9/20 Happenings: HBD Red, Vic, Dennis & Jay; Crawford Kings; Coke Trial; Nyjer 3b's; Forbes Grows; Burleigh Done

• 1916 - IF Red Juelich was born in St. Louis. Red played four years in the Cards’ minor league system and then got his shot with the Pirates in 1939, where he was a bench 3b/SS, hitting .239 in 17 games. Juelich stayed in the Pirates system at AA for the next three campaigns before dropping off the roster after 1942. Red, btw, was a ginger.

Red Juelich 1939 (photo via Find-A-Grave)

• 1922 - LHP Vic Lombardi was born in Reedley, California. He put in three good years with the Dodgers and a workmanlike season with the Bucs in 1948 (10-9/3.70) but went downhill over the next two years to put up a slash line of 15-19/4.56 in Pittsburgh. Branch Rickey offered him a 1951 contract with a 25% cut; Lombardi didn’t take it and that was the end of his MLB career as took his services to Hollywood of the Pacific Coast League. 
• 1925 - Owner Barney Dreyfuss and the City announced a deal that would allow the Pirates to build temporary bleachers for the World Series at Forbes Field (The location around FF was considered parkland and needed a city ok for any changes in use). The ballyard had just added 10,000 seats in right field before the season and were permitted to add 6,000 more seats at the princely price of $1.10 for the Fall Classic, bringing the field up to a fan capacity of 41,000. 
• 1934 - In a 2-1 loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbet’s Field, Burleigh Grimes made his last appearance, working a 1-2-3 ninth inning with a whiff. Not only did it mark the end of a 19 year career that led to the Hall of Fame, but also the end of an era. Grimes was the last legal spitballer standing after the pitch had been outlawed starting in 1921. 17 practitioners, including Grimes, were grandfathered into the ruling and allowed to serve a wet one at will. 

Leroy Matlock (photo via Black Baseball)

• 1935 - The Pittsburgh Crawfords beat the New York Cubans to win the Negro NL Championship 3-0. Left-handed curveballer Leroy Matlock, who went 18-0 during the regular season, tossed a three hitter. He was backed by Josh Gibson‚ Cool Papa Bell, Judy Johnson and Oscar Charleston, all future Hall of Famers. The Crawfords won in a hard fought seven game series after falling behind three-games-to-one to the Cubans. It was the only undisputed Negro League title won by the Crawfords. 
• 1941 - RHP Dennis Ribant was born in Detroit. The Pirates got Ribant in 1967 from an overflowing Mets staff in exchange for veteran Don Cardwell, and he got his last real shot joining a rotation with the Pirates, getting the ball 38 times, 22 as a starter. His line was 9-8, 4.08, and he was sent back home by the Bucs at the end of the year, with the Tigers giving up Dave Wickersham. Ribant was converted to reliever, had a couple of so-so seasons with four different clubs and his six-year career ended after 1969. 
• 1978 - Jason Bay was born in Trail, British Columbia. In his six years as a Pirate, his line was .268/219/715 and he was an All-Star twice. In 2004, he set the Pirate record for rookie home runs with 26 and was selected the NL Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News, the second Pirate player to win the award after 2B Johnny Ray in 1982. Bay was the first Canadian player to win the ROY. He was traded to Boston at the 2008 deadline and played well there through 2009 before signing a monster contract with the Mets. That didn’t work out so well; Jay was hit with a string of rib & concussion-related injuries and he retired before the 2014 campaign.

Jason Bay 2007 Upper Deck Artifacts

• 1985 - A federal jury in Pittsburgh convicted Curtis Strong of 11 counts of cocaine distribution after hearing evidence in the “Pittsburgh Coke Trial.” Prominent players who were granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony included Dave Parker‚ Lonnie Smith‚ Keith Hernandez and Tim Raines. Peter Ueberroth, the commissioner, pushed through the beginnings of MLB drug testing because of the trial and its stain on MLB.
• 2007 - For the second straight night, Nyjer Morgan led off the game against San Diego with a triple, the first time in five years that feat had been pulled off in the NL. Though he scored both times, the Pirates couldn’t hold either lead and lost 5-3 and 6-3 decisions to the Padres at PetCo Park.