- January 24, 1910 - OF Johnny “Ugly” (he gave himself the nickname as the self-proclaimed “ugliest man in baseball”) Dickshot was born in Waukegan, Illinois. He played for the Bucs from 1936-38. Ugly was a feared hitter in the minors, putting up a .318 BA in 14 seasons, but was just a .250 batter with Pittsburgh.
Sporting News Conlon Collection - 1964
- January 25, 1956 - SS Joe Cronin and OF Hank Greenburg were elected to the Hall of Fame. Both were considered to be among the top RH hitters of their era and had brief stops in Pittsburgh. Cronin started as a Pirate in 1926-27 and played sparingly before breaking out for Washington and Boston, while Greenburg spent 1947, his last MLB season, as a Bucco, hitting 25 HR and served as a mentor to up-and-coming slugger Ralph Kiner. They were inducted on July 23rd.
- January 25, 1967 - Roberto Clemente signed a $100,000 contract, then the highest in Pirate history. The Great One’s payday topped Ralph Kiner’s $90,000 deal of 1952.
- January 26, 1979 - Dave Parker of the Pirates became the first $1M per year player in sports when he signed a five-year, $5M contract.
- January 27, 1876 - OF Otis Clymer was born in Pine Grove (Schuylkill County) Pennsylvania. Clymer started his career in Pittsburgh, playing from 1905-07, when the platoon OF’er was traded to Washington after hitting .285 during his Pirate days.
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