9/15: HBD Fritz; Doubles King; Brotherly Bombs; RIP Tiny; Alous United; Garner Grannies

• 1888 - Ed Morris of the Pittsburgh Alleghenys tossed his fourth consecutive shutout‚ a 1-0 win over the NY Giants, setting a NL record that lasted until 1968 when Don Drysdale threw six straight shutouts. Morris began his streak with 2-0 and 1-0 victories over the Phillies and a seven inning, 2-0 win over the Senators. And he did it in a hurry; it took him eight days to pitch four complete game whitewashes, all at Exposition Park. Morris went 29-23 on the year with a 2.31 ERA.
• 1907 - Fritz Ostermueller was born in Quincy, Illinois. The veteran southpaw spent the final five seasons of his 15 year career as a Buc, putting up a line of 49-42-1/3.48. He spent his post-baseball years as an announcer for his hometown Quincy Aces and as a hunting lodge operator.

Fritz Ostermueller 1948 Leaf series

• 1928 - Paul Waner banged a pair of doubles against Cincinnati at Forbes Field in a 6-1 win, setting the NL record for two-baggers with 50. The mark only stood for a season as Brooklyn rookie Johnny Frederick broke it in 1929 with 52.
• 1938 - At the Polo Grounds‚ Lloyd and Paul Waner hit consecutive HRs off Cliff Melton in the 5th inning as part of a 7-2 win. It was the third time both homered in the same game‚ but the first time off the same pitcher. It was the first time that brothers hit back-to-back homers in the majors, not to done again until BJ and Justin Upton went back-to-back for the Atlanta Braves in 2013. For Lloyd‚ it was his also his last MLB round tripper. Bucco siblings wouldn’t go long in the same game again until 2009 when Adam and Andy LaRoche connected against the Twins. Mel Ott got some rude treatment from winning Bucco hurler Jim Tobin, who beaned him three times. It didn’t hurt Master Melvin too much; Tobin was a knuckleballer.
• 1949 - RHP Ernest “Tiny” Bonham died 18 days after pitching his final game as a Buc, an 8-2 win over the Phils. Tiny - who was 6’2”, 215 lb. - passed on at the age of 36, following an appendectomy and stomach surgery; the docs discovered he had cancer. Chet Smith of the Pittsburgh Press wrote, "No more loveable guy than Ernie Bonham ever pitched a baseball and you can put that in the official score." He tossed three years for the Pirates (1947-49), going 24-22, after spending his first seven years with the Yankees, where he was twice an All-Star.

Tiny Bonham 1949 Leaf series

• 1951 - The sad sack Pirates banged out 15 hits to thrash the first-place Dodgers‚ 11-4 at Forbes Field. Rookie 2B Jack Merson had six RBI and scored once, going 4-for-5 with a triple‚ double‚ and two singles. The 29 year old Merson hit .36.0 in 13 games as a September call up, but batted just .246 the following season and after one game in 1953 was out of major league baseball. 1962 - The Pirates beat San Francisco 5-1 at Forbes Field‚ ending Jack Sanford’s win streak at 16 games. The Bucs broke a tie in the eighth inning by scoring four times, all with two outs, keyed by a two-run triple by Bob Bailey. The rookie had three RBI to pace the Bucco attack while Bob Friend’s five hitter quieted the Giant bats.
• 1963 - The three Alou brothers, Felipe, Jesus, and Matty, played in the San Francisco Giants’ outfield at the same time. Manager Alvin Dark played the Alou boys together for an inning during the Giants’ 13-5 win over the Pirates at Forbes Field by benching Willie Mays. Matty would later join the Bucs in 1966 for a five year run.

The Alou brothers 1963 (photo Associated Press)

• 1978 - Phil Garner hit his second grand slam in two games. Today’s was in the first inning off Woodie Fryman as the Pirates beat the Expos 6-1 at TRS. Yesterday’s was against Bob Forsch as the Bucs beat the Cards 7-4, also at TRS. Garner was the first player to hit slams in consecutive games since Brooks Robinson in 1962. Bruce Kison took the win with late help from Ed Whitson and Kent Tekulve.
• 1992 - Alex Coles used the old Roberto Clemente trick and threw out St. Louis pitcher Mark Clark at first base from right field as the Bucs edged the Card 4-2 at Busch Stadium. Also helping the cause were homers by Jeff King, Barry Bonds, and Andy Van Slyke. Paul Wagner got the win in relief of Randy Tomlin, with Danny Cox picking up a save