2/15: HBD Russ, Barry & Don; Lockout; Vic Willis Sold

• 1910 - The Pirates sold RHP Vic Willis to the Cardinals. Vic was a 20+ game winner for the Bucs during his four year stint, going 89-46 with a 2.08 ERA from 1906-09. But the 34 year old Willis was running on empty. He won nine games for St. Louis, and 1910 was his big league swan song.

Vic Willis via Pittsburgh Heroes of Baseball

• 1956 - The Pirates and the Kansas City A's canceled an pair of exhibition games in Birmingham‚ Alabama‚ because of a local ordinance barring black players from playing against white players. The two teams moved the spring games to New Orleans.
• 1963 - RHP Barry Jones was born in Centerville, Indiana. He began his career in Pittsburgh after being selected in the third round of the 1984 draft. From 1986-88, Jones went 6-9-6/3.81 with the Bucs before being traded to the White Sox for Dave LaPoint. After an eight year career, he moved to Murrysville, and spent several months helping to build PNC Park as a project manager for the concrete contractor.
• 1980 - IF Don Kelly was born in Butler. Kelly went to Mt Lebanon HS and Point Park College before signing with the Bucs and making his debut in 2007. From 2009 onward, he’s played with the Tigers, moving on to the Marlins during this off season. He married Carrie Walker in 2007; his brother-in-law is Neil Walker and his father-in-law is former big league pitcher Tom Walker. The Kellys live in Wexford.

Don Kelly 2007 Pirate promo photo

• 1983 - C Russ Martin was born in East York, Ontario, Canada. The free agent pickup was with the Pirates from 2013-14, hitting .256 and rated highly behind the dish in all the defensive metrics and intangibles. The Toronto Blue Jays signed him to a five-year, $82M FA contract during the 2014 off season after Russ had a career year at the plate.
• 1990 - The owners refused to open spring training camps without a new Basic Agreement with the Players' Association, beginning a lockout that lasted 32 days and delayed the start of the regular season by one week. The beef was over an owner plan to cap payroll at 48% of the league revenues; the MLBPA and Donald Fehr wanted no part of a cap. They eventually settled on “Super Two” arb, a raise in the minimum salary and adding an extra player to the active roster as the cap plan was sentenced to "death by committee."