in 1962-63 and was back on the pine for his last two years. Logan’s All-Star days were behind him and he spent his final three seasons with the Bucs as a reserve infielder batting .249 in 152 games. 

1961 - Former All-Star OF Walt “Moose” Moryn was sold to Pittsburgh by the Cards and closed out his career that season, hitting .200/three HR in 40 games, mostly as a pinch-hitter. He was hoped to bolster the Bucco bench for a pennant push that never happened and was released at the end of the year.

Digger O'Dell - 1967 Topps

1966 - The Atlanta Braves traded LHP Billy O'Dell to the Pirates for RHP Don Schwall in a twilight time deal. 33-year-old Digger O’Dell was effective in ‘66, making 37 appearances with a 2.78 ERA, but he faltered during the next season, his last in the majors. Schwall, 30, went 3-3 in eight starts for Atlanta, and pitched one game in 1967 to end his career.

1977 - The Pirates shipped utilityman Ed Kirkpatrick to the Rangers for infielder Jim Fregosi. Spanky finished his 16-year MLB career in 1978 after a four-year Bucco stint (.236 BA) while Fregosi hung it up after 18 years, spending his last two campaigns in Pittsburgh before being released to take over the California Angels manager’s job in June of ‘78. They also bought OF Jerry Hairston from the White Sox, releasing utilityman Tommy Helms to clear a roster spot. Hairston hit .192 and was sold to Durango of the Mexican League. After four years playing down south, he returned to the White Sox and played off-and-on until 1989.

1977 -  After a bitter front office/media feud, the Mets sent Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds for Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, Dan Norman and Pat Zachry. It was rumored that the Pirates were interested in dealing for Tom Terrific, but New York’s FO asked for a package featuring Bruce Kison with prospects including 20-year-old Dale Berra, who was a first-round draft pick in 1975. (Other names bandied about were Al Oliver & Jerry Reuss). 

1982 - The Pirates traded 39-year-old OF Bill Robinson to the Phillies for OF Wayne Nordhagen. Wayne was a mover: He had been sent to Philly by the Blues Jays, then traded to the Pirates by the Phils. He played one game for the Pirates before the club shipped him back to the Jays on the 25th as the PTBNL for an earlier deal for Dick Davis, who was the player Philly had sent to Toronto on the 15th before being traded to the Pirates a week later. Robby and Nordhagen had one more MLB campaign left and it was the last season for Davis.

6/15 Through the 1960s: Kitten Purrs, Dingin' Dino, To The Max, Furious Finishes, 14 Straight, Game Days, HBD Lance, Bruce, Gene, Bud, Babe, Jerry, Peek-A-Boo & Ed

1860 - OF Ed Glenn was born in Richmond, Virginia. He played three years, mostly as an American Association player with Richmond (1884), the Alleghenys (1886) and then split the 1888 season between the AA Kansas City Cowboys and NL Boston Beaneaters. He was a good gloveman with a strong arm and showed speed with Pittsburgh, banging five triples and stealing 19 bases, but hit just .191 (his lifetime BA was .202). Ed last played with Sioux City of the Western Association through 1890; in early 1892, he passed away from TB at age 31.

1862 - 1B/OF/P William “Peek-A-Boo” Veach was born in Indianapolis. He only played part of the season with the Alleghenys in 1890 (did pretty well, too, hitting .300) and had just a brief three-year big league career with a lifetime .215 BA. He was also a Spanish-American War vet, but he made the cut for the history pages thanks to his unique nickname. When he pitched for the Kansas City Cowboys of the Union League in 1884, his club called pick-offs with hand signals from the bench for him as he became antsy with runners aboard. Veach would shift his eyes from the field to the dugout so often before a pitch that the runners caught on and dubbed him Peek-A-Boo, taken from a popular song title of the day. Afterward, the manager put a plant in the grandstands who would wave a game program to indicate when Veach should throw to first, but that was quickly sniffed out by the opponents, too. So the signaling system never became a thing, and largely explained both his nickname and conversion to 1B/OF. 

1863 - C Jerry Hurley was born in Boston. Jerry played three MLB campaigns, getting into 33 games. Eight of those were with the 1890 Pittsburgh Burghers of the Players League, where he hit .273 as a backup but wore out his welcome by sparring with manager Ned Hanlon. He did have an 11-year minor league career stretching from 1884-94 and managed briefly.

Sam Frock - April 1909 Pgh Press photo

1909 - The Pirates defeated the Brooklyn Superbas 8-2 at Washington Park for their 14th straight victory. Sam Frock went the distance for the win despite giving up 12 raps, backed by three hits from Fred Clarke and a Wee Tommy Leach homer. The streak was snapped the following day, but between May 24th-June 29th, Pittsburgh won 27-of-30 games on the way to the National League pennant and their first World Series title over Ty Cobb’s Detroit Tigers.

1912 - 1B Babe Dahlgren was born in San Francisco. He played for the Pirates from 1944-45, hitting .271 and earning an All-Star spot in 1944. Babe was noted as he replaced Lou Gehrig in 1939, ending the Iron Horse’s 2,130 game playing streak, and was credited as being the first MLB player to take a drug test for a non-performance enhancing drug. He took it voluntarily (and passed) in 1943 to dispel rumors that he was smoking wacky tobacco, a false allegation that hung over his career, Still, he played for eight teams in 12 seasons.

1916 - OF Eddie “Bud” Stewart was born in Sacramento, California. He started his nine-year MLB run (.268 lifetime BA) in Pittsburgh in 1941-42, hitting .242. He was a strong defensive player with good speed and a dependable pinch-hitter. His ball-playing days were interrupted by WW2 when he entered the Army. Bud returned to his California roots after his playing days as a gym teacher and moonlighted as an extra in several Hollywood flicks. 

1925 - Gene Baker was born in Davenport, Iowa. The back-up infielder played for the Bucs from 1957-58 and 1960-61 with a .259 BA. In 1961, he became the first African-American manager in organized baseball when the Pirates named him skipper of their Batavia farm club in the New York-Penn League. In 1963, the Pirates promoted him to the big team as the second black coach in MLB, following Buck O'Neil, who had been hired three months earlier. When Danny Murtaugh was tossed by an ump, Baker became the interim manager for two games, making him the first black to manage a team in a major league game. Baker managed Batavia again in 1964, and then returned to Davenport where he settled in as the Bucs’ top midwest scout for 23 years.

Gene Baker - 1960 Topps

1929 - The Pirates lost a lumberfest to the New York Giants in 14 innings at Forbes Field by a 20-15 tally, with 11 of the runs coming in the last frame, keeping the 25,000 fans in their seats until the bitter end. The Bucs overcame a five-run deficit in the final three innings capped by a three-spot in the ninth frame (they stranded the winning run at third with an out) and then traded runs with the G-Men in the 11th inning to keep the game going on Pie Traynor’s two-out homer. Paul Waner had six hits, Rollie Hemsley added four more and Traynor chipped in three knocks; four other Buccos had two raps as the Pirates banged out 24 hits but stranded 17 runners. Pittsburgh used six pitchers with Steve Swetonic taking the loss although his relief man Larry French was charged with seven of the eight runs the Giants scored at the end.

1941 - RHP Bruce Dal Canton was born in California, Washington County. Dal Canton pitched for California State College and had a low-key entry to pro baseball. After graduating, he became a science teacher at Burgettstown HS and played ball in an amateur league where he was discovered by scout Rex Bowen. The team signed him in 1966 and he debuted in the majors the next year. Bruce tossed his first four big-league seasons (1967-70) in Pittsburgh and spun a 20-8-8/3.57 line. He put together an 11-year career as a starter and long man, also twirling for Kansas City, Atlanta and the White Sox. Dal Canton was a Braves minor league pitching coach for a decade when he was discovered to have cancer in 2008; he passed away six months later in Pittsburgh at age 67.

1944 - Max Butcher ducked the bullets and went the distance as the Bucs edged the Reds 1-0 at Crosley Field. The Pirates scored with two down in the ninth when Bob Elliott’s single to center sent Lee Handley home for the Pirates only tally against Cincinnati’s Tom de la Cruz. Butcher gave up eight hits during the afternoon, but the Redlegs went 0-for-8 with RISP while Handley was only the second Bucco to get into scoring position against de la Cruz.

ino Restelli - 1950 Bowman

1949 - Rookie OF Dino Restelli homered twice and drove in five RBI against Boston’s Warren Spahn, leading the Pirates to an 8-7 come-from-behind victory at Forbes Field and make Rip Sewell, on in relief, a winner. Despite the blazing start, Dino was back in the minors next season. Some people say his career was ruined after he wore an Ewell Blackwell fastball; more lore was that he couldn’t see because of east coast humidity - his glasses would fog!

1956 - C Lance “Big Wheel'' Parrish was born in Clairton. Lance spent 19 years in the show, returning home as a 38-year-old in 1994, putting up a .270 BA. He was an eight-time All-Star for three different teams, six-time Silver Slugger awardee and three-time Gold Glove honoree. Since retiring, he’s been both a major and minor league coach, announcer, and is now a minor league manager. The nickname “Big Wheel'' came about in the early ’80s based on a Mel Allen “This Week in Baseball” feature. Allen opened with “...the wheels of the Motor City were turning...” and referred to Parrish as the Big Wheel, per Baseball By the Letters.

1960 - The Pirates ran San Francisco out of Candlestick Park behind Harvey Haddix by a 14-6 tally. The Kitten went the distance, giving up four earned runs, and pulled double duty with four hits (two two-baggers), three runs scored and two RBI. Dick Groat also had four knocks while The Tiger, Dick Hoak (four runs chased home), and C Hal Smith chipped in with three raps each. The Bucs banged out 19 hits, nine of which went for extra bases, although they all stayed in the yard. The win put the Buccos three games up in the division, and they eventually took the title with a seven game edge.

1962 - Hank Aaron hit a grand slam in the seventh and Roberto Clemente answered with a grand salami of his own an inning later as a furious Pirates rally was just enough to overcome the Milwaukee Braves 9-8 at Forbes Field. The Braves held an 8-2 lead going into the eighth. Arriba’s slam made a game of it, then with two outs, five straight Bucco hitters reached with Bill Virdon’s single tying the game and Dick Groat’s knock chasing home the game winner. Seven Pirates starters had hits and scored/ drove in runs (or both). Jack Lamabe picked up the win by tossing a scoreless eighth and ElRoy Face followed for the save.

6/15 From 1970: Renegade Rules, Cutch Hot But Team Not, Kris Zippo, Carlos Steakin', No Home Larcenists, Game Days, Dome Rainout, HBD Jake, Josh & Erik

1971 - The Bucs scored twice in the ninth to beat Houston 3-0 at the Astrodome behind Steve Blass’ six hitter. But Roberto Clemente’s catch was the highlight reel. Ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth with one on and one out, Clemente first robbed Cesar Cedeno with a sliding, shoestring catch. The next grab off Bob Watson was even better when he leaped and pulled in his liner from over the wall with his back to the plate, crashing into the fence at full throttle. He landed dazed; CF Al Oliver had to take the ball from him. Per BR Bullpen, UPI’s Darrell Mack caught Watson’s reaction: "I never saw one like that...he hit it (the wall) wide open. He never slowed up. I don’t see how he could keep the ball in his glove. The thing that makes him so great is that he does it all in a jam. He’s one of the best clutch players in the game.” The fans in Houston gave him two ovations; one after the catch and once again in the ninth when he batted. As for the game, Al Oliver’s seventh inning homer broke up the duel between Blass and Larry Dierker; Richie Hebner and Manny Sanguillen knocked home the insurance.

1976 - The Bucs were in effect rained out of a game at the Houston Astrodome. Though the field was fine and the teams took their pre-game warmups, flooding after 10” of rain prevented the umps from reaching the yard. Both teams’ players and Houstons’ staffers shared their clubhouse buffet on the field, with several brunchers wearing flip-flops. A couple of dozen fans made it to the game, and they were treated to a cafeteria meal for their loyalty. It was the only time in Houston and MLB history that a game under a dome was called off because of bad weather. The only other previous cancellation at the dome was for Dr. King's death, and other roofed places have banged games because of building issues, but it was the first time a dome lost a match to rain. 

1980 - C Erik Kratz was born in Telford, Pennsylvania. The journeyman made his second appearance as a Bucco in 2016; he caught nine games in 2010 as a rookie. Defensively, he did a fine job, throwing out 50% (8-of-16) wanna-be base larcenists, but hit just .111. Pittsburgh was one of nine teams the backstop played for (he was rostered by three squads twice) in 10 MLB seasons with a .209 career BA until he announced his retirement in 2020.

1987 - RHP Josh Lindblom was born in Lafayette, Indiana. He pitched regularly for the Dodgers and Phils from 2011-12 as part of a trek that included stops at five MLB teams, seven minor league towns and two Korean nines. The Pirates liked him; they claimed him off waivers in 2014 only to release him to the Lotte Giants of the KBO, then signed him again when he returned after two years. He spent most of his time at Indianapolis, getting into four 2017 Pirates contests and giving up nine runs in 10 plus innings. He went back to Lotte, then twirled for the Doosan Bears before finishing in 2022 in the Milwaukee Brewers system.

Josh Lindblom - 2017 photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates

1987 - IF Jake Elmore was born in Dothan, Alabama. Jake played for six teams in six years - Arizona (they drafted him in 2008), Houston, Cincy, Tampa Bay, Milwaukee and for the Bucs in 2019. Jake played every position in the field at one point or another, even pitching and catching, but his lifetime .215 BA (he hit .213 as a Pirate while filling in at four spots) has kept him around as just a depth/role player. He’s with Philly now as a minor league coach.

1987 - In a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Jim Morrison set an MLB record by getting caught stealing home twice in the same inning. He was first caught in a rundown and Terry Pendleton dropped the throw to third, with Morrison being credited with a caught stealing and Pendleton an error. Mo tried to swipe again - some guys never learn - and was caught cleanly the second time. He was picked up by Mike Diaz, who went deep, while the Pirates who came over from St. Louis in the Tony Pena deal wreaked a little revenge on the Redbirds - Andy Van Slyke and Spanky LaValliere doubled home runs to back Mike Dunne’s complete game, three-hit outing at Busch Stadium.

1992 - Jeff King was also caught stealing twice in the same inning at Three Rivers Stadium. The first time he was given 1B after being picked off but then collided with Phillies P Terry Mulholland during the rundown. Mulholland was called for interference, and King was charged with a caught stealing. He was nailed later in the frame trying to steal third. (Jeff lost his dubious honor a few days later when the league determined that the interference call nullified the first CS). The Bucs lost, 4-1. The day opened as a hybrid twin bill when Team USA defeated Nicaragua 4-1 in a warm up contest before the ‘92 Olympics. Neither team medaled, although the US finished fourth.

1995 - Carlos Garcia extended his hitting streak to 10 games as he chased home six runs with a three-run homer and bases-loaded double to help power the Pirates past the Dodgers at Three Rivers Stadium by an 11-7 count. Mark Johnson added his own three-run blast, and the Bucs needed the runs. Dan Miceli gave up three ninth-inning scores to LA and had the tying run swinging in the on-deck circle before he got the third out to preserve Denny Neagle’s win.

2000 - Kris Benson continued to turn heads by tossing his first MLB shutout, a six-hit 2-0 win against Atlanta at Three Rivers Stadium. In his prior 10 starts, Benson slashed 5-2/2.08 and looked poised for a breakout, but starting in mid-July, he went 2-6/5.01 and never won more than 11 games in any single season of his nine-year career. The Bucs bled out their two runs, scoring on a pair of two-out infield hustle hits, one by Benson and the other by Pat Meares.

Kris Benson - 2000 Fleer Ultra

2008 - The Bucs squandered a 4-2 lead in the ninth inning, allowing the Orioles to score twice, but came back in the 10th to claim a 5-4 win at Camden Yards. Jason Bay walked to start the extra frame and scored on Adam LaRoche’s single. Matt Capps, the Pirates fourth hurler who had frittered away the lead by giving up a two-run, two-out homer to Bip Roberts, struck out a pair of Birds in the 10th to be credited with both a blown save and a win.

2010 - The Pirates lost to the Chicago White Sox 6-4 at PNC Park, but don’t blame Andrew McCutchen. He had his seventh three-or-more hits game, with a walk, a run scored and an RBI, while stealing three bases for the second time. In one sequence, Chicago’s Matt Thornton threw to first 14 times to keep Cutch close - and he still swiped second. Brad Lincoln lost, and for the Bucs, it was their ninth consecutive defeat during a 105-loss campaign.

2010 - No Red/Blue political split in baseball: The Pennsylvania House passed a bill honoring the Pirates 1960 title team, doing its part for the club’s 50th anniversary celebration. It was approved by a 197-0 vote and was sponsored by 64 members in a rare bipartisan display.

2022 - The Pirates snapped a nine-game losing streak when they topped the Cards 6-4 at Busch Stadium. Pittsburgh jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second, thanks greatly to some shoddy fielding by the Redbirds, only to see St. Louis put up a three-spot in the fifth to tie it. Then two Buc stalwarts came to the rescue: Bryan Reynolds banged his 11th homer, a two-run, two-out shot in the seventh inning on the eighth pitch of his at bat, to regain the lead, then David Bednar toed the slab for the final 2-2/3 innings to ice Wil Crowe’s win, whiffing four while yielding just an infield single. Trivial pursuit: the last Pirate pitcher to record a save of at least eight outs in a game decided by two runs or fewer was Jason Christiansen in 1998.