6/7: HBD Bones & Les, Swap of HoF'ers, Barmes & The Fort Sink Chapman, HRs & More...

• 1863 - SS William “Bones” Ely was born in North Girard, just outside Erie. And if you’ve ever wondered who held down SS before Honus Wagner, wonder no more - Bones is the man. Ely played for the Alleghenys/Pirates from 1896-1901, and was a good glove man who hit .256 for Pittsburgh. He was released in the summer of 1901, the Bucs first pennant-winning year, at the age of 38 and his spot was taken by the Flying Dutchman. If you saw him, you’d understand his nickname in a flash - Ely was 6’1” and 155 pounds soaking wet.

Bones Ely 1896 (clipped from team photo)

• 1907 - Les Biederman was born in Wilkinsburg. He was the Pittsburgh Press' Pirates beat reporter for 31 years (1939-69) and served as The Sporting News's Pittsburgh correspondent. Les was also president of the BBWAA and named “Sportswriter of the Year” in 1960 by a couple of national organizations.
• 1911 - Talk about pitching to contact: Pirates hurlers had the Giants beating the ball into the dirt all day as Pittsburgh fielders handled 55 total chances for a MLB record 28 assists and 27 putouts. Unfortunately, there were more than a couple that got away, as the Bucs committed seven errors on their way to a 9-4 loss to New York at Forbes Field.
• 1939 - The Bucs signed former All-Star/triple crown winner and future Hall-of-Famer OF Chuck Klein, who was released by Philadelphia. Klein, 34, hit .300 in 85 games for Pittsburgh and then returned to the Phils as a free agent. In a bit of an oddity, the Bucs released another future Hall of Famer at the end of his career, Heinie Manush, to make roster room for Klein.

Chuck Klein 1939 (photo Rogers Photo Archive/Getty)

• 1940 - LF Maurice Van Robays went 4-for-5 with a 2B, 3B and five RBI to lead Pittsburgh to a 10-5 win over Philadelphia at Forbes Field. Paul Waner and Arky Vaughan added three hits apiece.
• 1946 - An hour before the game, the Pirates voted against a walkout in support of the American Baseball Guild, which was pushing for a minimum salary of $7‚500‚ arbitration of salary disputes‚ and players sharing in 50 percent of any team sale price. The motion actually carried by a 20-16 vote, but needed a ⅔ majority. The Bucs took it out their frustrations on the poor baseball, beating the New York Giants 10-5 behind a 15 hit attack.
• 1966 - Bob Gibson K’ed four Pirates in the fourth inning - Jerry Lynch, Jim Pagliaroni, Bill Mazeroski and Don Cardwell - to tie a record held by several (Maz reached on a wild pitch third strike). He struck out 12 in seven innings, but also gave up 11 hits as the Pirates laid a 9-1 whipping on him and especially the Card bullpen at Forbes Field.
• 1969 - Manny Sanguillen hit his first MLB homer and added a double to drive in three runs as the Bucs dusted the Braves 10-2 at Atlanta Stadium. Roberto Clemente went 4-for-5 with a three run homer and triple, scoring three times.

Manny Sanguillen 1969 Topps

• 1972 - The Bucs can beat ya with a hammer or with small ball, as they proved to SD in a doubleheader sweep at Jack Murphy Stadium. They won the opener 12-5 behind Willie Stargell’s two homers and five RBI, then took the nitecap 1-0 in 18 innings with two infield singles, a double steal, and two walks. Maz was walked intentionally to get to Gene Alley, who drew a free pass from Mike Corkins to force home Al Oliver. Bob Johnson, who made his first two relief appearances of the year in the twin bill, got a win and save. Starter Dock Ellis was brilliant, giving up just two hits and at one point retiring 22 straight Padres.
• 1976 - The Pirates and Reds combined for seven solo homers bombed out of TRS. Al Oliver, Willie Stargell and Bill Robinson connected in the seventh off Jack Billingham while Richie Zisk hit the game-winner in the eighth for a 5-4 Buc victory.
• 2012 - Clint Barmes and Mike McKenry hit back-to-back doubles off Aroldis Chapman in the 10th inning to give the Pirates a 5-4 win against the Cincinnati Reds at GABP. Chapman hadn't allowed an earned run in 24 appearances covering 29 innings prior to the game and hadn't even allowed a hit since May 17th, while Barmes and McKenry were both batting under .200. It was especially sweet coming right after Joel Hanrahan had blown the save by allowing Ryan Ludwick’s homer to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth.