9/24 Through the 1960’s: Blass Ablaze; Rip's 20th; HBD Dixie, Doc, Paddy & Jim; Game Stories

• 1881 - RHP Bob “Doc” Vail was born in Linneus, Maine. He started in the New England League in 1906 and then spent the remainder of his pro career in the Virginia League from 1907-12. His big-league career consisted of a four-game stop in Pittsburgh in 1908 where he went 1-2/6.00. 
• 1891 - 2B Peter “Paddy” Siglin was born in Aurelia, Iowa. Paddy was hitting .320 for Waterloo in 1914 when he was purchased by the Pirates. He was mostly stashed in the minors by the Bucs, but appeared in 23 MLB games from 1914-16, going 9-for-56 (.180) at the plate. In 1917 he took his services to the Pacific Coast League where he spent the next decade on five different squads before hanging up the spikes in 1926. Paddy did set a benchmark - in his debut on September 12th, 1914, in a doubleheader sweep of the Cubs, he became the first Bucco to have two hits and a stolen base in his first outing; three other Pirates (Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata & Austin Meadows) have since matched the feat.

The Peoples Cherch (photo Stan Friedberg/Mears/TSN)

• 1910 - OF Fred (“Dixie” or “The Peoples Cherce”) Walker was born in Villa Rica, Georgia. He’s often remembered as the guy who fought Jackie Robinson’s arrival in Brooklyn, though he later accepted him both as a ballplayer and person. However, the initial blowback was said to be part of the impetus for the Dodgers to deal him to Pittsburgh (Brooklyn got Preacher Roe back, another pretty fair reason) in 1948. He played two seasons, batting .316 in his first campaign, then posting a .282 BA with 13 pinch hits in 1949 as a bench piece. After the ‘49 season, he hung ‘em up and went on to a long career in scouting and coaching. Fred came by the “Dixie” moniker honestly, as a Georgia boy whose father Ewart was known as Dixie. (His dad had pitched for the Senators, and his brother Harry “The Hat” Walker managed the Pirates from 1965-67.) His popularity with the Ebbets Field fans in the forties earned him the other nickname "The People's Cherce," as spelled (or at least pronounced) in Brooklynese. 
• 1929 - C Jim Mangan was born in San Francisco. He graduated from the U of San Francisco and the Pirates signed him in 1949. Jim played briefly for the Bucs in 1952 and 1954, batting .179. Reports are that he got into a spat with Branch Rickey in 1955, and that got him sent to Hollywood before being optioned to El Paso. From there he was sold off waivers to the Giants in 1956, where he got his final MLB licks (he feuded with manager Bill Rigney there; guys that hit under the Mendoza Line rarely win debates with their field bosses). Following his petulant baseball career, Mangan became a high school business teacher, golf coach and small business owner in San Jose. 
• 1944 - The Pirates outlasted the Giants 6-4 at the Polo Grounds in 13 sloppy innings. Max Butcher had a 4-0 lead for the Buccos, but gave up a pair in the seventh before three errors and a walked tied it in the eighth. The Pirates put their first two runners on in the 13th but were almost stymied by a pair of nice defensive plays by the G-Men. A two-out walk loaded the bases - can’t defend against that - and pinch hitter Tommy O’Brien singled on the next pitch to plate a pair. Art Cuccurullo tossed a quiet closing frame and ol’ Rip Sewell picked up his 20th win thanks to a clean 12th inning of relief. The Pirates left 19 runners aboard and the Giants 15 as the game featured 25 hits, 19 walks (Butcher had seven alone) and five errors. 

Rip got his 20th the easy way (photo via Sports Memorabilia)

• 1957 - Bucco 1B Dee Fondy grounded out to end the game and thus became the last player to swing a bat in anger at Ebbets Field. Da’ Bums Danny McDevitt blanked the Bucs 2-0 in the final major league game played in Brooklyn before the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles. 
• 1966 - Roberto Clemente connected for a two-run go-ahead home run to cap off a five-run seventh inning in Pittsburgh’s 8-6 win over the Braves at Atlanta Stadium. Bob Bailey had a two-run homer and Gene Alley chased home two more with a double. Steve Blass worked two innings of relief (nine of his 34 appearances in ‘66 were in relief) to pick up the win; Pete Mikkelsen got the save. The win moved them 1-½ games behind the LA Dodgers, but that’s as close as they would get, finishing three games off the pace. 
• 1968 - Steve Blass tossed his third consecutive shutout‚ defeating the Reds 2-0 at Forbes Field. Steverino won his ninth straight victory and recorded a NL high seventh shutout on his way to an 18-6 season. The game against Gary Nolan was scoreless until the seventh when Willie Stargell led off with a homer. The Bucs added an insurance run in the eighth when Maury Wills singled, was bunted to second and came home on Matty Alou’s two-bagger.