11/28: Kiki, The Tiger, Wilbur Wood Deals; Forbes Field Blues

• 1927 - Hall of Famer OF Kiki Cuyler was traded to the Chicago Cubs for journeymen Sparky Adams and Pete Scott. He had bumped heads with manager Donie Bush, and owner Barney Dreyfuss was looking to dump salary with the Waner brothers on the payroll, so it was bye-bye Kiki. Cuyler played twelve more seasons, hitting .300+ in six of them. Per Wikipedia, two explanations have been given for Cuyler's nickname of "Kiki". In the first version, he had been known as "Cuy" by his teammates, so when a fly ball was hit to the Nashville outfield, the shortstop would call out "Cuy" as would the second baseman. Their “Cuy - Cuy” caught on with Nashville's fans. In the second explanation, the moniker came from the player's stuttering problem and the way Cuyler said his own last name (Cuy-Cuy-ler). The nickname was made popular by Nashville announcer Bob Murray.

Kiki Cuyler 2003 Fleer Fall Classic series

• 1958 - The sale of Forbes Field to University of Pittsburgh was approved; the Pirates were allowed to stay on for five years, until new Northside stadium was built. In reality, the Pirates stayed on for twelve years, until TRS opened in 1970. The stadium was a political hot potato for a decade, until ground was broken finally in 1968. However, the Bucs lost an open center field view of town when the Steelers vetoed that design in search of more seats; the Pirates made up for that lost scenery when PNC Park was built.
• 1962 - The Pirates traded 3B Don Hoak, 34, to the Philadelphia Phillies for IF Pancho Herrera and OF Ted Savage. It ended up a minor deal; The Tiger was at the end of his career while Herrera and Savage never established themselves in MLB. He got his nickname from Bob Prince for his relentless, hard-nosed play; it didn't hurt that he was an ex-Marine and boxer.

Don Hoak 1963 Jell-o series

• 1966 - The Bucs completed a deal that sent knuckleballer Wilbur Wood to the White Sox for Juan Pizarro. Under Hoyt Wilhelm's tutelage, Wood pitched twelve seasons for Chicago and won 168 games with three All-Star appearances. His career was cut short in 1976 when Ron LeFlore’s liner broke his kneecap; Wood missed that campaign and was generally ineffective afterward. Pizzaro pitched a season and some change in Pittsburgh before being sold to Boston in 1968; he would return in late 1974, ending his 18 year career as a Pirate.