1/24: Mack & Ben Sign; HBD Josh, Ugly Johnny, Tim, Dave, Stu, Wally & Ross

• 1879 - IF Dave Brain was born in Hereford, England. Brain was a jack-of-all-trades player who spent a bit of his seven big league years (three months of 1905) in Pittsburgh. He hit .257, about his career average, and was a player with a rep for some power & speed (his versatility in the field was probably more a matter of finding a spot to hide him; he booted 22 balls in 82 games as a Pirates IF). He’s noteworthy in two aspects: after the season, he was part of the package that brought Hall-of-Fame P Vic Willis to town, and he was one of the earliest native-born Englishmen to play in the majors for Pittsburgh. 

Dave Brain 1909-11 American Tobacco Company

• 1906 - IF William “Stu” (for middle name Stuart) Clarke was born in San Francisco. He spent his entire career in Pittsburgh, albeit one that lasted just from 1929-30. The backup infielder hit fairly well, putting up a .273 BA over his 61 big league games, but finished out his time in the bushes, where he compiled a more telling lifetime .238 average before retiring after the 1933 season. 
• 1910 - OF “Ugly Johnny” (he gave himself the moniker as the self-proclaimed “ugliest man in baseball”) Dickshot, whose given name was John Oscar Dicksus, was born in Waukegan, Illinois. He played for the Bucs from 1936-38. Ugly was a feared hitter in the minors, putting up a .318 BA in 14 seasons, but was just a .250 batter with Pittsburgh, although his career MLB average was .276 after six seasons. When he retired after the 1945 campaign, he opened a bar in his hometown. John Ducey, an actor who appeared quite often in TV sitcoms, is his grandson. 
• 1913 - C Josh Johnson was born in Evergreen, Alabama. Raised in the Pittsburgh area, he caught for the Homestead Grays in 1934-35 (he was taught “the book” on hitters by pitching great Smokey Joe Williams as a rookie) and then returned in 1939-42, taking over the starting catcher’s job during the 1940 season when Josh Gibson and several other stars jumped to the Mexican League, and responded with his best campaign, batting .429 in league play. He was drafted during WW2 and returned to become a teacher and coach with a degree from Cheyney State and a masters from Penn State. 

Josh Johnson 1991 Ron Lewis Post Card

• 1917 - OF Wally/Walt Judnich was born in San Francisco. Wally was a touted HS player with speed and some power, and started his MLB career with three strong seasons with the St. Louis Browns, batting .299 as a starting center fielder. But WW2 took three years from him and like many others, he had lost his edge after he was discharged. He spent four more seasons in the league, but hit .259 over that span and finished his career with a 10-game swan song with Pittsburgh in 1949, batting .229. He was sent to the PCL, and closed out his pro days with six seasons on the coast. There his stroke was much improved (his MiLB lifetime average was .288) and he retired in 1955 at age 39. 
• 1954 - RHP Tim Jones was born in Sacramento. He only tossed three games in his MLB career, all during a September call up from the Bucs in 1977, but at least he left the league on a high note. After a pair of mop-up details, Chuck Tanner let the 1972 fourth-round pick start on the last day of the season. Jones tossed seven shutout innings against the Cubs, surrendering just four hits, to win his one and only MLB start and finishing his cup of coffee with a 1-0/0.00 slash in 10 IP. He’s the only player in MLB history to have pitched at least 10 career innings and not allow a run. Tim was traded to Montreal for Will McEnaney as camp broke in 1978, had a terrible year at AAA Denver and called it a career at the tender age of 24. 
• 1968 - LHP Ross Powell was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Powell spent 48 games spread over three years in the show, closing out his MLB stand with Pittsburgh in 1995 when he was sold to the club by the Astros in late July. Jim Leyland worked him mostly from the pen, though he did give him three of his four major league starts. He didn’t impress in either role (0-2, 5.23) and was released after the year. 

Ben Grieve 2005 (photo Ezra Shaw/Getty)

• 2005 - OF Rob Mackowiak became the last arb-eligible Buc to settle, signing a one-year/$1.5M deal w/$90K in potential bonuses; he and the FO had a 2/10 deadline to beat before his salary hearing. Mack went on to hit .272 w/nine HR before being dealt to the White Sox in the off season. Veteran OF Ben Grieve also agreed to a minor-league deal with the Pirates but was among the late cuts of camp.