5/24 Through the 50’s: Hot Glove Corner; Streak Snapped; Sly Connie; Game Stories; HBD Sam & Giant Killer

• 1859 - 2B Sam Barkley was born in Wheeling. After a contract kerfluffle (he had signed with Baltimore, but had been sold by his old club to the Alleghenys), he played for Pittsburgh from 1886-87. In his opening year, he hit .266 with 31 doubles and stole 22 bases while playing in 122 games. His performance dipped in 1887, playing in 89 games and hitting .224. After the season, Pittsburgh sold him to the Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association. Sam retired to Wheeling after the 1889 campaign to become a cigar maker. 

Sam Barkley 1886

• 1878 - LHP Jack “The Giant Killer” Pfiester was born in Cincinnati. Jack spent eight years in the show with his first two (1903-04) as a seldom-used Bucco. In six games, he slashed 1-4/6.69 and spent 1905 in Omaha before he took off as a Cub from 1906-09, winning 63 games in four years before arm woes ended his career two seasons later; the curve-baller ended his days with a 2.02 ERA. He got his nickname for his success against the NY Giants, going 11-5 against them (he was only 1-5 against his old mates in Pittsburgh). 
• 1884 – Al Atkinson of the Philadelphia Athletics retired the final 27 batters in pitching a no-hitter over the Pittsburgh Alleghenys at the Jefferson Street Grounds. Atkinson hit leadoff batter Ed Swartwood, who stole second, moved to third on a grounder and scored on a wild pitch. He was the only Allegheny baserunner in the 10–1 Philly victory. 
• 1889 - Bill Kuehne converted 13 chances at the hot corner, handling three putouts and 10 assists without an error (“...a remarkable game” per the Pittsburgh Press)‚ for a MLB record. His stellar work in the field helped Harry Staley and the Alleghenys to a 9-7 win over Washington at Swampoodle Grounds. It was an outlier; Kuehne wasn’t exactly noted for his glove work. He had 34 errors that season and finished with a .908 fielding average, making his feat remarkable indeed. Jake Beckley led the hit parade with three knocks including a pair of doubles while Billy Sunday and Pop Smith, who homered, collected a pair of hits each. 

Connie Mack 2012 Topps Archive

• 1893 - Before the days of the infield fly rule, C Connie Mack intentionally allowed a popup in front of home plate to fall and then started a triple play against the Browns, and the play was one that eventually led to an infield fly rule in 1895 (the current one was adopted in 1901). He later drove in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth to lead Pittsburgh to an 8-7 win over St. Louis at Exposition Park. Mack was a backup catcher who hit .286 for the Pirates that year, and later entered the Hall of Fame as a manager. 
• 1894 - The Pirates rallied to beat the Cleveland Spiders and Cy Young 6-5 at League Park. Down 5-2 late, the Bucs scored twice in the seventh and twice more in the eighth for the win. Red Ehret (“Ehret never pitched better ball in all his life” gushed the Pittsburgh Press) went eight innings for the victory in relief of Lefty Killen, who was rocked for four first-inning runs. Jake Stenzel had two hits and scored three runs while Jake Beckley added three knocks. 
• 1955 - The Bucs broke an 11-game losing streak in style by pounding the Brooklyn Dodgers 15-1 at Forbes Field. Jack Shepard had four hits, Preston Ward had a single‚ triple & HR while Gene Freese added three raps to lead the attack. Ward, Freese and Roberto Clemente each had three RBI with Bob Friend getting the win in relief of Vern Law by tossing 4-1/3 innings of no-hit ball. One of the Dodger relievers the Corsairs tortured was future manager Tommy Lasorda, who gave up five runs in two innings of work. The Pirates had 19 hits and batted around three times. Another highlight: it was the debut of Roberto Clemente wearing #21; he had been #13 but claimed OF’er Earl Smith’s old number when he was sent down. However, the good times were fleeting; the club lost six of its next seven games.

#21 made its debut - Topps 1955

• 1959 - The Bucs swept a pair from the Reds at Forbes Field by 2-1 and 5-4 scores; both games were won by walk-off, pinch hit doubles. Danny Kravitz drove home Don Hoak to give Ron Kline, who had surrendered a go-ahead unearned ninth inning run on a Ducky Schofield boot, the win. Pittsburgh had tied the game a batter before when Bill Mazeroski beat Johnny Temple’s throw home to knot the score. The Pirates were down 4-2 in the nightcap and down to their last out when Rocky Nelson tied the game with a two-run homer. Pittsburgh won it in the 10th when Smoky Burgess doubled home Roman Mejias to give Ron Blackburn the win. The Bucs took the four game series from Cincinnati, winning by a run each time.