6/19 Birthdays: HBD Jerry, Bill, Doug, Butch, Johnnie, Fernando, Willis, Don, Jake & Frank

• 1856 - UT Frank McLaughlin was born in Lowell, Massachusetts by some sources; others say he was born in Ireland. Frank stopped in Pittsburgh between 1883-84, seeing not a lot of action as an Allegheny and then with the Stogies the next season. He hit .219 with the Alleghenys in ‘83 as a shortstop and went 0-0/13.00 in nine innings of mound work. Frank then went the Union League route, batting .239 as a 2B before joining the KC Unions, with which he finished out his career in 1884. 
• 1892 - SS Harry “Jake” Daubert was born in Columbus, Ohio. His major league career consisted of one at bat for the 1915 Pirates, and he fanned. Jake played pro ball from 1912-19, mostly in the Ohio State League. 

Bill Swift 1934 Goudey

• 1908 - RHP Bill Swift was born in Elmira, New York. He tossed eight seasons (1932-39) for the Bucs, with a 91-79/3.57 record. Swift was a staff workhorse, going 200+ innings and picking up double-digit wins in his first five seasons, topping out with 16 W in 1936. He wasn’t a power guy, with just 3.4 K/nine during his Pittsburgh career, but gave up less than two walks per game and a homer just once every 18 frames. 
• 1912 - IF Don Gutteridge was born in Pittsburg, Kansas. The 12-year MLB vet closed out his big league days in Pittsburgh, PA, retiring after getting into four games and going 0-for-2 in 1948. Afterward, he was a long time manager for the White Sox, winning a pennant in 1959, and also scouted for the Royals, Yankees and Dodgers. 
• 1949 - Jerry Reuss was born in St. Louis. The lefty spent six seasons with the Pirates (1974-78, 90) and put up a 61-46/3.52 line as a rotation mainstay. He won 220 games in a 22 year big league career. Jerry spent time as a coach and major/minor league announcer after his playing days ended, also writing his 2014 autobiography “Bring In the Righthander.” 
• 1950 - IF Fernando Gonzalez was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Fernando had a couple of stints with the Bucs, beginning his career with cups of coffee in 1972-73 and contributing as a role player in 1977-78 before being waived to the Padres. He hit .257 as a Pirate and played all the infield spots except first base and manned both corner outfield spots. He finished his career in 2004 playing in the Mexican League.

Fernando Gonzalez 1978 Topps

• 1954 - IF Johnnie LeMaster was born in Portsmouth, Ohio. He played 12 years of MLB ball, and the Pirates were one of three teams he was on in 1985 (oddly, all three - the Pirates, Giants and Indians - finished last in their division). The good-glove utility guy hit .155, and made it back to the show briefly in 1987 with Oakland before his career closed. He retired to Painesville Kentucky, where he was raised, and worked for Ashland Oil while coaching youth at various levels and serving as an elder/bible study leader for his church. 
• 1958 - OF Wallace “Butch” Davis was born in Williamston, North Carolina. He got eight years and 166 games in the bigs. He sipped some coffee with the Pirates in 1987; in seven games he went 1-for-7 with three whiffs while spending most of his time at AAA Vancouver. He played 13 years in the minors with a couple of campaigns in Venezuela. When he hung up the spikes, he was a long-time Orioles minor league hitting coach and manager before spending three years as a Twins first base coach. He also lives on in cinematic history: he made a cameo appearance in the movie Bull Durham. 
• 1974 - IF Doug Mientkiewicz was born in Toledo, Ohio. Doug had a 12-year MLB career and spent 2008 in Pittsburgh playing 1B, 3B and RF while batting .277. He retired the following year after playing for the Dodgers and coached briefly for them in the minors. He now works in the Twins organization. 

Doug Mientkiewicz 2008 Topps Heritage

• 1975 - RHP Willis Roberts was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. The reliever put in five MLB seasons, mainly as an Oriole, and his last year of 2004 was spent as a Pirate. In nine games, he put up a 5.25 ERA after signing on as a free agent; he mostly worked out of AAA Nashville. Willis retired in August and spent three more years tossing in Mexico, Venezuela and Italy before heading into the sunset after the 2007 campaign.