Steve Swetonic, Gus Suhr, Rip Sewell, Starg, Teke, Ohlie & More...
- 1930 - Long-time baseball writer Irwin Howe of the Chicago Tribune picked his all-time MLB team, and it included SS Honus Wagner and 3B Pie Traynor. Howe was the secretary for the Chicago chapter of BBWAA and the AL’s official statistician.
- 1932 - Mt. Pleasant native and Pitt grad Steve Swetonic came as close as any Pirate pitcher (Bob Moose matched his feat in 1968) to toss a no-hitter at Forbes Field. He surrendered a two-out knock in the eighth by the Card’s George Watkins to spoil his bid. Though he gave up a couple of anti-climatic ninth inning singles, he cruised to a 7-0 victory. His career was short circuited after five years as he had to retire at the age of 28 because of a chronic sore arm.
- 1936 - Overcoming an early six run deficit, the Bucs’ Gus Suhr slugged a two-out, three-run homer in the ninth off Roy Henshaw to give Pittsburgh a 9-8 win over the Cubs at Forbes Field.
- 1946 - Rip Sewell spun a four hitter to win a duel against the Cards Bucky Walters 2-1. Walters scored his clubs’ only run by stealing home, but RBI from Bob Elliott and Elbie Fletcher sent the Forbes Field crowd of 27,891 home happy.
Bowman 1949 series
- 1948 - Rip Sewell did it all; he tossed a complete game six hitter and homered as the Bucs won their home opener 3-2 over the Cubs. Rookie second baseman Monty Basgall had the game winner, his first big league homer, in the sixth inning.
- 1970 - Willie Stargell belted a homer off Jim Bouton that cleared the RF roof at Forbes Field as the Pirates took a 3-1 decision from Houston.
- 1980 - CF Chris Duffy was born in Brattleboro, Vermont. Duffy hit .269 in his three Buc years (2005-07) but butted heads with manager Jim Tracy, who wanted him to change his batting style. Duffy stormed home after a closed-door session with the skipper, and his career pretty much sank after that affair. He played one more season for Pittsburgh, and in 2008 was injured and released. He would play just 13 more MLB games.
- 1985 - Kent Tekulve’s Pirate career ended after a dozen seasons when he was traded to the Phils for Al Holland. He became a set up man there and remained remarkably rubber-armed, appearing in 291 games in four years.
- 1986: The Pirates and Cubs played 13 innings, only to have their game at Wrigley Field suspended due to darkness after four hours and 48 minutes and the score tied 8-8. The Cubs scored three times in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. The contest was completed on August 11th with the Bucs winning 10-8 in 17 innings. The total game time from start to finish was six hours and nine minutes.
- 1995 - The Pirates released knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. He was picked up by Boston, where he spent 17 seasons and won 186 games.
- 1998 - Carnegie dedicated a memorial at the site of Pirate hall of famer Honus Wagner's birthplace in his original Mansfield neighborhood.
- 2009 - Ross Ohlendorf tossed the Bucs’ fourth shutout of the season, giving up two hits in seven innings in an 8-0 win over Florida, ending the Fish seven-game winning streak. The Bucs had recorded just two shutouts in all of 2008. Nate McLouth gave Ohlie all the support he needed by driving in four runs, three touching home after a sixth inning homer.
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