8/7 Through the 20’s: Moose & Peanuts Deals; HBD Bill, Adonis, Jim & Les; Game Stories

• 1862 - IF Jim Gray was born in Pittsburgh. Gray was a local kid that “who helped in an emergency” whenever a Pittsburgh club was short handed, per Frederick Lieb in his book “The Pittsburgh Pirates.” Playing in six games - not many emergencies back in the day, we guess - he got 23 at-bats and hit for a .304 average (His fielding was unfortunately kinda brutal at .719; the infielder made nine errors in 32 chances). He played for the Alleghenys in 1884 & 1890, the Player’s League Burghers, also in ‘90, and finally for the Pirates in 1893. He spent a short time umpiring in the minors, then came home and spent the next 50 years as a City worker. 
• 1864 - P William “Adonis” Terry was born in Westfield, Massachusetts. He tossed for 14 big league seasons, working for the Pirates from 1892-94. He was excellent in ‘92 (17-7, 2.51) but went downhill in his last two seasons, still putting up a respectable slash of 30-16/3.45 as a Buc. During his career, he tossed two no-hitters, was versatile enough to play both infield and outfield if needed, and umpired, even as an active player, into his retirement. Brooklyn fans gave him his nickname, reflecting the clean living Terry’s appearance and character. 

Adonis 1889 (photo Police Gazette)

• 1886 - Bill McKechnie was born in Wilkinsburg. A backup infielder for Pittsburgh (1907, 1910-12, 1918, 1920), he began 1922 as a Pirate coach. McKechnie replaced George Gibson as manager in midseason, and the team improved from fifth place to a tie for third. The club got better in each of the next few seasons before capturing the NL pennant and the World Series crown in 1925. But after the Pirates fell to third place in 1926, McKechnie was fired. He resurfaced and became the only skipper to win pennants with three different NL clubs - Pittsburgh (1925), St. Louis (1928), and Cincinnati (1939-40). A popular and quiet man, Bill McKechnie earned the nickname Deacon because he sang in his church choir and lived a quiet lifestyle. He’s the namesake for Bradenton’s McKechnie Field and was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1962. 
• 1904 - The Pirates sent IF Jimmy Sebring to the Reds, Cincy sent Mike Donlin to New York, and the Giants then sent OF Moose McCormack to the Bucs. The deal was the seed that sprouted this trade tree: the Pirates flipped Moose for IF/OF Del Howard, who become part of the 1905 deal with Boston that landed Hall of Fame RHP Vic Willis, who won 89 games for Pittsburgh in four seasons and was part of the World Series Champs of 1909. 
• 1913 - The Pirates announced that they had purchased pitcher Erv “Peanuts” Kantlehner from Victoria in the Northwestern League. Peanuts went just 13-29-5 between 1914-16 for the Bucs, but had a respectable 2.84 ERA. He split his time starting and relieving, ending up with five saves and five shutouts.

Al Mamaux 1916 (Sporting News)

• 1915 - The Pirates tossed double zeroes at the Philadelphia Phillies in sweeping a Forbes Field double-dipper 9-0 and 6-0. Al Mamaux tossed a four-hitter behind an efficient Buc attack that scored nine runs on nine hits. Jim Viox and George Gibson had two hits while Max Carey homered. In the second match, Bob Harmon scattered five hits while Doug Baird had a pair of raps including a triple and Bill Hinchman added two more knocks to lead the attack. 
• 1915 - 1B Les Fleming was born in Singleton, Texas. His last hurrah was with the Pirates in 1949, hitting .258 in a bench role to end his seven-year MLB run. Fleming played on until 1956, closing out a 20-year pro career (he missed two years during the war) in the Texas League, retiring at age 40. 
• 1920 -The Pittsburgh Press banner touted “Victory Boosts Pirates Into Third Place” with the front-page story headline of “Gibsons Warriors Shut Out League’s Leaders” after the Bucs beat the Brooklyn Superbas 7-0 for their fifth win in a row. Babe Adams got the win at Ebbets Field, tossing a six hitter. A two-run throwing error on a pickoff play gave the Pirates a five run cushion in the sixth and Max Carey’s two-run triple in the seventh was the icing. Alas, the pennant fever was premature. The Bucs faded and finished fourth at the end, 14 games off the pace. 
• 1922 - Ten different Pirates had two hits apiece, a club record, as the Bucs whipped the Phillies 17-10 at the Baker Bowl, sparked by an eight run fourth inning that saw 13 Bucco hitters bat. The only Pittsburgh batter without two knocks was cleanup hitter Clyde Barnhart; even the pitchers combined to go 5-for-5 with a homer. Whitey Glazner picked up the win in relief after Wilbur Cooper and Hal Carlson were bombed early. 

Whitey Glazner 1922 American Caramel

• 1925 - The Pirates and Brooklyn Robins had a wild final three innings at Forbes Field. The Robins scored twice in the seventh to go ahead 7-4; Pittsburgh scored three times in their half to tie. Brooklyn then plated twice in the eighth to go up 9-7; the Pirates answered in the ninth with three runs to take home a 10-9 win. Max Carey, Pie Traynor and Kiki Cuyler each had three hits in the victory, which went to Johnny Morrison.