9/13 Expo Park-Forbes Field Era: Ralph 4-In-A-Row; Baron 9-In-A-Row; HBD Denny, Dan & Tom; Game Stories

• 1907 - Nick Maddox made his MLB debut, and according to the Pittsburgh Press’ headline, the “Pirates New Twirler Was An Enigma To The Cardinals” as he tossed a five hit, 4-0 shutout at Exposition Park. Maddox struck out 11 and walked a pair. He was backed by another rookie making his big league launch, 1B Harry “Swasy” Swacina, who drove in a pair of runs. Maddux had a pair of strong seasons with the Bucs, tossing the team’s first no-hitter, but his arm was shot and after four years, he was relegated to the minors, managed some, and played sandlot & semi-pro ball. He ended up a streetcar conductor. 

Nick Maddox 1909-11 Colgan Stars of the Diamond

• 1913 - OF Dan Wilson was born in St. Louis. Per BR Bullpen, Wilson debuted in 1937 with the Pittsburgh Crawfords as a right fielder and second baseman and hit .259. He was a bench player for Pittsburgh in 1938 and moved on to St. Louis where he earned the first of three Negro League All-Star berths. The 11-year vet played locally one more year, suiting up for the Homestead Grays in 1946. After baseball, Wilson's life headed downhill. He died homeless at the age of 73. 
• 1922 - The Pirates swept a twinbill from the Braves, winning 8-1 and 6-1 behind Wilbur Cooper and Johnny Morrison, closing within five games of the first place NY Giants and cutting the lead to 3-1/2 games a week later. Though they ended up a respectable 85-69, they finished third after fading badly by losing seven of their final eight contests. 
• 1939 - RHP Tom Parsons was born in Lakeville, Connecticut. The 6’-7” Parsons was signed as by the Pirates in 1957 as a 17-year-old. He made his major league debut in 1963 as a September call-up after toiling on the farm for seven years. Parsons made one start, giving up four runs on seven hits in 4-1/3 IP, and began the next campaign back in the minors. The following September he was sold to the Mets, where he played in 64-65 and earned his only save, ironically against his old mateys from Pittsburgh. Tom spent his last four pro seasons the minors. 
• 1949 - For the second time in his career, Ralph Kiner hit four consecutive homers. He hit two off Dewey Adkins in a 7-3 win against the Cubs. After an off day, he added another pair against the Phils’ Hank Borowy and Curt Simmons in an 11-6 victory. Both games were played at Forbes Field. Ralph collected 10 RBI in the two games to lead the attack for Murry Dickson and Cliff Chambers victories. 

Ralph Kiner 1950 All-Star badge

• 1950 - Giants' RHP Sal Maglie's consecutive scoreless inning streak ended at 45 innings after Gus Bell popped a 257’ fly that barely cleared the RF wall at the shoe-box shaped Polo Grounds for a cheap homer. All it hurt, though, was The Barber’s pride as the G-Men beat the Bucs and Vern Law, 3-1. 
• 1956 - ElRoy Face set an MLB record (later tied) when he appeared in his ninth consecutive game, giving up a run in a 5-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Forbes Field. He had gone 3-0-1 in the prior eight matches covering 15-⅓ innings. Danny Murtaugh finally relented after that and gave him the next game off. 
• 1963 - Willie Stargell provided the muscle as the Pirates knocked off the SF Giants at Forbes Field 5-4 in 13 innings. The sparse crowd of 6,100 saw Pops bang a three-run blast in the third inning, the G-Men rally to tie it with two outs and the bases empty in the ninth thanks to two walks and a Jesus Alou single against Joe Gibbon and Harvey Haddix, then Captain Willie put the game in the win column with a triple off Bob Garibaldi in the 13th to score Ducky Schofield, who had walked. Bob Friend was the Pirates sixth pitcher and got the win with an inning’s work, his 17th victory of the campaign and his only outing that season from the bullpen (indeed, he wouldn’t appear in relief again until 1966). 
• 1968 - Denny Neagle was born in Gambrills, Maryland. The lefty spent four plus seasons (1992-96) with Pittsburgh, going 43-35 with a 4.02 ERA. An All-Star in 1995 with a 13-8 record, he was traded to Atlanta the following season as a cost-cutting measure and won 60 games between 1997-2000, mostly with the Braves. Neagle finished 124-92/4.24 during his 13-year career.