- 1865 - RHP Al Maul was born in Philadelphia. He worked two years for the Alleghenys (1888-89), one season (1890) for the Pittsburgh Burghers, and spent 1891 as a Bucco. He went 2-8, 6.24 with the Alleghenys/Pirates and 16-12, 3.79 in the Players League. Al spent 10 more campaigns in the big leagues after leaving the Bucs, primarily as a Washington Senator. Maul coached at Lehigh and then spent a decade as a Philadelphia A’s scout. Although he had a cranky arm throughout his career, his cheerful, upbeat demeanor earned him the nickname “Smiling Jack.” Fun Fact: he came up as an outfielder, and hit .241 over his career.
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| Al Maul 1887-90 Goodwin |
- 1911 - In a 10 inning, 6-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs at the West Side Grounds, Honus Wagner collected a pair of hits to finish the season with a .334 BA to win his eighth NL batting title. No one would wear that many crowns again until Tony Gwynn equaled Hans’ mark in 1997.
- 1944 - SS Freddie Patek was born in Seguin, Texas. Known as “The Cricket” - he was 5’5” and chirpy - Freddie played his first three seasons (1968-70; .244 BA) in Pittsburgh and then spent nine more years in the AL, mostly with KC. He was a speedy, glove-first shortstop and was blocked in Pittsburgh by Gene Alley. He played on three pennant-winning Royals squads, was an All-Star three times and led the league with 53 stolen bases in 1977.
- 1947 - RHP Bob Moose was born in Export. He went to Franklin Regional HS, where he threw three no-hitters and was drafted by the hometown Bucs in 1965 during the 18th round. The righty added one more in the MLB, tossing a no-no against the Mets on September 20th, 1969. He died tragically and much too young in an auto accident while heading to a party celebrating his 29th birthday in 1976.
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| Bob Moose 1975 Topps |
- 1963 - SS Felix Fermin was born in Mao, Dominican Republic. He played for the Pirates, the team that first signed him, from 1987-88, hitting .265 in 66 games. He was traded to Cleveland and spent the next five years as their starting shortstop, ending his 10 year career with stops at Seattle and then Chicago with the Cubs. His nickname was "El Gato", after Felix the Cat and his cat-like reactions on defense. After his playing days ended, he went on to manage in the Dominican and Mexican Leagues.
- 1969 - Danny Murtaugh was hired for the third time as Bucco bench boss. He replaced Alex Grammas, who took Larry Shepherd's spot. For 19 of the next 22 years, Grammas coached third base and infield for Sparky Anderson’s staffs, with a three year term as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers.
- 1988 - OF Starling Marte was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He signed as an international free agent in 2007. Starling joined the big club in 2012, the first Pirates Dominican Academy graduate to reach the majors, and won a regular OF spot in 2013. He homered on the first pitch he saw in the show off Houston’s Dallas Keuchel, the first Pirate to do so since Walter Mueller in 1922. Marte has since won a Gold Glove (he has 33 OF assists in 2015-16) and was named to the All-Star team in 2016.
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| Starling Marte 2012 Topps Finest Rookies |
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