8/21 From the 1950’s Through the 1970’s: Rennie's Bad Break; Lynch Record; Streak Snapper; HBD Ramon & Lou; More

• 1953 - After 13 straight wins‚ the first place Dodgers finally lost‚ going down to birthday boy Murry Dickson and the last-place Pirates 7-1 at Forbes Field. Frank Thomas had a homer and four RBI in the victory. 
• 1953 - The Pirates Ralph Kiner and the Yankees Allie Reynolds, the NL and AL player reps of the newly formed MLBPA, announced that they had hired New York Sports attorney J. Norman Lewis for $15,000 as an advisor after baseball had rejected their proposals for an increased minimum wage and greater pension contributions. Lewis wasn’t much help; the owners refused to meet with him. 

• 1963 - Jerry Lynch set a MLB record for pinch-hit home runs when he hit his 15th to best George Crowe’s mark, a ninth-inning blast off Lindy McDaniel. He drilled a 3-1 fastball that gave the Pirates a 7-6 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Lynch retired in 1966 with 18 pinch-hit homers, the record until Cliff Johnson broke it in 1984. Matt Stairs now holds the MLB mark. 
• 1971 - Dock Ellis was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Sound Off.” That’s the year Ellis told the media that NL All-Star Team manager Sparky Anderson would "never start two brothers against each other" as Vida Blue was starting for the AL. Anderson surprised Ellis (or played into his hand) by naming him the starter. Dock was the losing pitcher in the game, giving up a titanic shot to Reggie Jackson.  
• 1973 - IF Lou Collier was born in Chicago. He began his eight-year career as a Bucco in 1997-97, hitting .235 after being selected in the 31st round of the 1992 draft from Kishwaukee College. He spent two years in Korea after his MLB days and retired from baseball in 2007. He founded the Lou Collier Baseball Association, recruiting Chi-town kids out of rec center/little league teams and getting them some tournament prime-time to showcase their skills. He’s also an area scout for KC. 
• 1976 - IF Ramon Vazquez was born in Aibonito, Puerto Rico. He spent the final campaign of his nine-year career with Pittsburgh in 2009, hitting .230. Since retiring, he’s coached for San Diego and Houston, along with managing Santurce (Roberto Clemente’s old club) in the Puerto Rican League. 

• 1977 - Rennie Stennett broke his right ankle sliding into second against the Giants at TRS. Stennett never recovered fully, and his best BA after the accident was just .244. To rub some salt into the wound, the Bucs lost the game 5-4. And Stennett, who was leading the league in batting, fell 12 at-bats short of qualifying for the title, though his .336 BA would have been nosed out by the eventual winner, teammate Dave Parker, who hit .338.