8/16 From the 20’s-60’s: Seven Homers; Three In A Row; HBD Gene, Curt, Al, Nick & Rick

• 1922 - OF Gene Woodling was born in Akron, Ohio. The outfielder spent 17 years in the league, and made one stop at Pittsburgh in 1947 as a 25-year-old, getting into 22 games and batting .266. He coached for the Orioles for four years after hangin’ ‘em up, but his major contribution following his playing days was as a major mover in bringing about a players pension fund. 

Curt Roberts 1954 (photo Teenie Harris collection)

• 1929 - 2B Curt Roberts was born in Pineland, Texas. The first black ballplayer for Pittsburgh, he played from 1954-56, hitting .223 as a Pirate. He lost his starting job at second in 1955 to Johnny O’Brien and they both lost out to a kid from Ohio named Bill Mazeroski, who would claim the position in 1956 and keep it for the next dozen years. When his baseball career ended, he worked as a security guard for the University of California, Berkeley. He died at the age of 40 in Oakland, California when he was hit by a drunk driver while changing a flat tire on his car. 
• 1947 - The Pirates blasted a franchise record seven homers in a game against the Cardinals in a 12-7 win at Forbes Field. Ralph Kiner launched three dingers - in a row! - while Hank Greenberg and Billy Cox had a pair. For Greenberg, it was his 35th and final multi-homer game. The homers accounted for all 12 of the Buc runs. Kiner matched the MLB marks of seven HRs in four games‚ six in three games‚ five in two games‚ and four in consecutive at bats while becoming the first Pirate to homer three times in a single game. Kiner, Greenberg and Cox were joined by Cardinal Whitey Kurowski, who also had a pair of homers, to set a MLB record for most players with multi homers in a game. 
• 1952 - LHP Al Holland was born in Roanoke, Virginia. Holland spent 10 years in the show, starting in 1977 with the Pirates (he would return in for a bit in 1985) and slash 1-3-4/3.54. He had some nice seasons closing for Philly, earning an All-Star berth and the NL Rolaids Reliever of the Year award. He took a hit when he admitted to coke use during the 1985 trials and that, along with a wrist injury, ended his career after the 1987 campaign. 
• 1953 - Coach Nick Leyva was born in Ontario, California. He’s the Bucs first base coach and worked at third before that, joining the staff in 2010 when Clint Hurdle was hired. Leyva is a former minor league player and manager who began coaching in 1978. He was the skipper of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1989 through early 1991. 

Nick Leyva (image Positively Pittsburgh)

• 1958 - Frank Thomas bombed three consecutive HRs off three different pitchers (Harvey Haddix, Will Schmidt & Alex Kellner), drove home six runs and scored four times in a 13-4 romp over the Reds at Crosley Field. Dick Groat added four knocks and three tallies while Dick Stuart also went long. Bob Friend got the win with Bob Porterfield tossing the final two frames for the save. 
• 1964 - RHP Rick Reed was born in Huntington, West Virginia. He was drafted by the Bucs and played his first four seasons (1988-91) with them, going 4-7 with a 4.98 ERA while yo-yo’ing between the minors and the big leagues. He continued to bounce around the fringes of the league and spent all of 1966 in the bushes. Then the light went on at the age of 32; he won double digit games for six of the next seven seasons with the Mets & Twins and made a pair of All-Star teams. He was briefly the pitching coach at his old school, Marshall, but then opted for full-time retirement to raise his family.