10/14: Sid's Slide; Rook & Bert Tame O's; HBD Oscar, Scoops, Jimmy, Kenny & Midre; Gus Bell Trade;

• 1886 - CF Oscar Charleston was born in Indianapolis. The Hall of Famer played for the Homestead Grays from 1930-31, and from 1932-37 was the player/manager for the Pittsburgh Crawfords during their heyday years. He consistently hit .340+ for the Crawfords, with a .363 BA in 1932. That club, with brother Hall of Famers Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, and Judy Johnson on the roster, is considered among the best Negro League teams ever fielded.

Oscar Charleston undated via Encyclopedia Brittanica

• 1909 - The Pirates scored three times in the first inning,  keyed by a Hans Wagner double, but the Detroit Tigers came back to take a 5-4 win at Bennett Park to force a seventh game in the World Series. The Cats used a balanced attack, banging out 10 hits, five of which were doubles, to give George Mullin the win and send Vic Willis to defeat. The Pirates almost pulled it out in the ninth. Leadoff singles and a misplayed bunt brought the Bucs within a run with Pirates on the corners and no outs, but Pittsburgh couldn’t cash in. Bill Abstein was tossed out at home on George Gibson’s bouncer to first and Ed Abbatichio banged into a game-ending DP and killing the golden goose.
• 1909 - OF Jimmy Ripple was born in Export, a coal patch in Westmoreland County. Although he never played for the Pirates except for one minor league season, Ripple was a very solid man with the stick, compiling a .280 lifetime BA over seven campaigns and appearing in three World Series. He also spent a dozen years in the minors (his first stop was with the Jeanette Jays), mostly in the AAA International League, and in 1956 was elected to the IL Hall of Fame. He was noted for his confrontation with Dizzy Dean when Ripple was a Giant. Dean threw at his head, and Jimmy bunted the next pitch down the first base line to exact some vengeance on Dizzy. The ball, Ripple, Dean and first baseman Johnny Mize all arrived at the sack at the same time, with bodies flying and eventually fists, too. Oddly, neither Ripple nor Dean were reprimanded for the melee.
• 1915 - LHP Ken Heintzelman was born in Peruque, Missouri. He pitched for Pittsburgh from 1937-42, was off during the war years, and then returned for 1946-47. In eight years, the southpaw made 154 appearances with 86 starts and went 37-43 with a 4.14 ERA. His son Tom, went on to play MLB ball with the Cardinals and Giants as an infielder between 1973 and 1978.

Ken Heintzelman 1947 Bowman series

• 1946 - OF/1B Al “Scoops” Oliver was born in Portsmouth, Ohio. He played 10 of his 18 big league years in Pittsburgh with a line of .296/135/717 and three All-Star berths. Scoops was a key member of the early seventy clubs that won a World Series and five pennants in six seasons. He hit the last home run at Forbes Field off Cubbie Milt Pappas and also drove in the first run ever scored at Three Rivers Stadium, doubling in Richie Hebner against the Reds’ Gary Nolan.
• 1952 - 22 year old Pirate OF Gus Bell was traded to the Giants for outfielders Gail Henley and Cal Abrams, along with C Joe Rossi. Bell spent the next 13 years in the show, nine with the Reds and four as an All-Star, and belted double figure homers for the next eight seasons with a high of 30 in 1953.
• 1968 - The Pirates lost OF Manny Mota, 1B Donn Clendenon and 3B Maury Wills to the Montreal Expos along with pitchers Dave Roberts, Al McBean and Ron Slocum to the San Diego Padres during the expansion draft. 1971 - Nellie Briles tossed a two hit shutout at the Baltimore Orioles, and the 4-0 win put the Pirates up three games to two in the World Series. Every Pirate batter reached base during the game, with Bob Robertson hitting a solo shot at TRS in front of 51,377 Pittsburgh fans.
• 1971 - OF Midre Cummings was born in Christiansted, St. Croix, in the US Virgin Islands. A first round pick of the Twins in the 1990 draft, he came to Pittsburgh as part of the John Smiley deal. Between 1993-97, he barely got over 500 AB for the Bucs, hitting .217. After the Pirates let him go, he played until 2005, having just one season hitting under .275, although in reserve roles.

Midre Cummings 1994 Triple Play series

• 1979 - Staring at elimination, Jim Rooker and Bert Blyleven tossed a combo six hitter against the Orioles at TRS as the Bucs stayed alive with a 7-1 victory. Tim Foli tripled and had three RBI while Bill Madlock went 4-for-4, with Baltimore still ahead in the WS three games to two.
• 1991 - The Pirates Zane Smith was the victor as the Bucs took a 1-0 win over the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and a 3-2 lead in the NLCS. Tom Glavine was the loser, touched up only in the fifth when Chico Lind singled home Steve Buechele. The Braves lost a run when David Justice missed 3B while heading home on a two-out, fourth inning single in a call that was controversial and replay inconclusive.
• 1992 - Pittsburgh lost the seventh game of the NLCS to the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium 3-2 when Sid Bream scored in the ninth, barely beating Barry Bond's off-line throw and Spanky LaValliere’s lunging tag to begin a two-decade long Bucco Dark Age. Pittsburgh carried a two run lead into the last frame when a Chico Lind error and two walks proved fatal. The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Bravos four games to two in the World Series, taking all four of their victories by one run and three of those wins came in their last at bat.