10/3 Happenings: HBD Cap, Johnny, Dog, Tomato, Ismael, Wil & Alex; Frankie & Gene Hired; Clarke Retires

• 1872 - OF and manager Fred “Cap” Clarke was born in Winterset, Iowa. Hall-of-Famer Clarke was discovered by Barney Dreyfuss, and came to Pittsburgh with most of the Louisville team in 1900 with Dreyfuss. He was the LF’er and manager from 1900-11, and mostly manager, with a couple of spot appearances, from 1912-15. His Pirate line was .299/.379/.418, he hit .300 or better 11 times, and was player/manager for four pennant winners and two World Series teams. He guided the club to 14 straight first-division finishes, 1,422 wins, and compiled a winning % of .595. Cap got his nickname in 1897 when he became player/manager for Louisville; in that era, the skipper was referred to as the team’s captain. 

Fred Clarke 1910 (photo Bains News Service/Library of Congress)

• 1905 - C Johnny Riddle was born in Clinton, South Carolina. In parts of seven seasons (his MLB debut was in 1930 and his last at-bat in 1948), Johnny never got into more than 25 games. His swan song was in ‘48 with Pittsburgh, where he joined his younger brother, All-Star pitcher Elmer, on the roster and hit .200 in 10 games as a player/coach. He got to catch his brother and at 42, was the oldest NL player to appear in a game. Johnny was part of one of the oldest batteries in baseball history when at the age of 42 he caught for Fritz Ostermueller, who was 40. After that campaign, Riddle worked as a coach for the Pirates (1948–50; he only coached during his last two years), St. Louis Cardinals (1952–55), Milwaukee Braves (1956–57), Cincinnati Redlegs (1958) and Philadelphia Phillies (1959). He picked up the nickname of “Mutt” as a youth but it was never used much during his ball-playing days. 
• 1915 - The Pirates ended their season with a 5-3 win over the Reds at Redland Field. Retiring manager Fred Clarke hosted a banquet for his players after the game‚ celebrating not only his retirement (Jimmy Callahan took the reins in 1916) but his 43rd birthday before the team scattered during the off season. The next day, he arrived back in Pittsburgh and was given a public send off in front of 500 at the Hotel Schenley. Carnegie Steel vice president HP Bope served as toastmaster of the event with team owner Barney Dreyfuss and Pittsburgh Mayor Joe Armstrong among the speakers. 
• 1931 - LF/1B Bob Skinner was born in La Jolla, California. The “Dog” (a Bob Prince nickname derived from Skinner’s Marine Corps - the Devil Dogs - days) played for the Bucs in 1954 and then 1956-63, hitting .280. He was the starting left fielder for the 1960 World Series champs. Skinner was the Phillies manager from 1968-69, famously resigning when Richie Allen beefed about going to an exhibition game. He coached for several clubs after that, including the Pirates from 1974-1976 and again from 1979-1985. His son Joel was drafted by the Pirates and played in the show, later coaching/managing in both the majors and farm for several organizations. 

Bob Skinner 1958 Hires Root Beer

• 1936 - RHP Jack Lamabe was born in Farmingdale, New York. Jack tossed for seven big league seasons, making his debut as a Bucco in 1962, going 3-1-2/2.88 in 46 appearances. He, along with Dick Stuart, was part of the Jim Pagliaroni/Don Schwall deal with Boston the next year, then followed the itinerant route of a reliever by tossing for six more teams. After he hung up the spikes, he spent a decade coaching college ball at Jacksonville and LSU. Jack’s a member of the U of Vermont (his alma mater) Athletic Hall of Fame and the Jacksonville U Athletic Hall of Fame. Lamabe also picked up an odd family tree of nicknames with the Red Sox (variously Tomato, Tomato Face, the Old Tomato, ‘Mater, or Pizza Face) begun by pitcher Dick Radatz and popularized by Bosox announcer Ned Martin, who called him “The Old Tomato.” Jack had a round, red face and loved to nosh on pizza, making the love apple monikers perfect fits. 
• 1939 - Frankie Frisch jumped from the Boston Braves’ broadcasting booth to a managing gig‚ signing for two years with the Pirates to replace Pie Traynor, who resigned. He skippered the Bucs for seven seasons from 1940-46, compiling a 539-528 record but only finishing higher than fourth once (second place - 1944). 
• 1969 - Scout Ismael Cruz was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The son of old Pirates scout Pablo Cruz, he trawled Colombia for the Bucs and Reds in the 1900s before moving up the international scouting ladder with the Mets, Toronto and his current organization, the Dodgers. 
• 1971 - OF Wil Cordero was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Cordero put in 14 big-league years, spending part of 2000 as a Bucco. He signed as a FA, hit .282 w/16 HR and was flipped at the deadline to Cleveland for Alex Ramirez and Enrique Wilson. 

Alex Ramirez 2001 Topps Heritage

• 1974 - OF Alex Ramirez was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He game to Pittsburgh in a deadline deal with the Indians for Wil Cordero in 2000 and that was the end of his three-year MLB career. He hit .209 and took his game to Japan. He played in the Nippon League through the 2013 season, becoming the first non-Japanese player to collect 2,000 hits, and he’s coaching/managing there now. 
• 1996 - The Pirates named Gene Lamont, who had served as the Chicago White Sox field boss from 1992-95, to replace Jim Leyland as skipper. He led the club from 1997-2000, putting up a 295-352 record. He’s currently the bench coach for the Detroit Tigers.