Monday, February 10, 2014

2/10: Bill Evans, Cotton Tierney, the Wet One, Judy Johnson, Larry McWilliams...

Bill Evans, Cotton Tierney, the Wet One, Judy Johnson, Larry McWilliams...

  • 1893 - RHP Bill Evans was born in Reidsville, NC. He spent his entire three year MLB stint with the Bucs (1916-17, 1919) as a fringe hurler, going 2-13 with a 3.85 ERA. 
  • 1894 - 2B James “Cotton” Tierney was born in Kansas City, KS. He started his pro career in Pittsburgh (1920-23), mainly as a second baseman but a jack of all trades, also playing the outfield and hot corner. He hit .315 for Pittsburgh, and was the main piece in the 1923 trade for P Lee Meadows. Cotton was remembered when in 2005, Jeff Euston, his great-great-nephew, created the popular website "Cot's Baseball Contracts", named after his MLB ancestor. 


Cotton Tierney from The Baseball Historian

  • 1920 - The spitball, shineball, and emeryball were outlawed by the AL/NL Joint Rules Committee. Seventeen pitchers, including off-and-on Pirate Burleigh Grimes, were grandfathered so they could continue to toss a wet one. Grimes, who finished his career in 1934 with Pittsburgh, was the last man to legally throw a spitter. 
  • 1975 - 3B Judy Johnson was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Negro League Committee. Playing in the 1920s and 1930s, Johnson was a defensive whiz who batted .309 over a 17 year career, including stops at the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords. He was inducted on August 18th. 
  • 1954 - LHP Larry McWilliams was born in Wichita, Kansas. The sixth overall pick of the 1974 draft by the Braves, he worked for the Pirates from 1982-86. Larry had three strong years as a starter, then faded and was shipped back to his original club, the Braves. His line with the Bucs was 43-44-2 with a 3.86 ERA.
  • 1988 - Happy B-Day Jeanmar Gomez, who was born in Caracas, Venezuela 26 years ago.

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