9/9 Happenings: HBD Abner, Dots, Doc, Dashing Dan, Fordham Flash, Schoolboy, LP, Pete, Tom & Dan; More

• 1857 - LF Abner Dalrymple was born in Gratiot, Wisconsin. He had a long and illustrious career in early baseball - he was the first hitter to be issued an intentional walk with the bases loaded - but spent just two seasons (1887-88) at the backend of his 12-year career with the Alleghenys. Abner his just .215 with Pittsburgh, but got the team’s first NL at-bat against the White Sox on April 30, 1887, a 6-2 win at Recreation Park that is considered by the Pirates to be the beginning of the franchise. 

Dots Miller 1910 Tip Top 

• 1886 - IF Jack “Dots” Miller was born in Kearny, New Jersey. He played with Pittsburgh for five seasons, from 1909-13. He drove in 87 runs for the 1909 Series champs and had a .263 career average with the Pirates. According to Bucco lore (and the SABR Biography Project), he got the nickname "Dots" after a reporter asked Honus Wagner the whereabouts of the new kid. Wagner pointed to him in a corner and replied in his German accent, "Dots (That's) Miller." Another version has Miller himself pronouncing “dot” for “that” as a youth, and it stuck. 
• 1897 - 1B Wheeler “Doc” Johnston (sometimes referred to as Johnson) was born in Cleveland, Tennessee. Doc was bought for $7,500 from Cleveland in early 1915 to cover first base after starter Ed Konetchy jumped leagues, joining the Pittsburgh Burghers of the Federal League. Doc had a decent opening campaign, batting .265, but slumped the following year and was dealt after the 1916 season to Birmingham of the Southern Association as part of the Burleigh Grime package. Johnston played 11 years in the show, finishing his career with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1922. 
• 1891 - OF “Dashing Dan” Costello was born in Jessup, PA, in Lackawanna county. The LH hitter played three years (1914-16) for the Bucs as a reserve outfielder and utility man. He hit .241 as a Pirate. Pittsburgh released him in August of 1916, “...as he had been mixed up in several near fights because of his remarks to opposing players.” He also had authority issues, as the Pittsburg Press added “...his attitude (bad) toward club officials and policy was well known,” probably not a wise tack for a .240 hitter of any era. As far as his nickname, we have not a clue - he was speedy and/or perhaps charming, or it may be a sort of perverse recognition of the bench jockeying he was was noted for around the league. 

Dan Costello 1916

• 1898 - Bucco skipper Frankie Frisch was born in the Bronx. He spent his Hall of Fame playing days with the NY Giants and St. Louis’ Gas House Gang. The Fordham Flash managed the Pirates from 1940-46, leading the club to five winning seasons and a second place finish in 1944, ending up with a 539-528 slate in Pittsburgh. He was a track star in college at Fordham, earning him the nickname "Fordham Flash.” 
• 1899 - RHP and Hall of Famer Waite “Schoolboy” Hoyt was born in Brooklyn. Best known for his NY Yankee years, he tossed for the Bucs from 1933-37 as a multi-role arm, compiling a record of 35-31-18/3.08 as a Pirate, winning 15 games in 1934. He got his nickname when John McGraw signed him to his original contract when Hoyt was a teenager and he became known as "The Schoolboy Wonder.” 

Schoolboy 1936 (photo Conlon Collection/Sporting News/Getty)

• 1913 - RHP Hugh Mulcahy was born in Brighton, Massachusetts. Hugh pitched for Philadelphia for eight years and lost almost five full seasons to WW2; he only got into two games as a Pirate in 1947, his final campaign. But Hugh did leave with one of the more memorable nicknames in Bucco history - he was known as “LP” from his time with the Phillies. The moniker was taken from the box scores of his games, which 89 times read “LP, Mulcahy” as in losing pitcher. In justice, he could have just as easily been dubbed “Hard Luck” Mulcahy as some of the Philadelphia teams he played for were terrible. He was a workhorse for those clubs and even made the All-Star team once. 
• 1931 - C Pete Naton was born in Flushing, New York. Pete was part of Holy Cross’ 1952 College Championship club and the Bucs signed him the following year. He got a couple of calls to the show during the 1953 campaign, getting in 12 games and going 2-for-14 with a pair of walks. That would be it for Pete, who spent six years in the minors before retiring. He was a successful businessman after he left the game, an avid amateur golfer (his memorial service was held at his golf club) and a member of Holy Cross’ Athletic Hall of Fame. 
• 1959 - SS Tom Foley was born in Fort Benning, Georgia. He played for 13 years, spending 1993-94 with the Pirates, getting into 145 games and hitting .246. Foley became a coach after retiring, and in 2001 joined the Tampa staff, where he now serves as the bench coach. 

Dan Miceli 1996 Ultra (back)

• 1970 - RHP Dan Miceli was born in Newark. The reliever spent the first four years (1993-96) of his 14 season career in Pittsburgh, going 8-15-24/5.41 during that span. He was known for a power arm and shaky control throughout his MLB journey. In 2003, he gained entry into a club with just a handful of members - players that appeared for four different teams during the same season. 
• 2013 - Andrew McCutchen was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as part of Lee Jenkins story “The Bucs Start Here.” It didn’t take Dick Tracy to figure that out; Cutch won the MVP that year with a .317/.404/.508 slash. 
• 2016 - It was a bad day for Bucco trainers. Gerrit Cole was shut down with elbow inflammation, Josh Harrison’s year was done after a groin injury, catcher Chris Stewart took a trip to see Dr. Andrews with a knee injury that would require off-season surgery and minor league C Elias Diaz, a 2017 roster candidate, was out with cellulitis. In addition, relievers Neftali Feliz (arm) and AJ Schugel were also hors d’ combat and inactive, requiring the Bucs to call up minor league C Jacob Stallings and P Zach Phillips, then deal for pitcher Wade LeBlanc to fill the roster, even with the September call-ups already on hand.