7/15 Happenings & All-Stars: Hans T206; Cover Boy Manny; Reuss AS Gem; HBD Red, Donn & Enrique

• 1893 - LHP John “Red” Oldham was born in Zion, Maryland. Red tossed for Detroit for five years, dropped out of sight for a couple of seasons, dedicating himself to business and some indie league play, then resurfaced in 1925 at the age of 32 with the Pirates. His first season was solid enough at 3-2-1/3.91, but his big moment came in World Series. Red pitched the final inning of Game 7 before 42,856 fans at Forbes Field. The Pirates had taken a 9-7 lead in the eighth and called on Oldham to put it away against the heart of the Washington Senators lineup that featured three future Hall of Famers. He whiffed Sam Rice, got Bucky Harris on a liner and finished the game by catching Goose Goslin looking. He faded in 1926 (2-2-2, 5.62) and was let go in July. 

Donn Clendenon (photo Teenie Harris Collection)

• 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 into his post-baseball career. Family Act: Clendenon's stepfather was Nish Williams, a noted Negro League player and manager. Donn was a three-sport star as a youth, and is said to have selected baseball as his focus because of Nish. 
• 1947 - Enrique Romo was born in Santa Rosalia, Mexico. The righty pitched for the Pirates for four seasons (1979-82), going 25-16-26/3.56 after coming over from Seattle. 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 campaigns, which marked the end of his six-year MLB career. 
• 1972 - Manny Sanguillen was featured as the cover story of The Sporting News 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 audition 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 while Manny Sanguillen was planted on the bench. The contest was Hank Aaron's 21st and final All-Star Game, a fitting venue for his farewell in the former home of the Milwaukee Braves. 
• 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. This was the last All-Star Game to be played indoors until 2011 when Chase Field was the host. 
• 2000 - A 1909 Honus Wagner T-206 baseball card was auctioned on eBay for a record $1.265M on this day; the same card was resold for $2.8M in 2007. Another version, the “Jumbo” (a miscut that was 1/16” longer than the usual size) topped the chart in 2016, going for $3.12M. 

Honus made less then $150K in his whole career; his card is worth almost $3M. Go figure

• 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 in the 70th Anniversary matchup. Reliever Mike Williams was the Pirates only selection for the second straight year, and he didn’t get into either game. The match was the first to award home-field advantage in the World Series to the winning league, a rule that stemmed from a 7–7 tie the previous year that led fans to question whether the game meant anything. The rule stayed in effect through 2016. 
• 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. It was a final tribute to the storied “House That Ruth Built” that would close its gates after the season. OF Nate McLouth was the Pirate rep, and he went 1-for-4 during the contest. It was the longest MLB All-Star Game in time (4 hours and 50 minutes) and the 15 innings played tied the mark for the most frames with the 1967 contest. 
• 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 NL skipper, the Card’s Mike Matheny.