3/1: Forbes Field Rises; Pirates Keep Pirating; Roberto Holds Out & Gets Bug Bitten; Lockout; HBD Johnny, Jumbo, Paul, Henry & Lefty;

• 1855 - OF and general utilityman Paul Hines was born somewhere in Virginia. Hines played in 1,659 games in three major leagues from 1872-91, had 2,135 hits, hit .300+ 11 times and posted a career batting average of .302. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh fans, he played for the Alleghenys during part of the disastrous 1890 113-loss season and performed at their level, hitting a career low .182 in 31 games. He was 35 then and had one more season left in him, bouncing back with a more representative .282 BA in his swan song with Washington. 
• 1864 - C Henry Yaik was born in Detroit. His big league career was spent with the Alleghenys when he played two games in October, 1888. Henry caught in one contest and played LF in another, with two hits, a walk, and a RBI in seven PA. His claim to fame: Henry was the catcher for Cy Young in the minors when they were battery mates for the Tri State League Canton club in 1890.

Lefty Webb 2010 Tip Top Bread

• 1885 - LHP Cleon “Lefty” Webb was born in New Gilead, Ohio. He joined the Pirates on September 1st, 1909 via the Rule 5 draft. In his only big league season, he split time between the Bucs and the American Association Indianapolis squad in 1910, making seven Pittsburgh appearances (three starts) with a 2-1, 5.67, line. 1914 was his last pro year; the Ohio Wesleyan grad went on to a second career of teaching, coaching and eventually became a school superintendent. 
• 1891 - After earlier spiriting 2B Lou Bierbauer away from Philadelphia, the Pittsburgh Alleghenys again raided the American Association by signing OF Pete Browning and P Scott Stratton away from the Louisville Colonels, further cementing its new nickname of "Pirates." The Alleghenys were never found guilty of wrongdoing in any of the deals, and they thumbed their noses at being called piratical by rebranding themselves as the Pirates for the 1891 season. The nickname was finally stitched on the team's uniforms in 1912. 
• 1909 - Barney Dreyfuss began construction of a stadium near Schenley Park in Oakland, to be named Forbes Field after General John Forbes of French and Indian War fame. The steel-and-concrete ballyard was built and opened remarkably quickly on June 30th, remaining the Bucco’s playground for decades. The Pirates won three World Series there while sharing it with Pitt, the Steelers, the circus, rallies and events of all stripes before shutting down in 1970 and moving to TRS. 

Jumbo Strincevich 1947 Tip Top Bread

• 1915 - RHP Nick “Jumbo” Strincevich was born in Gary, Indiana. The Pirates sent Lloyd Waner to the Boston Braves for Nick, and he remained a Buc from 1941-48, starting about half the games he appeared in while compiling a slash of 42-40-5/4.05 before being sold to the Phils. Strincevich was selected to play on the 1945 All-Star team but unfortunately due to wartime travel restrictions, the game and his day in the sun was cancelled. Jumbo carved out a long career, pitching 16 seasons of pro ball. His nickname was lifted from his dad, who was known as Jumbo and Nick as Little Jumbo. 
• 1939 - The first Major League Broadcasting Agreement was signed just prior to the 1939 season. Prior to that, many MLB teams didn’t broadcast their games over the radio for fear of losing attendance. Afterward, all did except for a couple of times that clubs didn’t get their asking price for the rights. The first televised game was also aired this year, and in 1953 ABC began broadcasting a national game on Saturdays. 
• 1953 - The Pirates opened their first and only spring camp in Havana. The Cuban government didn’t like the financial results of the experiment while the Pirates missed competing against other MLB teams based in Florida, so the original three-year deal ended up-one-and-done by mutual agreement. 
• 1956 - Roberto Clemente held out, missing the opening of camp. The Pirates offered $7,000; he felt he deserved $10,000. The Bucs held all the cards and signed The Great One for $7,500, but Roberto quickly made up the difference by hitting .311 and doubling his paycheck to $15,000 the following campaign. 

Johnny Ray 1984 Topps Sticker

• 1957 - 2B Johnny Ray was born in Chouteau, Oklahoma. He played seven years (1981-86) for the Bucs with a .286 BA before being moved to make room for Jose Lind. He was Rookie of the Year runner-up in 1982 to Steve Sax, playing in 162 games and hitting .318. Ray also won a Silver Slugger award in 1983. 
• 1965 - Roberto Clemente didn’t report for spring training, suffering from malaria. He made it to camp a month later and muddled along until mid-May, rallying to win the NL batting title with a .329 BA. He did struggle all year with his power stroke, bopping just 21 doubles and 10 home runs with 65 RBI, his lowest totals since 1959. But no worries; a healthy Roberto went long 29 times with 119 RBI the following go-around and was named MVP. 
• 1976 - The owners ordered a spring training lockout, which lasted 17 days. Unwilling to delay the start of the season, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn decreed training camps to open March 18th. Players agreed to open the 1976 season without a collective bargaining agreement in place, and no games were canceled. A new four-year CBA was hammered out in July that allowed for free agency, and it was ratified in August.