- 1871 - 3B Bill Grey (also spelled Gray) was born in Philadelphia. A utility player who yo-yoed between the majors and minors, he was picked up by the Pirates for the 1898 season as part of the Pink Hawley deal after hitting .357 for the Western League Indianapolis Hoosiers. He played one season in Pittsburgh as the full-time third baseman (the only time he played one position for an entire year in the majors), getting 528 ABs but hitting just .229 and was dealt again, this time bringing Ginger Beaumont to the North Shore. The Pirates were his last MLB stop; after two more minor-league campaigns, he retired.
- 1876 - The Pittsburgh Alleghenys played what’s thought to be the city's first professional baseball game against the local Xanthas at North Side’s Union Park, winning 7-3. (The Alleghenys had paid players but were an independent club). The following year, the franchise was accepted into the minor league International Association, but the team and league disbanded after the season.
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- 1877 - Ed Abbaticchio, thought by many to be the first Italian American to play MLB, was born in Latrobe. “Batty” was also one of the first to play both pro baseball and football, starring on the gridiron for Latrobe, arguably the first pro football team in America. The middle infielder played 3-1/2 of his nine big league seasons (1907-10) for Pittsburgh, hitting .253, and was a reserve for the 1909 World Series champs.
- 1894 - OF Chaney White was born in Longview, Texas. Chaney played for 18 seasons in the Negro Leagues with a local stop, hitting .312 for the 1930 Homestead Grays. Chaney broke up Chet Brewer and Smokey Joe Williams’ legendary pitching duel when he doubled off the third base sack to plate Oscar Charleston with the game’s only run to defeat Brewer in the 12th frame.
- 1921 - Pirate pitcher Moses “Chief” Yellow Horse made his major league debut against the Reds. Yellow Horse, a Pawnee, was believed by many baseball historians to be the first full-blooded American Indian to play in the big leagues. He worked the last two innings to save a win for Earl Hamilton as the Bucs beat the Reds 3-1 at Crosley Field.
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| Wild Bill 1950-51 (photo via SABR) |
- 1926 - RHP William “Wild Bill” Pierro was born in Brooklyn (the date is debatable; Bill was deserted as an infant and raised by foster parents, the Pierros). A lanky kid, Pierro was a hot shot Bucco prospect and made it to the show in July of 1950. He featured a blazing fastball with a sidearm curve and fanned 275 batters in Class B Waco in 1949 after punching out 300 hitters in Bartlesville the previous season while compiling a 51-31/2.60 line in four minor-league seasons. He got into 12 games and made three starts for the Pirates, slashing 0-2/10.55. He lived up to his nickname, walking 28 batters in 29 IP, including six in one memorable frame. He butted heads with Branch Rickey over a variety of issues, not exactly helping his own cause, and was slated to work at the minor league complex on his control after 1951 camp broke. He was still with the big team on his 25th birthday when he was rushed to Pittsburgh’s Presbyterian Hospital with encephalitis and was in a coma for several weeks. Bill eventually recovered, but his days as an athlete were finished. He went back home to Brooklyn where he became a taxi driver and Public Works employee.
- 1930 - The Bucs took the season opener from Cincinnati 7-6 at Redland Field in front of 30,112 fans. North Side’s Steve Swetonic tossed 5-1/3 innings of one-run ball in relief of Ray Kremer for the win. Paul Waner went 4-for-4 while Dick Bartell and Rollie Hemsley homered.
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| Hank Greenberg 1947 Playboy (the car, not the magazine) promo |
- 1947 - In his Pirate debut, Hank Greenberg doubled home the winner in the Pirates' 1-0 victory over the Cubs and Hank Borowy. Rip Sewell got the win by scattering five hits at Wrigley Field. The slugger was brought in from the Tigers after a contract impasse and Greenberg wasted no time in cashing in.
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