6/19 Through 1974: Sweep, Groat Debut, Poison Streak & 3000, Game Days, HBD Doug, Butch, Johnnie, Fernando, Jerry, Don, Bill, Jake & Frank

1856 - Utilityman Frank McLaughlin was born in Lowell, Massachusetts by some sources; others say he was born in Ireland. Either way, Frank stopped in Pittsburgh between 1883-84, seeing not a lot of action as an Allegheny and then played with the Stogies next season. He hit .219 with the Alleghenys in ‘83 as a shortstop and went 0-0/13.00 in nine innings of mound work. Frank then went the Union League route, batting .239 as a second baseman before joining the Kansas City Unions, the club that he finished out his career with in 1884.

1892 - SS Harry “Jake” Daubert was born in Columbus, Ohio. His major league career consisted of one at bat for the 1915 Pirates, and he fanned. Jake played pro ball from 1912-19, mostly in the Ohio State League, suiting up for 11 teams in his eight bush league campaigns.

1908 - RHP Bill Swift was born in Elmira, New York. He tossed eight seasons (1932-39) for the Bucs, with a 91-79/3.57 record. Swift was a staff workhorse, going 200+ innings and picking up double-digit wins in his first five seasons, topping out with 16 wins in 1936. He wasn’t a power pitcher, with just 3.4 K/nine during his Pittsburgh career, but Bill gave up fewer than two walks per game and a homer just once every 18 frames.

1912 - IF Don Gutteridge was born in Pittsburg, Kansas. The 12-year MLB vet closed out his big league days in Pittsburgh, retiring after getting into four games and going 0-for-2 in 1948. Afterward, he was a coach and briefly manager for the Chicago White Sox, later scouting for the Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers before retiring to Pittsburg.

Paul Waner - Helmar Hey Batter

1927 - Paul Waner doubled twice in a 14-7 loss to the Cubs to extend his National League record extra base hit streak (12 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers) to 14 straight games. The string ended the next day but has held up well so far, being matched only by Chipper Jones in 2006.

1942 - Paul “Big Poison'' Waner, now 39 and a Boston Brave, joined Cap Anson and Honus Wagner as the only NL players with 3‚000 hits with a single to center off Rip Sewell, fittingly at Forbes Field. The game was stopped as the ball was presented to him, and both teams gathered round to offer their congratulations. Pittsburgh won the game in 11 innings, 7-6. Waner’s hit should have been 3,001. Two days earlier, he was given a hit on a ball that glanced off a glove; Waner had the scorer change it to an error so his 3,000th would be a clean knock.

1949 - Jerry Reuss was born in St. Louis. The lefty spent six seasons with the Pirates (1974-78, 1990) posting a 61-46/3.52 line as a rotation mainstay. He won 220 games in a 22-year big league career. Jerry spent time as a coach and major/minor league announcer after his playing days, also writing a 2014 autobiography “Bring In the Right Hander!”

1950 - IF Fernando Gonzalez was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Fernando had a couple of stints with the Bucs, beginning his career with cups of coffee in 1972-73 and contributing as a role player in 1977-78 before being waived to the Padres. He hit .257 as a Pirate, played all the infield spots except first base and manned the corner outfield spots. He finished his career in 2004 playing in the Mexican League. After his playing days were over, Gonzalez coached in the New York Yankees system, was the field general for a team in Italy and at last look managed a traveling Puerto Rican youth squad.

Fernando Gonzalez - 1972 Topps

1952 - Bonus baby Dick Groat made his first big league start in an 8-1 Pirates victory over the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. Groat went 2-for-4 with two RBI and handled six chances flawlessly in his debut, just three days after signing his first contract out of Duke. Veteran hurler Murry Dickson had a little bit to do with the win, too, as he tossed a complete game five-hitter and added three knocks, scoring three times, to help himself on both sides of the dish.

1954 - IF Johnnie LeMaster was born in Portsmouth, Ohio. He played 12 years of MLB ball, and the Pirates were one of three teams he was on in 1985 (oddly, all three - the Pirates, Giants and Indians - finished last in their division). The good-glove utility guy hit .155, and made it back to the show briefly in 1987 with Oakland before his career closed. He retired to Painesville, Kentucky, where he was raised, and worked for Ashland Oil while coaching youth at various levels and serving as an elder/bible study leader for his church.

1958 - OF Wallace “Butch” Davis was born in Williamston, North Carolina. He got eight years/166 games in the big leagues with five clubs, sipping some coffee with the Pirates in 1987; in seven games he went 1-for-7 with three whiffs while spending most of his time at AAA Vancouver. He played 13 years in the minors with a couple of campaigns in Venezuela. After he hung up the spikes, he was a long-time Baltimore Orioles minor league hitting coach and manager before spending three years as a Minnesota Twins 1B coach. He also lives on in baseball’s cinematic history: he had a cameo in the movie Bull Durham. 

1966 - It took the Pirates awhile, but they swept the Braves at Atlanta Stadium on Fathers Day by a 2-1 tally in 11 innings behind southpaw Bob Veale, who tossed a five-hitter while fanning nine for the complete game win, and Willie Stargell, who blasted a 400’ plus solo blast off Ted Abernathy, who was in his fourth frame of relief for starter Ken Johnson, for the game-winner and the Buccos fourth straight dub.

Bob Veale - 1967 Topps

1968 - The Pirates ran their winning streak to eight games with a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Forbes Field. Bob Veale gave up a first-inning run, then settled in to toss a complete game six-hitter with eight strikeouts, dodging raindrops by coaxing three DPs. The Trolley Dodgers helped the Bucs to the win with a couple of miscues. A passed ball with Maury Wills at second set up the first run on a Willie Stargell sac fly and the game-winner came when Gene Alley walked in the seventh, stole second, went to third when Bill Singer misfired on an attempted pickoff, then scoring on Jerry May's two-out single. Singer was a tough nut to crack for the Pirates; he fanned 10 in seven frames despite the loss. The Pirates split a twin bill with LA the next day, taking the opener and dropping the nightcap to end their joy ride at nine games.

1972 - Roberto Clemente’s two-run homer off Mike Strahler in the eighth inning of a 13-3 romp over the Dodgers at TRS moved him into second on the Pirates franchise list for RBI with 1,274, just past Pie Traynor. He would finish his career with 1,305 runs batted in, now third on the all-time Pirate roster behind Honus Wagner and Willie Stargell. The Great One finished with three hits as did Al Oliver w/a homer; Vic Davalillo led with four raps. Dock Ellis was rattled for 11 hits, but lasted until the eighth when Bob Miller came in to mop up.

1974 - IF Doug Mientkiewicz was born in Toledo, Ohio. Doug had a 12-year MLB career and spent 2008 in Pittsburgh playing 1B, 3B and RF while batting .277 in 125 games. “Eyechart” retired the following campaign after playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers and coached briefly for them in the minors. He also worked for the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers until 2019. At last look, he’s now a MLB/USA Baseball Prospect Development Pipeline manager.

6/19 From 1975: Jack Trio, Keepin' On, Steve Swats, Game Days, Ted Goes, Todd POTW, '60 Juju, HBD Cody, Austin, Tyler, Dusty & Willis

1975 - RHP Willis Roberts was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. The reliever put in five MLB seasons, mainly as an Oriole, and his last year of 2004 was spent as a Pirate. In nine games, he put up a 5.25 ERA after signing on as a free agent; he mostly worked out of AAA Nashville. Willis retired in August and spent three more years tossing in Mexico, Venezuela and Italy before heading into the sunset after the 2007 campaign.   

1975 - Jerry Reuss gave himself a birthday present by shutting out the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 at Three Rivers Stadium, tossing a complete game six-hitter with seven whiffs. Homers by Willie Stargell, Dave Parker and Bill Robinson gave the southpaw all the b-day gifts he needed.

1982 - C Dustin “Dusty” Brown was born in Orange, California. Dusty’s career in the show consisted of 24 games for three teams from 2009-11, with his last stop at Pittsburgh, where he collected three hits in 28 at bats before being DFA’ed in June. Fun fact: His first big league hit was a home run over the Green Monster of Fenway Park; it was his only MLB homer.

1991 - C Tyler Heineman was born in Pacific Palisades, California. Heineman was a journeyman catcher who had gotten into 31 games (22 starts) with Miami, San Francisco and Toronto, compiling a .221 lifetime BA. The Pirates claimed the 30-year-old off waivers in May of 2022 after starter Roberto Perez, who had hammy surgery, was lost for the year. He and Jason Delay became the backstop tandem, with Tyler catching 40 games while hitting .211. He was traded to Toronto in 2023, went to Boston, then returned to the Jays; he’s now with the Angels.

1992 - RHP Austin Brice was born in Hong Kong (and yes, he’s the first MLB player born in Hong Kong). The reliever put in six seasons with Miami, Cincy and Boston (4-4/5.17 in 140 outings) before the Pirates signed him as a free agent in 2021. Brice started the 2022 season at Indy and was called up in late June. He got into four games and became a FA after the year. He was in the minors for three different organizations afterward and retired from pro ball in 2024.

Ted Simmons - 1992 photo Gene Puskar/AP

1993 - GM Ted Simmons resigned after suffering a heart attack on June 8th and was succeeded by Cam Bonifay. Ted got back in the saddle after his recovery, working as an executive and scout for the Cardinals, Indians, Padres, Mariners and Braves. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020 for his 21-year career as a catcher for the Cards, Brewers and Braves.

1995 - Steve Pegues bopped his first pair of MLB homers to lead the Bucs to an 8-2 win over the San Francisco Giants at TRS. Carlos Garcia and Don Slaught each added a pair of hits while Denny Neagle ran his record to 7-3 with eight strong innings. Pegues finished the year with six long balls during his last season of MLB ball followed by three more minor-league campaigns for four teams.

1998 - RHP Carl “Cody” Bolton was born in Richmond, Virginia. The Bucs drafted him out of California’s Tracy HS in the sixth round of the 2017 draft. He missed 2020 due to the Covid minor league shutdown and then all of 2021 following knee surgery. Cody came back strong in ‘22 at Indy (4-2/3.09 w/10 K per nine innings), his workload split between starting and the pen. Bolton was converted to full-time relieving in ‘23, where he got off to a strong start for the Tribe and was called up to Pittsburgh in April, sent back down, recalled and returned again. He was sold to Seattle in the off season and moved on to Cleveland in ‘25. He was released in June and is now in the Astros system.

2001 - RHP Todd Ritchie won the NL Pitcher of the Week award. He beat Detroit and the White Sox in that span, giving up a run on nine hits with 11 K and four walks over 17 IP. It was quite a turnaround - he was the first player in franchise history to start the year 0-8, finally snapping his losing streak by stopping the Tigers to begin a five game winning streak. Todd straightened up and finished the year with an 11-15 slate.

2010 - 38,008 fans showed up at PNC Park to take part in the 1960 World Series team reunion. The old champs apparently inspired the current crew, who broke a 12-game losing streak by beating the Cleveland Indians 6-4. Lastings Milledge was a homer short of the cycle and had four RBI while Andrew McCutchen had a pair of hits, drew three walks and scored four runs. The Pirates went through six hurlers, with Jeff Karstens the winner and Octavio Dotel earning the save.

Lastings Milledge - 2010 Pirates Photocard

2010 - The Pirates fired racing pierogi Andrew Kurtz after he criticized John Russell and Neal Huntington’s secret contract extensions on his Facebook page. The 24-year-old was offered a position by the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League to become one of its racing hot dogs before being rehired by the Bucs after they received a media bashing. 

2014 - The Bucs scored three times in the fifth frame on a balk and two-out singles by Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen, but it still took them 12 innings to subdue the Reds, 4-3, at PNC Park. A single, balk, intentional walk and hit batter loaded the bases for Russ Martin with two outs, and he drew a walk for the gift win, the first walkoff free pass ever issued at PNC Park. Light hitting Clint Barmes went 4-for-5 with a double and HBP. Justin Wilson, the sixth Pirate pitcher of the day, got the win against Cincy.

2019 - The Pirates fell behind the Detroit Tigers by a 7-1 count in the top of the third inning, but they kept on keeping on at PNC Park. Trevor Williams tightened up to work five frames before Richard Rodriguez, the eventual winner, Frankie Liriano and Felipe Vazquez, who got the save, followed with zeros, allowing the Buc bats time to battle back. Corey Dickerson hit a two-out, two-run double to ignite the comeback, Starling Marte banged a two-run homer to make it close and Bryan Reynolds, who had three hits, three RBI’s and three runs scored, launched a three-run bomb in the sixth that proved the game-winner in an 8-7 Pirates victory. It was the first time since 2008 the had overcome a six-run deficit.

2021 - The Bucs won their second in a row over the Cleveland Indians 6-3 at PNC Park in a day that highlighted offensive true outcomes. Pittsburgh was down 2-0 in the seventh when two walks set up a three-run dinger by Michael Perez; two more walks later, Bryan Reynolds put a ball in the Allegheny to provide the Pirates offense. The Tribes’ attack consisted of three solo homers, two by ex-Bucco farmhand Harold Ramirez. Chris Stratton picked up the win after two innings of scoreless, one-hit relief and Richard Rodriguez earned the save.

Jack Suwinski - 6/19/2021 Topps Now

2022 - The Pirates used four homers, three by Jack Suwinski, who joined Andrew McCutchen (8/1/2009 v Washington) as the only Buc rookie to go deep three times in one contest (and the first rookie in MLB history to hit three homers in a game that included a walkoff dinger), with the other big fly swatted by Hoy Park, to walk off a 4-3 victory against the Giants at PNC Park. Pittsburgh had battled back from a first-inning 2-0 deficit to claim a 3-2 edge after six frames. It stayed that way until the ninth when Dave Bednar, looking to finish the six-out save, was tagged for a game-tying homer. Suwinski picked him up by leading off the Buccaneer half with a shot into the Clemente stands, his 11th of the year, tops to date among rookies. Bednar, who struck out four in his two frames, ended up with the blown save/win combo, with Cam Vieaux working as the bridge between him and starter Mitch Keller to hold San Francisco to four hits. To provide the cherry on top, it was Fathers Day, with Jack’s proud dad Tim in the stands. He got to not only watch the long fly triplet but to witness the fans stealing a page from the Pens and tossing caps on the field after the third homer in recognition of Suwinski’s “hat trick.”

2024 - Bryan Reynolds eighth-inning solo shot against the Reds at PNC Park extended his hitting streak to 17 games (it went for 25 straight before he was cooled off) and carried the Bucs to a 1-0 victory. Mitch Keller started and went seven innings, giving up two hits and two walks to go with seven strikeouts; winning pitcher Colin Holderman and David Bednar with the save took over from there.

6/18 Through 1964: Romps & Rallies, Don Debut, The Law Won, Riddle-Robin, Sluggin' Smith, Youngs Swapped, Game Days, HBD Ron, Newt, Chipper, Ben & Pepper

1888 - SS Marty “Pepper” Berghammer was born in Elliot (now a Pittsburgh West End neighborhood). Marty had a couple of years with the Reds before joining the Pittsburgh Rebels in 1915 and batting .243 (although 83 walks and 12 plunks brought his OBP up to .371). He went to St. Paul later in the season and played a decade for them, finishing out his career in 1929 after a run as a minor league manager. He stayed local and was buried in Elliot’s St. Martin’s Cemetery.

1893 - 1B/C Ben Shaw was born in La Center, Kentucky. Ben’s MLB career was a short sip of water, lasting for four months and 23 games with the Pirates from 1917-18 while batting .184. He managed some in the late 20s-early 30s in the low levels of the farm and also played a year for the NFL champs, the Canton Bulldogs, in 1923, so Ben was more than a one-sport pony.

1890 - RHP George “Chippy” Britt (aka Brittain & Britton) was born in Macon, Georgia. He pitched for the Homestead Grays from 1926-33 and again in 1940, earning one all-star appearance; the stats on his career are wildly incomplete. He played with 16 teams from 1917 to 1945 and manned every position on days that he wasn’t on the hill. His nickname was well-deserved. Per Baseball Reference “He was known as one of black baseball's ‘four big bad men’ along with Jud Wilson, Oscar Charleston and Vic Harris, and someone once said ‘he could whip the whole ballclub.’ In Mexico City, he once was declared ‘Public Enemy Number One’ when he challenged some armed revolutionaries in the crowd.” (A gentler alternate version claims he got his nickname because he called everyone Chippy). When Britt retired, he took a job as a nightclub doorman, a point for the original attitude basis of his nickname...

1896 - 1B Newt Halliday was born in Chicago. Newt’s major league days consisted of one Bucco outing in 1916 as a 20-year-old when he got a couple of innings in at first after Honus Wagner tweaked his leg mid-game, handling four chances flawlessly, and batting once (he K’ed). It would be Newt’s sole big league moment. He joined the Navy in 1917 during the WW1 fight, and contracted tuberculosis while in training camp. He died from the disease at the age of 21, becoming one of eight big leaguers to perish while in the military during the war.

Irv Young - 1908 Conlan Collection/Detroit Public Library

1908 - The Buccos sent young righties Tom McCarthy and Harley Young to the Boston Doves for vet LHP Irv “Young Cy” Young (Harley was also a “Cy.”) Irv was supposed to bolster an already formidable pitching staff (Vic Willis, Nick Maddox, Lefty Leifield, Howie Camnitz and Sam Leever) and though he tossed well (4-3-1/2.01), he ended up a swingman and was sold to the minor league Minneapolis Millers after the season. He finished his career tossing for the White Sox in 1910-11 and toiled on the farm through 1916. The Pirate pups had a short MLB shelf life - McCarthy lasted two more seasons, and Harley Young’s final year was 1909. 

1927 - Continuing a feud that dated back to Pirate C Earl Smith's days with the Braves, Smith dropped Boston manager Dave Bancroft with a right to the kisser after they jawed in the seventh inning. Bancroft was carried off the field, and Smith drew a $500 fine and a 30-day suspension. The Pirates won 7-4 at Forbes Field. Smith went 1-for-2 before being ejected (Johnny Gooch was his replacement), with Ray Kremer earning the victory.

1932 - Minor league legend RHP Ron Necciai was born in Gallatin, Fayette County. In 1952, Necciai struck out 27 batters while throwing a 7-0 no-hitter for the Bristol Twins, followed in his next outing by a two-hit, 24 K performance. The Bucs called him up later from Class A, but the 20-year-old Necciai posted at 1-6/7.08 with 31 strikeouts in 54-2/3 IP from August 10th to September 28th, 1952, the span of his entire big league career. He went into the service in 1953, and never played again in MLB as chronic ulcers and a torn rotator cuff ended his run.

1941 - Local boxer Billy Conn fought Joe Louis at New York City's Polo Grounds in a legendary slugfest for the heavyweight championship. The Pirates and the New York Giants, playing at Forbes Field, were called into their dugouts while the 24,738 fans in attendance listened to the radio broadcast of the 56-minute bout. The game resumed after the bout, went 11 innings and was called with the score tied 2-2 at 1:10 AM. It was decided on August 3rd as part of a twin bill that NY swept, so it didn’t end up a very good night for Pittsburgh fans.

Wally Westlake - 1949 Pirates Postcard

1948 - The Pirates spoiled Robin Roberts' five-hit debut, beating the Phils' rookie 2-0 at Shibe Park behind Elmer Riddle’s five-hitter. Wally Westlake homered and Frankie Gustine singled home Ed Fitz Gerald for the Bucco runs. But Roberts was in the show to stay. He lasted 19 years, won 286 games (40 against the Pirates) and entered the Hall of Fame.

1954 - Lefty Warren Spahn, who would win 21 games during the year, took on Vern Law at Forbes Field, and the Deacon did the heavy lifting (with help from CF Dick Hall) during the Buccos 2-1 walkoff win. He tossed a three-hitter against the Braves (Spahn gave up just five raps) and drove in the game-winner with a two-out, bases-loaded blooper up the right field line after the eighth hole hitter, Hall, had been intentionally walked to get to Law. Gail Allie had driven in the duel’s first run in the eighth inning when Hall scored from second with a slide that knocked the ball from C Del Crandall’s mitt. Milwaukee came right back to knot it when Billy Bruton, on second after a walk and bunt, came all the way around on a Hank Aaron fly to the 436’ mark in right center that the busy Hall pulled in with his back to the infield, allowing the speedster Bruton to beat relay home.

1960 - The Bucs were down 3-0 in the ninth inning at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with two outs and Gino Cimoli down to his last swing, behind in the count 1-2. Cimoli kept the Bucs alive when he eked out an infield hit to ignite a fast to ignite a furious comeback against the Dodgers. Hal Smith homered to cut the lead to one. Then Don Hoak singled, Maz walked and Smoky Burgess tied the game with another knock. Smith was the hero again in the 10th frame, banging a ground ball single to left off Larry Sherry that brought home Roberto Clemente to give the Bucs an in-and-out of the jaws of death 4-3 win. ElRoy Face got the win.

1961 - C Don Leppert made his MLB debut a memorable one with a homer off the first pitch he faced as a big league ballplayer against Curt Simmons in a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Forbes Field in the opener of a twin bill. The feat wouldn’t be duplicated by another Bucco until 2012 when Starling Marte lifted one over the wall off Houston’s Dallas Keuchel at Minute Maid Park. The Bucs dropped the nightcap of the bargain bill by a 7-3 count.

1964 - The Pirates took no prisoners against the New York Mets, winning 10-0 at Forbes Field. Willie Stargell banged two hits, including a four-bagger, and had four RBI while Donn Clendenon went 3-for-4 with an inside-the-park homer and a double to back Vern Law. The Deacon tossed a three-hit shutout with five whiffs and no walks to even his record at 5-5.

6/18 From 1965: Trevor Gem, Sheriff Charlie, 8 Straight, Giusti Start, Late Lumber, Squeakin', Dock Debut, Roberto TSN, Cox Inked, HBD JB

1966 - Roberto Clemente was a cover story (“Some Swinger”) for The Sporting News, tucked between Sandy Koufax and Juan Marichal, who were also featured (pretty good company!). The blurb was a little misleading. The actual article was written by local TSN correspondent and Pittsburgh Press beat writer Les Biederman, titled "Clemente Uses Bat to Send ‘All Well’ Message to Family." Roberto’s stick authored quite a healthy tale - The Great One won the National League's MVP Award that season, hitting .317 with 29 home runs and 119 RBIs, to beat The Left Arm Of God by 10 votes.

1968 - Dock Ellis got a win in his major league debut as the Pirates came from behind twice to beat the LA Dodgers 3-2 in 10 innings at Forbes Field. Don Drysdale and Bob Moose started the affair that was decided when Matty Alou, batting cleanup, singled home Maury Wills, who had reached on an infield single and extended his hitting streak to 15 games. The Bucs tied the game in the eighth when Willie Stargell smacked a solo shot. Dock gave up a hit and notched a K in a scoreless 10th inning for the win. It was Pittsburgh’s seventh straight victory.

1968 - Pittsburgh signed a 40-year lease with Bradenton to hold its spring training there beginning in 1969. The town promised the Pirates a stadium, motel, and field complex over 160 acres; in turn, the Bucs promised to hold spring training there, sponsor a GCL Rookie team and hold winter Instructional League competition there. The pairing worked out pretty well for both parties and continues. The ballpark and minor league complex underwent $20 million in renovations after a new 30-year lease with the city was signed in 2008, so Pirates City with its Bradenton Marauders, GCL team and instructional league will continue to soak up the Sunshine State rays for the foreseeable future.

1971 - The Pirates stormed back in the late innings to force the Montreal game into extra time and eventually took home a 9-8 Friday night victory at Three Rivers Stadium. The Pirates scored twice in the eighth on Al Oliver’s two-out single and four more times in the ninth when Bill Mazeroski singled home a run followed by back-to-back homers from Dave Cash and Richie Hebner off Mike Marshall. Cash had the walkoff winner when he singled home Gene Clines, who had led off the 11th frame with a triple off Claude Raymond, making the Bucs fourth pitcher, Dave Giusti, the winner.

1973 - Dock Ellis was in command as he led the Bucs to a 3-1 win over the Cubs at TRS. The Docktor gave up just three hits, fanned eight and mowed down the last 18 Windy City batters for the complete game decision. The win came on the heels of a 12-of-14 games losing streak that prompted manager Bill Virdon to add some extra juice to his usual pre-game meeting with the club. The Pirates outhit the Cubs 12-3 but couldn’t wring a lead from Fergie Jenkins until back-to-back homers by Richie Hebner and Bob Robertson in the sixth.

Dave Giusti - 6/19/1974 Press photo/Edwin Morgan

1974 - Dave Giusti was tapped for his first start since 1970 after an injury to Larry Demery and spun seven shutout innings in a 2-0 win against the LA Dodgers at TRS. He had made 270 straight appearances from the pen prior to this game. Later, he also got to toss the second game of a twin bill against the Montreal Expos on July 4th, also at Three Rivers, and got no decision after seven innings of two-run, seven-hit ball in a game that Bruce Kison won in relief, 3-2. Dave returned to the pen for the rest of his career after that outing. But he wasn’t just pulled out of a hat: the Pirates had converted him to a relief role after he had spent several years as a starter for the Astros and split time as a reliever/starter for the Cardinals.

1987 - OF JB Shuck was born in Westerville, Ohio. He signed with the Bucs as a free agent in January, 2019, after six seasons as mainly a bench piece in the majors. He broke camp with the team and was used as a defense-first outfielder and even pitched once, but after batting .213, he was sent to AAA Indy to serve as insurance in May. 2019 was his last MLB campaign, and his latest minor league contract with the Nats ended up in a 2020 release. 

1992  - The Pirates signed recently released 32-year-old RHP Danny Cox as a depth FA and stashed him in Buffalo. They called him up in mid-August and he pitched pretty well in 24 outings from the pen, posting a 3-1-3/3.33 line and then working two shutout appearances against the Braves in the NLCS. He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays during the off season and remained with them until he hung up the spikes following the 1995 campaign.

2003 - The Pirates showed the Expos how to run away with a game and in the next breath, how to come back to snatch a victory in a twinbill sweep at PNC Park. They put away the opener in the middle innings, winning 7-3 behind a 13-hit, three homer assault. Jeff D’Amico worked the opening six frames for the win. The nightcap was a different story. Montreal took a 3-2 lead in the ninth on a solo shot, but the Bucs had an answer. They loaded the bases with one away, and pinch hitter Jason Kendall iced the cake by shooting a two-run double into the LF gap to give Salomon Torres, who was looking at a loss after surrendering the homer in the top half, a win instead.

2010 - The sad sack Pirates lost their 12th straight game by a 4-3 count to the almost equally inept Cleveland Indians at PNC Park. All the scoring was in the seventh inning, with the Bucs scoring on a bases-loaded double by Ryan Church to almost-but-not-quite-answer the Tribe uprising. The Pirates came back to take the next two games from the Indians, followed by a six-game losing streak. They totaled eight five-or-more-loss strings during the year.

Charlie Morton - 2013 Topps Update

2013 - After a defeat at Cincy during which Andrew McCutchen was HBP and Neil Walker was knocked down, Charlie Morton manned up and plunked the first Red to step to plate, then led the Bucs to a 4-0 win at GABP. Morton and three relievers combined on a four-hitter. The Bucs scored three times in the first, keyed by a two-run, bases-loaded knock by Pedro Alvarez.

2015 - Behind the pitching of Gerrit Cole, Arquimedes Caminero and Mark Melancon, the Bucs upended the Chicago White Sox 3-2 at US Cellular Park. The Pirates scored three times in the first inning off an Andrew McCutchen RBI single and two-run homer by Jung-Ho Kang to win their eighth in row and post their third straight series sweep. The victory was Cole’s MLB-leading 11th dub. It was also the sixth straight win by the Bucs when scoring three or fewer runs. Finally, it was a red letter day for C Francisco Cervelli. He caught his 56th consecutive scoreless inning before Chicago crossed the dish, matching Ed Phelps' behind-the-plate shutout streak of 1903.

2018 - Trevor Williams broke out of a weeks-long funk and spun a one-hit shutout with seven whiffs over seven frames as the Bucs squeaked by the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0 at PNC Park before 10,672 rooters. Francisco Cervelli showed the way with two hits and a walk; Pittsburgh’s score came thanks to a Jordy Mercer double that chased Cervy home in the seventh frame. Kyle Crick then worked a clean inning and Felipe Rivero closed out the ninth with two K’s.

2021 - The Pirates snapped a 10-game losing streak with an 11-10 win over the Tribe at PNC Park. The Pirates scored five times in the first inning and five more times in the sixth to build an 11-1 lead, then held on by a gnat’s eyelash as the bullpen turned into a raging dumpster fire - Cleveland kept coming until Richard Rodriguez’s strikeout with runners at second and third in the final frame ended the night’s assault on baseballs. Winner Chad Kuhl pitched one-run, four-hit ball for six innings, Gregory Polanco & Bryan Reynolds homered, and El Coffee, Jake Stallings & Ke’Bryan Hayes together chased home seven runs.

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.