9/19 Through the 1940’s: 21 For Rip; Ralph's 50th; HBD Yank, Mouse & Stuffy; Game Stories

• 1859 - IF William “Yank” Robinson was born in Philadelphia. Yank had his heyday from 1885-89 with the American Association’s St Louis Browns. He could play just about anywhere and was patient at the plate: From 1887-90, Robinson drew 472 free rides (427 walks w/45 HBPs) and 400 hits for an OBP of .412. Yank got into a beef with the Browns’ owner in 1889 triggered by a pair of tight pants and jumped to the Pittsburgh Burghers the following season, keeping up his old tricks. During the season, Robinson had just 70 hits for a .229 BA, but his 101 bases on balls jacked up his OBP to .434, fourth highest in the Players' League. That was his only Pittsburgh term. He was also noted because he played the field bare handed and could throw ambidextrously; the combination made him a dangerous fielder who could either make an outrageously difficult play or take a routine two-hopper off the pinky for an error. It’s thought that his nickname dates back from childhood as he was born just prior to the Civil War. 
• 1860 - OF Ed “Mouse” Glenn was born in Richmond, Virginia. Ed played every other year in the majors, making stops in 1884-86-88, with the Alleghenys being his team in the middle. He hit .191 (his rep was as a gloveman), spent a year in the minors and split time in the NL in 1888. He lost his chance to repeat his two-year cycle when he injured himself badly crashing into another player while chasing down a fly while on the farm at Sioux City; he sat out 1890 and eventually passed away from injuries caused by the collision in early 1892. 

Guy Hecker (image from John Thorn's "Our Game")

• 1882 - Rookie Guy Hecker of the American Association Louisville Eclipse (aka Colonels) tossed a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, winning 3-1 at Eclipse Park. He would join the Pirates in 1890, albeit for his final MLB season.
• 1890 - 1B Jack “Stuffy” McInnis was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Stuffy, a solid contact hitter and glove man, spent the tail end of his 17-year career as a Pirate in 1925-26. McInnis still had a sharp stick, hitting .337 over that span and .286 in four games of the 1925 World Series against the Washington Senators, retiring after the 1927 campaign. He picked up his nickname as a youngster playing in Boston, where his feats on the field brought shouts of "that's the stuff, kid." 
• 1901 - The Pirates game with the Phils at Exposition Park was postponed by order of NL President NE Young to honor the burial day of assassinated President William McKinley. Pittsburgh was a hotbed of McKinley enthusiasts; a South Hills Park and street were renamed for McKinley. The clubs played two the next day to make up the date, with a Pirates sweep putting them 9-1/2 games up in the standings. The team finished the year 90-49, winning the pennant by 7-1/2 games for the first baseball title won by the franchise. 
• 1908 - Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote “In the presence of a grand out-pouring of more than 25,000 fans and in one of the most stubbornly fought battles ever waged at the Polo Grounds, the Pirates defeated the New York Giants by the score of 6-2 after ten innings of strenuous work.” The better part of that battle was fought by Lefty Liefield, who went the distance to outlast Red Ames and Doc Crandall. Ed "Batty" Abbaticchio knocked home a pair of runs in the 10th, and an error followed by Chief Wilson’s hit brought in the final two tallies. 

Vic Aldridge 1925 (photo Bettman/Getty)

• 1925 - The Pirates edged the Braves, 2-1, at Forbes Field as Kiki Cuyler had four hits and Pie Traynor added three more. The two teams combined for 23 hits and drew seven walks but managed to strand 23 runners, hitting into two DPs and getting three runners thrown out trying to steal. The Bucs and opportunity took nine innings to get together - Pittsburgh left the bases loaded with one away in the eighth and needed a two-out, bases-packed single by Glenn Wright in the ninth to squeak out the win for Vic Aldridge. 
• 1943 - Rip Sewell whipped the Reds, 10–3 for his 21st win, which would top the MLB chart that season. Rip also stole a base to finish the year with seven swipes. Elbie Fletcher had three hits and two RBI; Bob Elliott inverted that with two hits and three RBI. The Pirates swept the twin bill 2-1 as three Pirate pitchers (Xavier Rescigno, Hank Gornicki & Max Butcher, who got the W) combined to outlast Johnny Vander Meer. Pittsburgh was its own worst enemy in the nightcap, hitting into a DP, going 0-for-2 in stolen bases and getting a runner tossed out a home before scoring twice in the ninth on singles by Vince DiMaggio and Elliott. 
• 1949 - In a 6-4 loss to the NY Giants at Forbes Field‚ Ralph Kiner hit his 50th home run (he finished the season with 54) off Kirby Higbe. With that blast, the 26-year old outfielder became the first NL’er to hit 50+ bombs in two different seasons. It would take until 1965 for Willie Mays to match Kiner’s record.