7/16: TRS Opener, HBD Howdy, Long Taters, ASGs & More...

• 1894 - SS James Howard “Howdy” Caton was born in nearby Zanesville, Ohio. He spent his four year MLB career (1917-20) with Pittsburgh, hitting .226 as a reserve infielder. Howdy never did hit a home run, but he did leg out 16 triples.
• 1910 - Chief Wilson had three hits, including two triples, and the Bucs scored three times in the eighth off Christy Mathewson to sweep a four game set from the NY Giants at Forbes Filed by a 6-3 score. With two outs in the eighth frame, Fred Clarke and Honus Wagner banged back-to-back doubles for the lead. The insurance came on a John Flynn RBI knock and Bill McKechnie’s drive that glanced off a glove to score Flynn. Deacon Phillippe got the win.

Chief Wilson 1911 (photo Bain News Service/Library of Congress)

• 1920 - Lefty Earl Hamilton pitched 16 shutout innings before running out of gas and losing 7-0 to the New York Giants, getting just one out in the 17th frame. The Giants Rube Benton went the distance for the win at Forbes Field, tossing a seven hitter.
• 1950 - The Bucs scored three times in the eighth and once in the ninth to edge the Boston Braves 6-5 at Forbes Field. Ted Beard (whose ball hit the RF roof and bounced over it) and Gus Bell went long (after Ralph Kiner was intentionally walked to get to him) with two down in the eighth to tie it. Earl Turner cracked another two out dinger in the final frame to win it for Hank Borowy. Pittsburgh dropped the opener of the twin bill 9-5. MLB set a record of 37 HR hit this day; the Bucs contributed five to the cause - Bell (2), Beard, Turner and Danny O’Connell’s blast in the first game.
• 1960 - The Bucs jumped ahead of the Reds 2-0 in the first inning, but found themselves down 5-2 going into the seventh at Forbes Field. Then Maz’s homer made it 5-3 and Don Hoak’s two-out, bases loaded single an inning later tied it. The Pirates came all the way back when Dick Stuart drilled a pinch hit, walk off homer to left with an out in the ninth for a 6-5 victory. Stu hit for Earl Francis, who worked two scoreless frames for the win.

Don Hoak 1960 Topps

• 1969 - Willie Stargell splashed a pitch 495’ over the RF fence into the municipal swimming pool behind Jarry Park Stadium in the eighth inning as the Bucs beat the Expos 8-7. The Pirates scored three times in the eighth and three more times in the ninth to claim the win. Roberto Clemente had a two run, two out single in the final frame, followed by the eventual game winning knock, a Richie Hebner single that scored Stargell. Chuck Hartenstein got the save, even though he gave up a ninth inning homer, to close the win for Joe Gibbon.
• 1970 - The first game at Three Rivers Stadium, located on about the same spot as old Exposition Park, the home of the Pirates from 1891-1909, was played. Cincinnati’s Tony Perez hit the park's first home run as the Bucs lost to the Reds 3-2. Richie Hebner scored the first run in the stadium’s history when Al Oliver doubled him home in the first inning to knock in the yard’s first RBI; Pops hit the first Bucco homer. Dock Ellis started and took the loss. The Pirates rocked their new uniforms of stretch cotton and nylon in front of 48,846 fans.
• 1971 - Bob Robertson became the first player to blast a shot into the upper left field deck of TRS when he connected off of San Diego’s Steve Arlin in a 2-1 Pirate win. Al Oliver added three hits and Bob Johnson went the distance while tossing a six hitter for the win.

Bob Robertson 1971 Topps

• 1985 - The senior circuit took a 6-1 decision from the AL at the Metrodome in the All Star game. For the second season, C Tony Pena was the only Buc on the team, and he struck out against Dan Petry. Ex-Buc Dave Parker won the first Home Run Derby.
• 1992 - Doug Drabek scattered four hits and turned a pair of two out RBI hits - a homer by Andy Van Slyke and a single through the right side by Alex Cole - into a victory as the Bucs defeated the Chicago Cubs 2-1 at TRS.
• 1999 - The middle hitters of the Pirate order - Brian Giles, Kevin Young and Ed Sprague - each collected a homer and drove in a combined eight runs while scoring seven times in an 11-3 win against the Cleveland Indians at TRS.
• 2002 - Brian Giles and Jack Wilson drove in all seven runs in a 7-3 Bucco win against the Astros at Minute Maid Park. Giles had a homer and sac fly while Wilson banged out three hits, including a triple, as the Pirates Josh Fogg defeated Houston’s Roy Oswalt. 

Jack Wilson 2002 Fleer Tradition

• 2005 - The Bucs behind Zach Duke shut out the Chicago Cubs and Greg Maddux 3-0 at Wrigley Field. The Zachster gave up eight hits, but the Buc defense turned four DPs in his behalf. Duke even helped himself with a sac fly; the other runs came on a Jason Bay homer and a double by Matt Lawton; both came with two outs.
• 2013 - OF Andrew McCutchen, 3B Pedro Alvarez, and pitchers Jason Grilli, Mark Melancon and Jeff Locke were selected for the All-Star game. It was a homecoming of sorts for Alvarez, as the game was played in CitiField near his Manhattan home of Washington Heights, and he also participated in the home run derby. El Toro went 0-for-1 and McCutchen 0-for-2, while Grilli tossed a scoreless inning of relief. Melancon didn’t get in the game, and Locke was injured. It was the first time since 1972 that the Pittsburgh Pirates had sent five representatives to the game.