- 1867 - 1B Jake Beckley was born in Hannibal, Missouri. “Eagle Eye” played eight seasons (1888-96) for Pittsburgh, with a year off in 1890 when he suited up for the Pittsburgh Burghers of the outlaw Player’s League. He hit 113 triples as a Buc and had four 100+ RBI years. Jake could glove it, too. He’s the all-time leader for putouts and top 20 in assists for MLB 1B’men. After his 20 year career was done, he was eventually selected in 1971 to the Hall of Fame by the Veteran’s Committee with a lifetime .308 BA. Jake got his nickname because of his batting eye; he was a contact hitter who finished his career with more walks than whiffs.
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| Jake Beckley 1889 Goodwin |
- 1879 - C Patrick “Paddy” O’Connor was born in County Kerry, Ireland. A little used catcher for the Pirates from 1908-10, he hit .250. He played one more season in Pittsburgh in 1915, albeit with the Rebels of the Federal League, batting .228. Paddy got a lot of mileage out of baseball, with a playing career that spanned from 1901-21 counting his bush league years.
- 1883 - RHP Lew “Hicks” Moren was born in Pittsburgh and attended Duquesne University. He pitched exactly two games for the Pirates between 1903-04 (0-1/9.00), but was more successful with the Phillies, picking up 48 wins and 10 shutouts while pitching to a 2.88 ERA from 1907-10 before arm problems ended his career. He was one of the first to feature a knuckle ball, after its original practitioner, Eddie Cicotte. Hicks (no clue as to how he got that moniker) lived to the ripe old age of 86, and is buried in Homewood Cemetery.
- 1896 - Utilityman Cliff Lee was born in Lexington, Nebraska. Cliff began his eight-year run in the show at Pittsburgh in 1919-20 after being drafted from Portland and then putting in military time. He hit .213 before being claimed by the Phillies and putting up three consecutive .300+ campaigns in Philadelphia, playing OF, C and 1B. His splits aren’t available, but it appears he never caught on as a regular because he was a platoon guy that could maul southpaws but righties, not so much. He played in the minors until 1930.
- 1897 - It was bad day for Pittsburgh at League Park II in Cincinnati. Lefty Killen and the defense floundered in the first of two, losing 14-3 and per the Pittsburgh Press “The Reds won the first one with ease as they found Killen at will and the Pirates made so many errors they simply couldn’t do anything else.” In the second game, ump Tim Hurst caught a beer bottle tossed at him from the stands and threw it back at his attacker. Hurst ended up the one arrested (he was fined $100 as the bottle gashed its victim; good arm for an ump) and Red Bittman, who umped a handful of times and was a Cincinnati native, took over and called the game a 4-4 tie after six innings due to darkness, wiping out a six-run seventh by the Bucs. Per the Press, the real reason was “...because he failed to check the run getting of the Pirates, he called the game. As the sun was shining, it was a clear case of a steal.” The Pirates did win the rescheduled game 8-1, and it was the last of 10 big league games Bittman umped.
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