7/7 Birthdays: HBD Satchel, Double Duty, Billy, Chuck, Dybber, Nonny, Merry & Harry

• 1868 - 2B Harry Gilbert was born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. A semi-pro infielder, he played in two games for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys on June 23rd, 1890, starting both ends of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies and going 2-for-8. His brother John was also picked up for the game and went 0-for-8 while playing SS; they both fielded cleanly during the day. They became the first brother act in Pittsburgh franchise history, and neither ever played pro ball again. 

Double Duty Radcliffe (card via Negro League Museum)

• 1902 - P/C Theodore Roosevelt “Double Duty” Radcliffe was born in Mobile, Alabama. He stopped briefly in Pittsburgh, playing for the 1931 Homestead Grays and the 1932 Pittsburgh Crawfords. Writer Damon Runyon gave him the nickname "Double Duty" because Radcliffe performed as a catcher one game and as a pitcher the next during a 1932 Negro League World Series doubleheader between the Crawfords and the Monroe Monarchs at Yankee Stadium. Radcliffe caught a Satchel Paige shutout in the first game then pitched a shutout in the second game. 
• 1902 - Art “Merry” Merewether was born in East Providence, Rhode Island. The Brown grad got into one big league game in 1922 as a 20-year-old Pirate, unsuccessfully pinch-hitting. But baseball wasn’t his bag. He left the Buccos to attend MIT (the only MLB player to get a sheepskin from that school), serving as captain of the college's baseball team, played minor league ball in 1926 and then went on to his true calling, meteorology. Merry became the chief meteorologist for United Airlines, was president of the American Meteorological Society and discovered a Canadian lake which was named after him, per BR Bullpen. 
• 1906 - Leroy “Satchel” Paige was born in Mobile, Alabama. He pitched through the thirties for the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords. At 42, Paige became the oldest rookie in major league history when he joined the Cleveland Indians in 1948, and in 1971 became the first Negro League star inducted into the Hall Of Fame. Paige is on the short list of great black pitchers, and what really cut him from the herd was his showmanship. One of his favorite acts was to have his fielders sit down at their positions while he’d strike out the side. According to Paige, his nickname originated from a childhood carrying bags at the train station, although his long-time friends suggested it was because he’d swipe the satchels. Either way… 

Billy Herman (photo via Sportsworld)

• 1909 - IF/MGR Billy Herman was born in New Albany, Indiana. The Hall-of-Famer came to Pittsburgh in 1947 as a player/manager. Billy played a little, hitting .213, and after compiling a 61-92 record, he resigned as the manager on the last day of the season. That was also his last season as a player; he went on to coach, manage, and work in player development for decades after his retirement. 
• 1910 - OF Leo “Red”/”Nonny” Nonnenkamp was born in St. Louis. Nonny started his four-year MLB career with one at bat for the Bucs in 1933 (he struck out as a pinch hitter); he’d return to the show for Boston in 1938-40. He played pro ball from 1930-46, with three years off for military duty in the Navy. He retired to Arkansas, became a mailman, and was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. 
• 1945 - IF Chuck Goggin was born in Pompano Beach, Florida. Chuck began his brief career (he played for four campaigns) in Pittsburgh in 1972-73, going 3-for-9. Goggin was a good hitter, but his major league journey was filled with injury-related hurdles: he had knee surgery, badly broke his ankle, and later ruptured a disc. He also suffered shrapnel wounds to his legs and back in 1966 when a mine blew up under him in Vietnam. The Marine was one of only two MLB players to earn a Purple Heart in ‘Nam. He also had one great Bucco moment - he collected his first major league hit in his first major league start on the same day that teammate Roberto Clemente collected his 3,000th hit, on September 30th, 1972. After his back problem, Chuck played in the minors and Latino leagues for a while, coached and then took a job as a US Marshall. 

Chuck's first hit, Roberto's 3,000th (photo via ESPN)

• 1955 - Jerry “Dybber”/”Eyechart” Dybzinski was born in Cleveland. He closed out his six-year career in Pittsburgh, getting into five games and going 0-for-4 as a 30-year-old in 1985. The Bucs had signed him during the off season as a depth guy, and he spent most of his days at AAA Hawaii. Dybzinski was released after the season, failed to catch on elsewhere, and went to Chicago to become a financial/business analyst.