7/28 Happenings: Butcher for Suhr; Thomas Cover Boy; Gunner Night; Deals Made & Not; HBD Duke, Jet, Carmelo & Bill

• 1867 - LHP Duke Esper (birth name: Charles H. Esbacher) was born in Salem, New Jersey. Duke spent nine seasons in the show and made a pair of brief stops with the Alleghenys (1890: 0-2, 5.29) and the Pirates (1892: 2-0, 5.40). In between those stints, Duke won 36 games, including 20 with Philadelphia in 1891, in 59 outings. He ended up with a solid 101-100/4.39 lifetime slash before retiring after the 1898 campaign. 

Duke Esper 1894 Alpha Photo Engraving

• 1867 - RHP Bill Day was born in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Bill had a 14-game major league career working for the Phils from 1889-90 and then finishing up with the ‘90 Alleghenys, going 0-6/5.52 in six starts after the Alleghenys, dumping salary, sent OF Billy Sunday to the Quakers for him and $1,000. He hung around pro ball until 1904, closing out his ballplaying days in the Connecticut League. 
• 1932 - Scout Chet Montgomery was born in Warsaw,Kentucky. The Western Kentucky alum was known as “Chet the Jet” for his speed on the diamond and basketball court, but never played organized pro ball. After graduation, he became a HS hoops coach, then scouted for the Bucs (1963-67), Reds, and Indians before returning to the Pirates as Special Assistant to the General Manager and Director of Player Development for a decade.
• 1939 - The Pirates traded veteran 1B Gus Suhr to the Phillies for RHP Max Butcher. Suhr was nearing the end of his career (he was released after playing just 10 games in 1940, his last MLB season), but Butcher became a mainstay for the Bucs, pitching for seven years, making 154 starts and winning 67 games in Pittsburgh. 
• 1958 - Frank Thomas was featured as the cover story of Sports Illustrated in an article titled “Nobody Knows Him But Everybody Wants Him.” In case you’re among the gang that doesn’t know him, the Pittsburgh native hit 163 HR in eight years as a Bucco and 286 bombs in his 16 seasons in the majors. 

• 1960 - 1B/OF Carmelo Martinez was born in Dorado, Puerto Rico. Carmelo (he’s Edgar’s cousin) spent parts of the tail end of his nine-year career with the Pirates. The Pirates got him in 1990 as part of the Wes Chamberlain deal with the Phillies and then sent him to KC for Victor Coles in May of the following year. Martinez didn’t see much action in that span, getting in 23 games and hitting .229. He works for the Cubs now as their Latin Field Coordinator. 
• 1972 - It was “Bob Prince Night” at TRS and 39,035 fans turned out for the event. As Bob Smizik wrote in the Pittsburgh Press “...he is listened to by just about everyone. And there are some who don’t like him. But many, many more see through his exterior to the man inside.” The colorful broadcaster requested that any money raised be forwarded to his pet project, the Allegheny Valley School for Exceptional Children, and Pirate nation kicked in over $75,000 for the institute. The Bucs joined in the celebration by defeating Tom Seaver and the NY Mets 3-1 behind Dock Ellis’ complete game seven-hitter, a Willie Stargell homer and a timely DP started by Dave Cash off an Ed Kranepool smash to bail the Docktor out of his biggest jam. 
• 2000 - The Bucs sent OF Wil Cordero to the Indians for IF Enrique Wilson and OF prospect Alex Ramirez. Cordero played respectably through 2003 while Wilson was traded again in 2001 and Ramirez began a long career as a slugger in Japan after the 2000 season. 

JJ Furmaniak 2006 Bowman Rookie Blue

• 2005 - The Bucs traded with the San Diego Padres to get IF JJ Furmaniak in exchange for C David Ross. Furmaniak batted 52 times as a big leaguer with a .186 BA while Ross hit .229 but had a long shelf life ahead of him, playing through the 2016 season. 
• 2013 - The final page in a deal that didn’t happen was turned when the Astros passed on the Bucs last and best offer of Luis Heredia & a competitive balance pick for Bud Norris. The give and take was released as part of Astro emails leaked by St. Louis Cardinal staffers. The Pirates offered one of Heredia, Tyler Glasnow or Alen Hanson for Norris; Houston GM Jeff Luhnow wanted Glasnow and either Heredia or Nick Kingham as a package, offers that Neal Huntington rejected as ‘Stro overreach. (Thanks to Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune Review/The Athletic).