- 1890 - OF Jocko Fields of the Pittsburgh Burghers hit the first home run at Exposition Park in a 10-4 win over the aptly named Chicago Pirates. The Burghers were part of the Players League, and were manned primarily by guys who had previously played for the Alleghenys such as Fields.
- 1905 - Vic Harris was born in Pensacola, Florida. His family moved to Pittsburgh in 1914, and Vic spent 23 years playing the outfield for the Homestead Grays, hitting .299. He was also the player-manager of the Grays, and his club won nine consecutive Negro National League pennants from 1937-1945 (he was off during the war years of 1943-44).
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| Vic Harris via HOF Debate |
- 1911 - The Bucs ran the Dodgers crazy at Forbes Field. Bobby Byrne stole 2B‚ 3B‚ and home in the same inning, taking third base while the Dodgers argued the original call at second. The Pirates pulled off a pair of double steals and an uncredited triple steal that was instead ruled an error on the throw. When the dust settled, Pittsburgh had a 9-0 win over Brooklyn.
- 1929 - C Hank Foiles was born in Richmond, Virginia. He played for the Pirates from 1956-59, starting two seasons. Foiles was an All-Star in 1957, hitting .270 and throwing out 38% of the base stealers trying his arm, but his bat let him down, and his four-year Bucco BA was just .230.
- 1935 - Paul Waner‚ Arky Vaughan‚ and Pep Young hit successive HRs in the eighth inning off Benny Frey during the Pirates 14-1 win against the Reds at Forbes Field. Gus Suhr also went yard for the Pirates.
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| Pep Young 1940 Play Ball series |
- 1951 - Ralph Kiner smacked a two run homer in the 11th off Carl Erskine to give the Pirates a 5-4 doubleheader split with Brooklyn at Ebbet’s Field. It was Kiner’s second blast of the game, with Gus Bell adding another to give Bill Werle the win. The Bucs lost the opener 2-1; Ralph Branca, who walked Kiner twice, won a duel against Bob Friend.
- 1954 - It was a frustrating day for the Pirates as they were shut out 6-0 at Crosley Field by the Reds’ Fred Baczewski. The Bucs had 11 hits on the day, with the 3-4-5 hitters each banging out two knocks, but they couldn’t push home a run at Cincinnati.
- 1971 - The Baseball Hall of Fame's new Special Committee on the Negro Leagues formally selected Satchel Paige for induction on August 9th. Paige made stops with the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords.
- 1977: It took 11 innings, but the Bucs defeated the San Diego Padres 10-7 at TRS. Willie Stargell hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to score Dave Parker and Al Oliver for the walk-off win. That was Pop’s only hit of the night. Bill Robinson had three hits and three RBI while Rich “Goose” Gossage got the win for the Pirates. He came on during the eighth inning and pitching four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four batters.
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| Goose Gossage 1977 Hostess series |
- 2000 - The Royals edged the Pirates 2-1 in 12 innings. But don’t blame 2B Warren Morris; he went 5-for-6. The Bucs banged out 13 hits, but they were all singles, and they didn’t score until there were two out in the ninth to prolong the drama at Kauffman Stadium.
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