8/29: Byrne Deal; Ray Deal; Wagner & Benson Gems; HBP, Pep:, Dode; Billy, WENS;

• 1907 - IF Lemuel Floyd “Pep” Young was born in Jamestown, North Carolina. He played eight years (1933-40) for the Bucs, hitting .264 and playing mainly second, but with some short and third thrown in. The high tide of his career was in 1938, when he received some votes for the NL MVP after hitting .278 in 149 games. As fate would have it, he hurt his knee the next season, and played just 93 games over the final three years of his career (1940-41; 1945).
• 1909 - The Pirates traded 3B Jap Barbeau, 2B Alan Storke, and cash to the Cardinals for 3B Bobby Byrne. Byrne had his best years as a Buc, playing through the 1913 season and hitting .277 while helping the Pirates to the 1909 World Series title.
• 1918 - C Joe “Dode” Schultz Jr. was born in Chicago. He played for the Bucs from 1939-41, hitting .231 as a seldom used reserve and pinch hitter. His dad, Joe Sr., was also a Pirate, donning the Bucco uni in 1916. Dode went on manage the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and replaced Billy Martin as the Tigers skipper in 1973 to cap a long minor league coaching career.
• 1919 - SS Billy Cox was born in Newport, located in central Pennsylvania. He got a September call-up in 1941, spent four years in the service and became the starting Bucco shortstop in 1946-47, batting .280. He was traded to Brooklyn, moved to the hot corner, and played seven seasons for them and in three World Series.

Billy Cox (undated; Associated Press)

• 1953 - TV station WENS (Channel 16) kicked off its entry into the Pittsburgh market by being the first to televise a Pirate game from Forbes Field. There were two high cameras (one behind home, the other on the first base line; eventually, a third field-level camera was added) and the radio announcers, Rosey Rowswell & Bob Prince, did the play-by-play. Oh, the Bucs lost to the St. Louis Cards 5-4 in front of 3,145 that Saturday afternoon despite 2B Johnny O’Brien’s three hits. WENS chose the ballgame to start as they were heavily into sports, televising not only the Bucs but Duquesne basketball and Pittsburgh Hornet hockey. WENS (W-Entertainment, News, Sports) was an ABC affiliate and went off the air in 1957 after Channels 4 & 11 were licensed.
• 1958 - The Bucs squeaked out a 3-2 win against Milwaukee at County Stadium. Dick Stuart went long to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the first inning and Bob Skinner made it 2-0 in the fourth with another solo homer. The Bucs pushed across the winning run in the seventh when Hank Foiles brought Frank Thomas home to give Bob Friend the win with ninth inning help from Don Gross.
• 1959 - Bob Friend helped himself by driving in three runs with a two-out, bases loaded double and tossed a nine hitter against the Phils in an 11-1 romp at Forbes Field. Smoky Burgess also chased home a trio of runs with a pair of homers while Dick Groat added four hits.

Bob Friend 1952 Bowman series

• 1965 - Hall of Fame OF’er Paul “Big Poison” Waner died in Sarasota, Florida at age 62. Among his many marks were a .333 lifetime BA, 3,152 hits and a 1927 MVP award. During retirement, he owned a batting cage in Harmarville. One of the guys he helped develop there was rookie shortstop Dick Groat.
• 1970 - Dave Giusti was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Pirate Cutthroat.” He finished his “cutthroat” season 9-3 with 26 saves and a 3.06 ERA.
• 1984 - God helps those who help themselves: RHP Don Robinson pitched two scoreless innings of relief, knocked in the go-ahead run and scored the insurance marker as the Pirates beat the Astros, 4-2, at The Astrodome. Robinson broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the 9th inning with a two-out single and touched home for the fourth run after Tony Pena followed with a double.
• 1987 - The Pirates traded 2B Johnny Ray to the Angels for two minor leaguers, 3B Bill Merrifield and LHP Miguel Garcia. With Jose Lind in the wings, the Pirates thought Ray was expendable after seven years and a .286 BA. Maybe he was, but they Bucs sure didn’t get much - Merrifield and Garcia were gone by 1988 while Ray won an All-Star berth and hit .296 in four seasons for the Halos before closing his career in Japan.

Johnny Ray 1984 Donruss series

• 1987 - Lotta firsts: Andy Van Slyke hit his first career homer - a two out grand slam - in an 8-2 win against the Houston Astros at TRS, extending the Bucco win streak to five games. Mike LaValliere also went deep for the first time on the season while Mike Bielecki picked up his first win of the campaign while tossing the first complete game of his career. His six-hitter topped Nolan Ryan and Larry Anderson. Bobby Bonilla added three hits, including a double, and chased home three runs.
• 1988 - LHP Dave LaPoint became the first Pirate starter to begin his career here with three one-run or fewer starts when he whipped the Reds 8-1 at Riverfront Stadium. He was obtained for reliever Barry Jones in August from the White Sox, finished the year 4-2, and then signed with the Yankees as a FA the following season.
• 1990 - Barry Bonds went 3-for-4 with five RBI to lead the Bucs to a 10-0, rain-shortened seven inning win over the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton Stadium. Jeff King added three RBI, two off sac flies, as Doug Drabek won his 17th game. The game ended a four game losing streak and followed a clubhouse meeting held by manager Jim Leyland after a lackadaisical 9-0 loss the night before.
• 1995 - RHP Paul Wagner came within one strike of a no-hitter with a one-hit, 11K, 4-0 win over the Rox at TRS. With two away in the ninth, 1B Andres Galarraga chopped a 3-2 pitch past the mound and over second, where Nelson Liriano made the grab but couldn’t beat The Big Cat to first with his throw. For Wagner, it was just his third win against 13 losses, and the win snapped a six game Pittsburgh losing string.

Paul Wagner 1996 Fleer Ultra series

• 2000 - Kris Benson shut out the Giants 8-0 at TRS. He gave up one hit in eight frames, a first inning single to Barry Bonds. The Pirates banged four doubles (two by Enrique Wilson), a triple and a homer (John Vander Wal) off Livian Hernandez, who only managed to get six outs before getting the hook.
• 2006 - The Pirates scored twice in the 11th on an error and bases loaded walk to defeat the Cubs 7-6 at PNC Park. Matt Capps, the sixth Pirate pitcher, picked up the win while Xavier Nady went 3-for-5 with a double and couple of runs scored.
• 2012 - The Pirates made their last push of the year by dropping the Cards by a 5-0 score behind Wandy Rodriguez at PNC Park. Pedro Alvarez banged a three run homer to lead the attack. The Bucs moved within a game of the wildcard, having shut out the Redbirds 9-0 the day before with El Toro adding another pair of homers and four RBI in support of James McDonald. It was just a tease; Pittsburgh finished September 7-21 and ended the season with just 79 wins.
• 2014 - It was Josh Harrison day at PNC Park against the Cincinnati Reds. Presented with the Heart & Hustle Award before the game, Harrison had the key hit in the Pirates 2-1 come-from-behind win. His triple scored Andrew Lambo to tie the game in the eighth inning, and Josh came home with the game winner on Jose Tabata’s chopper through a drawn-in infield. Not only did he have three hits, but made several web-gem plays during the contest, the best of the bunch being a diving stop that he turned into a 5-3 DP and a hustling chase of a bad relay that led to a runner cut down at home. Edinson Volquez had a no-hitter through six frames, but got a no-decision when Tony Watson allowed a soft single to give the Reds a 1-0 lead. Watson got the win and Mark Melancon tossed a perfect ninth for the save. The game was played before a sellout crowd of 37,209 fans.