9/17 Birthdays: HBD Brain, Oom Paul Otto, Wildfire, Whitey, Sam, Bob, Ed, Jim & Sean

• 1870 - IF Dick “Brain” Padden was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. A middle infielder, he played his first three big league seasons in Pittsburgh (1896-98) and hit .265; he spent nine years total in the show. His nickname came about because of his baseball savvy, with words like “crafty” and “clever” used to describe his play. After he retired, Padden scouted for the St. Louis Browns & the Washington Senators and worked in the Ohio glass industry. 

Otto Krueger 1904 team photo

• 1876 - Utilityman Otto Krueger was born in Chicago. Otto played 15 years of pro ball, seven in the majors. He suited up for the Pirates from 1903-04, hitting .219. Krueger missed the ‘03 World Series (he was recovering from a beaning) and was traded the next season as part of the package for Del Howard. He was nicknamed "Oom (Uncle) Paul” Otto after the president of the Transvaal, “Oom” Paul Kruger, as American audiences of his era were fascinated by the Boer War. 
• 1882 - OF Frank “Wildfire” Schulte was born in Cochecton, New York. Frank played organized pro ball for 21 years, beginning his journey in 1902 after turning down $1,000 from his father to give up baseball and work in the family business. He was star for the Cubs and played in four World Series, but was on the downhill slope of his career in 1916 when he was traded to the Bucs. Frank hit .239 in Pittsburgh and was sold to the Phils; his last campaign was 1918. His nickname was somewhat self-anointed; he was a fan of actress Lillian Russell and a play she starred in by that title. That led him to name one of his racehorses Wildfire; eventually the sportswriters picked up on it and applied the moniker to him. 
• 1893 - RHP Charles “Whitey” Glazner was born in Sycamore, Alabama. He pitched from 1920-23 for the Bucs, with a line of 27-18/3.48, with an exceptional 1921 campaign when Whitey went 14-5-1 with a 2.77 ERA. He was the first Pirates starter to open his career with five straight wins (he relieved twice in 1920), a record that held up until Zach Duke matched it in 2005. But he couldn’t repeat, and was traded to the Phils in 1923. 

Sam Streeter 1932 team photo

• 1900 - LHP Sam Streeter was born in New Market, Alabama. After starting out with Birmingham and the Cuban League, Sam worked both sides of the local black league street, tossing for the Homestead Grays from 1928-30 and then finishing his career with a 1931-36 stint with the Pittsburgh Crawfords where he won an All-Star berth in 1933. Streeter had several pitches, but was known particularly for his curve and smarts in setting up a hitter. After his pitching days, Sam went to work at Jones and Laughlin steel mill for 29 years before retiring for good. 
• 1918 - 3B Bob Dillinger was born in Glendale, California. Dillinger was a speedy contact hitter who lead the league in stolen bases from 1947-49. The Bucs had him for the last half of 1950 and first half of 1951. The 31-year-old hit a respectable .279 in 70 games as a platoon player, but his wheels weren’t what they use to be and he stole just six bases in that span. 
• 1928 - NL ump Ed Vargo was born in Butler. A minor league catcher, he first called games while in the Army, then spent 1953-59 honing his craft in the minors before going on to have a long career in blue. He worked in the NL from 1960-83, retiring only because he hit the mandatory retirement age of 55, and then became the league supervisor, holding the post until 1997. He umped four World Series, four NLCS and four All-Star Games. Ed called eight no-hitters, including Sandy Koufax’s perfecto, did the game when Henry Aaron tied the Babe’s HR mark and was part of the first WS night game. He was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. Vargo died at his home in Butler at age 79 in 2008. 

Jim Umbricht 1960 Topps Rookie Star insert

• 1930 - RHP Jim Umbricht was born in Chicago. Umbricht joined the Pirates in 1959 in a minor league trade with the Braves. From 1959-61, he put up a line of 1-2-1, 5.12, in 19 games, mostly working in the minors. Umbricht was drafted by the expansion Houston Colt .45s in 1962 and became one of the NLs top tier set-up guys with a 2.33 ERA in 69 games from 1962-63. Diagnosed with melanoma in March 1963, his return to baseball following surgery made headlines and spurred research & funding to fight the cancer. Umbricht's health deteriorated after the season and he passed away in April of 1964 at age 33 with his ashes spread over the construction site of the Astrodome. The team retired Umbricht's #32 and wore black armbands in his honor for the 1964 season. 
• 1982 - LHP Sean Burnett was born in Dunedin, Florida. The southpaw made his Pittsburgh debut in 2004 as a starter. After surgery made him sit out a year, he returned in 2008-09 as a reliever, slashing 7-8-1, 4.54 as a Pirate. Since the Pirates traded him to Washington at the 2009 deadline, he’s tossed for the Nats (three times), Angels, Dodgers, Braves and Twins, again proving that lefties have a long MLB shelf life. He was released by the Phils during camp in 2017 and hasn’t worked since.