9/23: The Original Pirate, Kiner Hits #51, Great Pitching, Fred Clarke Day, Bucs Clinch, Jim Rooker...

The Original Pirate, Kiner Hits #51, Great Pitching, Fred Clarke Day, Bucs Clinch, Jim Rooker...

• 1865 - 2B Lou Beirbauer was born in Erie (some sources have his b-day as 9/28, and at least one more says he was born in Philly, que sera, sera). The Pirates signed him in 1891, as he wasn’t on the reserved roster of his American Association club, the Philadelphia Athletics (he had skipped to the outlaw Players League in 1890). His rights were decided by an arbitrator, and even though the AA called the Alleghenys’ act “piratical,” they were awarded Bierbauer - and a new nickname, the Pirates. From 1891-96, his Pittsburgh years, Bierbauer was a defensive master and hit .260. 
• 1886 - According to Charlton’s Baseball Chronology, Pittsburgh Alleghenys’ pitcher Pud Galvin walked the first three Brooklyn Bridegrooms he faced - and picked them all off for a 1-2-3 inning! Pittsburgh went on to win the game 8-2. 
• 1904 - The Pirates downed the runaway NL leaders, the NY Giants, by a 7-0 score at the Polo Grounds. Charlie Case tossed a two-hitter, and didn’t give up a knock after the second frame. His opponent wasn’t quite up to snuff; the Pittsburg Press said that “Leon Ames...was as wild as a March hare and issued six free passes. Besides, the Pirates stung his delivery at a lively rate and practically sewed up the game in the second inning, when three free passes turned into tallies.” The New York Herald was a little less kind - "Pittsburg Plays All By Itself" was its headline. 
• 1907 - The Pirates dropped the NY Giants 2-1 at Exposition Park. Vic Willis tossed a six hitter with six K to outgun Hooks Wiltse. Bill Hallman had three hits and a run scored for the Bucs, Honus Wagner added two knocks and a stolen base, and Ed Abbattachio doubled and scored. The game had a little added spice when umpire Bill Klem and Giant manager John McGraw argued during the lineup exchange, setting the scene for McGraw’s ejection in the sixth inning. 
• 1915 - It was “Fred Clarke Day” in Pittsburgh, and Cap suited up one last time in his only on-field appearance of his final season. He played four innings and went 1-for-2 against Dick Rudolph of the Boston Braves in an 8-4 win at Forbes Field with Wilbur Cooper on the hill. For farewell gifts, Clarke received an eight-day grandfather clock from his players and a leather binder containing the names of several thousand supporters as a keepsake. 
• 1925 - The Pittsburg Press wrote “The Phillies gave the Pirates a merry tussle in the game that cinched the pennant for the Smoky City…” as the Bucs turned six DP and edged the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 at Forbes Field to claim the NL flag for the first time since 1909. It was the ninth straight victory for the Pirates. Emil Yde tossed a seven hitter for the victory with help from Tommy Sheehan in the ninth. Max Carey and Pie Traynor added a pair of knocks. 
• 1935 - Behind the four hit pitching of Jim Weaver and Pep Young’s three knocks and seven RBI, the Bucs left the St. Louis Cardinal’s pennant hopes on life support, taking a 12-0 over the Redbirds at Sportsman’s Park. Woody Jensen had four hits, including a pair of doubles, while Lloyd Waner and Arky Vaughan added three hits and runs apiece. 
• 1942 - LHP Jim Rooker was born in Lakeview, Oregon. Rook pitched eight years (1973-80) for the Bucs with a line of 82-65/3.29, which he equalled in playoff time with a 3.20 ERA, including a strong start in Game #5 of the 1979 Series, a crucial match that the Pirates, down 3 games to one, won. He was also a Pirate TV color analyst from 1981 through 1993, and worked for ESPN from 1994 to 1997. Rooker’s most memorable TV moment came when he said on air that he’d walk home from Philadelphia if the Pirates lost, which they did. True to his word, he staged a charity walk after the season. 
• 1947 - Ralph Kiner hit his franchise record 51st homer (he would break that mark in 1949) against Jim Kearns of the Cards at Forbes Field in an 8-4 loss to the Redbirds. 
• 1951 - Murry Dickson tossed a five hitter against the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field to win his 20th game 3-0. Gus Bell had a pair of hits and two RBI to back Dickson. Murry was the only Bucco pitcher to win more than eight games that season; the team only won 64 contests. 
• 1952 - IF Jim Morrison was born in Pensacola, Florida. He spent half (1982-87) of his 12 year career as a Pirate, hitting .274 as a Bucco with a standout 1986 campaign. That year, Morrison together a line of .274/23/88 as Pittsburgh’s starting third baseman. 
• 1956 - With the Dodgers leading the Pirates 8-3, 44,932 fans, the largest crowd in Forbes Field's history, lured by a “prize day” promotion, left early when a ninth inning rain delay postponed the game with two outs, triggering the Sunday curfew with the Dodgers up 8-2. Brooklyn officially won the game the next day. Don Newcombe got the win in a match that saw seven Bucco hurlers take the bump. 
• 1959 - RHP Jim Winn was born in Stockton, California. A first round draft pick (14th overall) of Pittsburgh in 1981, the reliever never quite panned out, pitching from 1983-86 for the Bucs with a 7-11-4/4.47 line, then spending a couple of years in the AL to end his career. 
• 1974 - Jim Rooker threw nine shutout frames as the Bucs beat the St. Louis Cards 1-0 in 10 innings at Busch Stadium, with Dave Guisti working the last frame for the save. The Bucs scored when pinch hitter Paul Popovich singled and was replaced by Miguel Dilone on the basepaths. He was bunted to second and came around on Richie Hebner’s single. The win moved the club to ½ game behind the Cards in a see-saw pennant race that Pittsburgh eventually eked out. 
• 2011 - The Bucs allowed the Reds tie the game in the ninth when Joel Hanrahan plunked Todd Frazier with a bases-loaded, two out, 3-2 pitch. But the Bucs came back to claim a 4-3 walk off victory when Jason Jaramillo doubled and came in on Ryan Ludwick’s knock. Garrett Jones’ two-run homer had staked the Pirates to an early lead.