7/15 Happenings & All-Stars: HBD Donn & Ricky, Hans Hot Card, Manny SI Cover Boy, All Star Performances...

• 1935 - 1B Donn Clendenon was born in Neosho, Missouri. An all around athlete at Morehouse College, he turned down offers from the Cleveland Browns and Harlem Globetrotters to sign with the Bucs. He spent eight years (1961-68) as a Pirate with a line of .280/106/488. Clendenon hit .302 as a rookie in 1962 (he didn’t play enough in ‘61 to qualify) and was a distant runner up to Chicago’s Ken Hubbs in the RoY voting. He spent a couple of off-seasons (1962-64) as an Allegheny County detective and eventually earned a law degree from Duquesne in 1978 that carried him through his post-baseball career.

Donn Clendenon 1967 Topps stickers

• 1947 - Enrique Romo was born in Santa Rosalia, Mexico. The righty pitched for the Pirates for four season (1979-82), going 25-16-26/3.56. Romo appeared in 84 games for the World Series champs in ‘79 and was an integral part of the Buc bullpen his first two years, but went noticeably downhill in his last two, which marked the end of his MLB career.
• 1972 - Manny Sanguillen was featured as the cover story of Sports Illustrated in an article titled “Durable Mitt Star.” For seven of his first eight years with Pittsburgh, he caught at least 113 games (with 151 games behind the dish in 1974). The only year he didn’t was in 1973, when he was given an extensive try out as a right fielder after Roberto Clemente’s death.
• 1975 - The NL whipped the AL 6-3 in the All Star game at County Stadium. Jerry Reuss pitched the first three frames, putting up zeroes on three hits with two strikeouts. Al Oliver doubled and scored in his lone at bat, and Manny Sanguillen was planted on the bench.

Jerry Reuss 1975 Topps

• 1986 - The junior circuit squeezed out a 3-2 win over the NL in the Midsummer Classic held at the Astrodome. C Tony Pena came on as a ninth inning pinch runner and was singled to third by ex-Buc Dave Parker as the tying run with an out, but the next hitter banged into a game-ending DP. P Rick Rhoden was also selected, but didn’t get to climb the bump.
• 2000 - A 1909 Honus Wagner T-206 baseball card was auctioned for a record $1.1M on eBay. The same card was resold for $2.8M in 2007.
• 2003 - The AL scored three times in the eighth inning at US Cellular Field to claim a 7-6 All Star win over the NL. Reliever Mike Williams was the Pirates only selection for the second straight year, and he didn’t get into either game.
• 2008 - The AL continued its domination over the NL with a 4-3 All Star squeaker at Yankee Stadium that took 15 innings to complete. OF Nate McLouth was the Pirate rep, and he went 1-for-4 during the contest.

Nate McLouth as a 2008 All Star (photo MLB.com)

• 2014 - The AL whipped the NL 5-3 in the ASG at Target Field in Minnesota. It was Derek Jeter’s 14th and final appearance. All the Bucco All Stars played - Andrew McCutchen went 1-for-3 as the starting center fielder, Josh Harrison was a sub in left and went 0-for-2, while LHP Tony Watson came in to face one batter, Jose Abreu, and got him to fly out to Josh. Manager Clint Hurdle was there too, as a coach for the Card’s and NL skipper Mike Matheny.