8/8:Swipe 'Em All; 46 Hit Afternoon; Bucs Sold; Murry's Big Day; HBD Ohlie

• 1893 - Pittsburgh swept a DH from the Chicago Colts 17-10 and 9-8 at Exposition Park. George Van Haltren, Denny Lyons and Joe Sugden (2B & 3B) each had three hits in the opener to give Ad Gumbert the win. In the nitecap, the Colts scored three times in the ninth to go up by four; the Pirates answered with a five spot, keyed by Lyons, who tripled with the bases loaded to tie the game and then scored the winning run. Lyons had six hits on the day. Red Ehret, who went the distance, got the victory.
• 1902 - Honus Wagner became the first Pirate to steal second, third and home, against the Boston Beaneaters in an 8-6 loss at the South End Grounds. He did it four times during his career. Other Pirates to swipe a three pack were Max Carey (2), Kiki Cuyler and Bobby Byrne.
• 1905 - Second baseman Dave Brain, who hit three triples in a game for St. Louis against the Pirates earlier in the season, repeated the performance against Boston after being traded to Pittsburgh, becoming the only player to triple-triple twice in one season. Pittsburgh defeated the Beaneaters 5-4 in 10 innings at Exposition Park, with Mike Lynch getting the win in relief of Sam Leever. Brain, who went 4-for-5, had the game winning knock, a single to score Tommy Leach. Davy had quite the day; the Pittsburg Gazette wrote “Not only did Brain bat well, but he fielded in fine style, and some of the plays made by him were decidedly sensational.” 1905 was his only year with Pittsburgh; he hit .257 as a 3B/SS.

Dave Brain 1909 American Tobacco series

• 1922 - The Pirates lined, drilled, dribbled and blooped 46 hits during a doubleheader sweep against the Phillies at Shibe Park. Bucco SS Rabbit Maranville made a record 13 plate appearances during the day. The team had 27 knocks, a franchise record, in their 19-8 rout in the opener. Reb Russell went 5-for-5 with a homer, two doubles, five runs and seven RBI while Cotton Tierney had four hits, scored five runs and drove in five. Tierney went 4-for-5 in the nitecap with four RBI and Russell doubled three times as the Bucs banged out 19 hits in a 7-3 brooming. Tierney and Russell each recorded eight hits during the twin bill.
• 1946 - Bill Benswanger, representing the Dreyfuss family, sold the Bucs to a group headed by Frank McKinney and John Galbreath with Bing Crosby as one of the minority investors. The price was reported to be $2.5M.
• 1952 - Murry Dickson did it all for the Bucs. He pitched a ten inning, six hit 1-0 shutout against the Cubs at Forbes Field and drove in the game’s only run. Joe Garagiola led off the tenth with a single, and Brandy Davis, who had just been called up from Waco and didn’t arrive at the park until 7:30, was sent in to pinch run. A grounder moved him up a station, and with two down, Dickson hit a ball toward the SS hole. Roy Smalley made a diving stop to knock the ball down, but that didn’t slow down the speedster Davis who sprinted home from second on the infield knock.

Brandy Davis 1992 (photo via Out of the Park)

• 1960 - Dick Groat was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the story “Fiery Leader of the Pirates.” The team captain and All-Star became the first Pirate to be named MVP since Paul Waner in their last pennant year of 1927 and led league with a .325 BA.
• 1963 - Injuries drove RHP Vern Law to the voluntarily retired list. But he returned to win 12 games in 1964 and in 1965, at age thirty-five, led the Pirates with 17 wins and a 2.15 ERA. He was honored with the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award as comeback player of the year. But the injuries finally won and he retired permanently after the 1967 season.
• 1964 - Bob Veale struck out 11 batters and tossed a complete game as the Pirates beat the Cubs 5-2 at Forbes Field. The Cubs scored twice in the first inning before Big Bob shut the door and let the offense do its thing. Bob Bailey put the Pirates ahead in the fifth inning with a three-run homer while Gene Freese provided the coup d’ grace in the sixth with a two-run blast.
• 1969 - Manny Sanguillen was a homer shy of the cycle and scored three times as he led the Pirates to a 7-1 win over the Padres at San Diego Stadium. Sangy on a roll, going 13 for his last 26. Willie Stargell added a double and two RBI. Bob Veale gave up 11 hits but struck out 10 Friars for the win.

Manny Sanguillen 1993 Ted Williams series

• 1982 - RHP Ross Ohlendorf was born in Austin, Texas. Ohlie pitched for the Pirates from 2008-11 with a line of 13-27/4.60. Ohlendorf was a bit more than a jock; he graduated from Princeton and spent a summer as an intern in Washington for the Department of Agriculture. He also tossed an “immaculate inning” - nine pitches to strike out the side - on September 5th, 2009 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
• 1990 - The Pirates sent IF Willie Greene, RHP Scott Ruskin and a PTBNL to the Montreal Expos for LHP Zane Smith. The other player was OF Moises Alou (officially sent to Montreal 8/16), a highly regarded prospect deemed expendable as he was blocked by OFs Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla. Alou played 17 years, made six All-Star teams and carried a .303 career BA. Smith spent six of his last seven seasons with the Pirates, winning 47 games behind a 3.35 ERA, and was a staff mainstay for the early 90s’ clubs, winning 16 games for the division champs of 1991.
• 1995 - Orlando Merced, Jeff King and Midre Cummings hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the second inning against the Giants at Candlestick Park, the first time a trio of Bucs had turned that feat in 25 years. King also become the first Bucco to homer twice in the same inning since 1894 when he went yard off Sergio Valdez and Terry Mulholland in the second frame, a feat he’d match again the next season. The Pirates won by a final tally of 9-5.

Jeff King 1995 Flair series

• 2008 - The Bucs took a 2-0, 12 inning win from the Phils at Citizens Bank Park. Steve Pearce’s double and Freddy Sanchez’s two out infield knock plated the Pittsburgh runs. Craig Hansen got the save for TJ Beam in dramatic fashion. LF Brandon Moss ran down Chase Utley’s opposite field gapper and his relay doubled Shane Victorino off first to end the game. Six Pirate pitchers allowed just a half dozen hits, but nine walks led to a dozen stranded Phils.
• 2011 - The Pirates snapped a 10 game losing streak by beating the Giants 5-0 at AT&T Park. Charlie Morton threw a six-hitter with ninth inning help from Jose Veras while Garrett Jones’ 4-for-5 day was the highlight of the Buc attack. The streak took the Bucs from five games above .500 to five below, puncturing both their playoff hopes and a shot at finishing with a winning record.