6/7 Events: Klein Signs; No to Union; Roberto's Team Meeting; HBD Bones, Virgil, Les & Bill

• 1863 - SS William “Bones” Ely was born in North Girard, just outside Erie. And if you’ve ever wondered who held down the regular SS position before Honus Wagner, wonder no more - Bones is the man. Ely played for the Alleghenys/Pirates from 1896-1901, and was a good glove man who hit .256 for Pittsburgh. He was released in the summer of 1901, the Bucs first pennant-winning year, at the age of 38 and his spot was taken by the Flying Dutchman. If you saw him, you’d understand his nickname in a flash - Ely was 6’1” and 155 pounds soaking wet. 

Bones Ely (clip from team photo)

• 1907 - Les Biederman was born in Wilkinsburg. He was the Pittsburgh Press' Pirates beat reporter for 31 years (1939-69) and served as The Sporting News' Pittsburgh correspondent. Les was also president of the BBWAA and named “Sportswriter of the Year” in 1960 by a couple of national organizations. 
• 1939 - The Bucs signed former All-Star/triple crown winner and future Hall-of-Famer OF Chuck Klein, who was released by Philadelphia. Klein, 34, hit .300 in 85 games for Pittsburgh and then returned to the Phils as a free agent. In a bit of an oddity, the Bucs released another future Hall of Famer at the end of his career, Heinie Manush, to make roster room for Klein. 
• 1946 - An hour before the game, the Pirates voted against a walkout in support of the American Baseball Guild, which was pushing for a minimum salary of $7‚500‚ arbitration of salary disputes‚ and players sharing in 50 percent of any team sale price. The motion actually carried by a 20-16 vote, but needed a ⅔ majority. The Bucs took it out their frustrations on the poor baseball, beating the New York Giants 10-5 behind a 15 hit attack. Every Pittsburgh starter, including winning pitcher Ed Bahr, reached base via hit/walk and all but C Bill Salkeld either scored and/or chased runs home. 
• 1955 - Ump Bill Hohn was born in Butler. He spent a decade calling games in the minors with a couple of part-time shots in the show and was hired by the NL full time in 1989. He worked the 1994 All-Star Game, three NLDS sets and was the home plate umpire for Hideo Nomo's 1996 no-hitter. Hohn took a hiatus from 1999-2001 when he was part of the umpire gang that resigned in an effort to get a new labor deal and didn’t get reinstated until the 2002 season. Bill’s last campaign was in 2010; he sat out 2011 with back/neck injuries and retired in 2012. 

Roberto Clemente 2017 Topps Gold Label Series 3

• 1967 - Roberto Clemente called a team meeting in New York after a twin bill loss with the Pirates six games out of first place. The Great One’s motive, per Les Beiderman of the Pittsburgh Press: “I called this meeting to talk things out. If you have any gripes about the manager, about me or anybody else now speak up. We can settle it here.” The clan gathering was presumably to smooth the waters between the players and manager Harry Walker, of whom Clemente said “We must stop blaming others and blame ourselves. It’s one thing not to like the manager and another not to play your best for him.” It helped short-term as the Pirates won 4-of-5, but not in the long run. The team finished 81-81 and in sixth place, 20-½ games behind St. Louis. 
• 1982 - RHP Virgil Vasquez was born in Santa Barbara, California. Virgil got a cup of coffee with the Tigers in 2007 and a better shot to show his stuff with a thin Pirates pitching staff in 2009, going 2-5/5.84 in 14 games (seven starts). He was traded to Tampa, but was hit by a car while driving his scooter and broke both wrists, effectively ending his pitching days. He’s been working as a Twins’ minor league pitching coach since 2015.