Thursday, July 11, 2013

7/11 - One hitters, All Star games, Ed Ott, Roberto and Willie...

One hitters, All Star games, Ed Ott, Roberto and Willie...

  • 1908 - Vic Willis tossed a one hitter in a 6-2 win over the Giants at Exposition Park. Mike Donlin's triple was the only New York knock. 
  • 1944 - The Pirates hosted their first All-Star Game at Forbes Field, the 12th Midsummer Classic and the first night game in All-Star history. The NL won 7-1 as Phil Cavarretta of the Cubs set an All-Star Game record by reaching base five straight times on a triple‚ single‚ and three walks. 
  • 1951 - Ed Ott was born in Muncy, PA, just east of Williamsport. The left handed hitter caught in mostly a platoon role for Pittsburgh for seven seasons (1974-80), hitting .259. He was effective in the 1979 World Series; in three starts, he hit .333 with three RBI in just 12 at-bats. 
  • 1960 - One-hit shutout pitching by Bob Friend and HRs by Ernie Banks and Del Crandall led the NL to a 5-4 win over the AL at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium in the first of two All-Star Games. Friend was credited with two of the NL's last three All-Star wins. 
  • 1961 - In the All-Star game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Roberto Clemente had a coming out party. The Great One tripled and scored the game's first run, drove in another with a sac fly, chased Mickey Mantle to the centerfield fence to corral his next blast, and capped the day when he delivered a walk-off single off knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm in a 5-4, ten inning NL win. 
  • 1963 - In a 3-0 win over the Colt .45s at Forbes Field, Roberto Clemente’s rope chased Jim Wynn from the infield to a career in the pasture. As the Toy Cannon, who was a rookie playing SS then, told Baseball Digest “Clemente hit a screaming line drive, and I got my glove up just as the ball hit the left field wall. After that, I told the coaches and manager to get me out of the infield.” Wynn was granted his wish, and played 1,810 games in the OF after 21 appearances at short during his rookie campaign. 
  • 1973 - Willie Stargell cracked the 302nd home run of his career to pass Ralph Kiner as the all-time Pirate HR leader in a 10-2 victory over the Padres at San Diego Stadium. 1994 - The Pirates unveiled a statue of Roberto Clemente outside Three Rivers Stadium. It was moved to PNC Park, where it’s located outside the center field entrance. 
  • 2006 - The Pittsburgh Pirates hosted the 77th All-Star Game at PNC Park. The 2006 Midsummer Classic marked the fifth time that Pittsburgh hosted the All-Star Star Game. The Pirates became first franchise to host the game in three different parks — Forbes Field (1944 & 1959), Three Rivers Stadium (1974 & 1994), and PNC Park (2006). The AL’s 3-2 win kept the Junior Circuit unbeaten in the Midsummer Classic since 1997. Before the start of the fifth inning, Vera Clemente was escorted onto the field by Bill Mazeroski to accept the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award on behalf of her late husband.

3 comments:

marketdiamond said...

Hi, love your blog! Thanks for all the hard work & research.

A point on the 1994 Clemente statue thou, it was actually July 8 not the 11th.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZhBZAAAAIBAJ&sjid=528DAAAAIBAJ&dq=roberto%20clemente%20statue&pg=4627%2C3040296

As a fellow baseball research fan I realize how hard it is to get every detail right from generations ago, so happy a blog like this makes a great attempt, I've learned so much from your histories, love them!

Ron Ieraci said...

Thanks, MD; dunno where I plucked that one from, probably a reprint of the original article or just a typo. God gave me some fat fingers and a thin mind.

Game dates can be double checked; there are box scores for them, but trades make ya nuts. Some come with three different dates, probably running from the announcement to MLB approval.

Glad you like them; hope there aren't too many iffy dates. The project is ongoing as time and sanity allow. It's enjoyable, looking at the early and oddball stuff, the great turn of the century and twenties teams and the clubs I followed, from the late fifties to now.

marketdiamond said...

Ron, thanks for the quick response! No sweat, glad to help, only the very best blogs out there are the ones that really are "works in progress". I commend you on bringing it all too us.

Besides, even Honus & Roberto had the occasional E, but so glad they were on our side!