10/3 Happenings: Pops, Roberto & Jerry's Last Games; Cap's Day; HBD Hound; Gene & Frankie Hired; Road Woes; Luke's Slam...

• 1872 - OF and manager Fred “Cap” Clarke was born in Winterset, Iowa. Hall-of-Famer Clarke was discovered by Barney Dreyfuss, and came to Pittsburgh with most of the Louisville team in 1900 with Dreyfuss. He was the LF’er and manager from 1900-11, and mostly manager, with a couple of spot appearances, from 1912-15. His Pirate line was .299/.379/.418, he hit .300 or better 11 times, and was player/manager for four pennant winners and two World Series teams. He guided the club to 14 straight first-division finishes, 1,422 wins, and compiled a winning % of .595.
• 1915 - The Pirates ended their season with a 5-3 win over the Reds at Redland Field. Retiring manager Fred Clarke hosted a banquet for his players after the game‚ celebrating not only his retirement (Jimmy Callahan took the reins in 1916) but his 43rd birthday before the team scattered during the off season. The next day, he arrived back in Pittsburgh and was given a public send off in front of 500 at the Hotel Schenley. Carnegie Steel vice president HP Bope served as toastmaster of the event with team owner Barney Dreyfuss and Pittsburgh Mayor Joe Armstrong among the speakers.

Heroes Deck of Pittsburgh

• 1931 - LF/1B Bob Skinner was born in La Jolla, California. The “Dog” (a Bob Prince nickname derived from Skinner’s Marine Corps - the Devil Dogs - days) played for the Bucs in 1954 and then 1956-63, hitting .280. He was the starting left fielder for the 1960 World Series champs. Skinner was the Phillies manager from 1968-69, famously resigning when Richie Allen beefed about going to an exhibition game. He coached for several clubs after that, including the Pirates from 1974-1976 and again from 1979-1985.
• 1939 - Frankie Frisch jumped from the Boston Braves’ broadcasting booth to a managing gig‚ signing for two years with the Pirates to replace Pie Traynor, who resigned. He skippered the Bucs for seven seasons from 1940-46, compiling a 539-528 record but only finishing higher than fourth once (second place - 1944).
• 1948 - Luke Easter's grand slam highlighted the Homestead Grays' 19-hit assault on the Birmingham Black Barons in the fourth game of the Negro World Series, played at Pelican Stadium in New Orleans. The Grays won the game 14-1 and the Championship in five games. This was the final Negro WS‚ as the Negro National League became a casualty of integration and folded during the winter, according to Charlton’s Baseball Chronology.

Luke Easter 1948 (photo Richard Merkin collection)

• 1972 - Roberto Clemente made a ninth inning appearance in his 2,433rd and final game for the Bucs, tying Honus Wagner for the most games played by a Pirate as Pittsburgh beat St. Louis 6-2 at TRS in the season finale.
• 1982 - In his last game, Willie Stargell was penciled in to lead off at TRS by manager Chuck Tanner. Captain Willie beat out a well-placed infield rap against the Expos’ Steve Rogers and was pulled by Tanner, who wanted Pops to end his career with a knock and ovation. It was Pops’ first start since August 9th; he collected fewer than 100 PAs during the season and hit just .233 with three homers during his final MLB lap. The Bucs lost to Montreal 6-1; the team ended the year with 84 wins, good for fourth place, eight games behind the St. Louis Cards.
• 1990 - The Bucs’ Jerry Reuss‚ in his only start of the year‚ gave up one earned run but had a no decision in a 6-3 loss to the Mets in his last MLB appearance. Reuss joined the MLB’s four decade club (1969-90) and closed out his career claiming 220 wins without a 20 win season‚ a baseball record shared only with Milt Pappas and Frank Tanana among 200 game winners.
• 1996 - The Pirates named Gene Lamont, who had served as the Chicago White Sox field boss from 1992-95, to replace Jim Leyland as skipper. He led the club from 1997-2000, putting up a 295-352 record. He’s currently in his third year as the bench coach for the Detroit Tigers.

Gene Lamont 2001 Topps

• 2010 - The Pirates finished the season with a 17-64 record on the road after suffering a 5-2 loss to the Florida Marlins, with the loss going to Brian Burres. The Bucs' away-from-home record equaled the MLB low water mark set by the 1963 Mets.