- 1912 - RHP Jim Tobin was born in Oakland, California. Tobin spent his first three seasons (1937-39) as a Pirate, going 29-24 with a 3.71 ERA, before being traded to Boston, where he would spend the majority of his nine-year career. He was OK with a stick, too; Tobin pinch-hit over 100 times in his major league career with a batting line of .230/.303/.345 in the majors. He totaled 35 doubles, 17 homers and 102 RBI in 796 at-bats in the show. Tobin is the only pitcher in the modern era to hit three home runs in the same game, batting against the Cubs when he pitched for the Braves in 1942.
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| Jim Tobin 1938 - 1994 Conlon Trivia Collection |
- 1952 - SS Craig Reynolds was born in Houston. The Bucs selected him in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1971 draft, signing the Houston HS Player-of-the-Year to a $2M bonus. He played sparingly for the Pirates, hitting .225 in 38 games over 1975-76 and was traded to Seattle for Grant Jackson, unable to oust Frankie Tavaras from the SS job. He went on to have a pretty solid career, playing 15 seasons with a .256 BA (11 with his hometown Astros) and a earning pair of All-Star berths while fielding league average short.
- 1961 - 3B Don Hoak married Avonmore’s Norma Jean Speranza, better known as pop singer and TV starlet Jill Corey, in a civil ceremony in Common Plea judge Frederick Weir’s chambers, with Mayor Joe Barr as a guest. The Tiger met the singer at a promotional event at Forbes Field and the pair exchanged vows 16 months later.
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| Mr & Mrs Tiger on their wedding day (photo Associated Press) |
- 1969 - Don Hoak died exactly eight years later, on the same day that Danny Murtaugh was named manager, a job the Tiger thought he deserved. His widow claimed that Hoak died of a broken heart because the Pirates had passed him over as skipper, although he suffered his fatal heart attack chasing after a relative’s stolen car.
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