9/6 From the 1940s Through the 1960’s: Wood Deal; Groat Out; Veale's First Zippo; Sweeps; HBD Pat

• 1942 - The Bucs took a twinbill from the Cubbies at Forbes Field the easy way, tossing a pair of shutouts to take 6-0 and 5-0 decisions from Chicago. Hank Gornicki spun a four-hitter in the lid lifter, backed by Elbie Fletcher & Bud Stewart with three hits and Vince DiMaggio & Jimmy Wasdell with two raps. Luke Hamlin scattered seven hits in the nightcap, supported by Frankie Gustine, Bob Elliott and Al Lopez with a pair of knocks (Stewart was walked four times). The attack was balanced; five different players scored while five chased home runs. 

Wally Westlake 1947 Exhibits

• 1947 - The Pirates banged four home runs, the last from Wally Westlake in the bottom of the 10th inning, to take a 7-6 victory from the Chicago Cubs at Forbes Field. Joining him in the long ball parade were Billy Cox, Jimmy Bloodworth and Clyde Kluttz. Rip Sewell worked eight innings of one run, six hit relief to earn the win. 
• 1948 - Lotta glove work going on as the Pirates swept a pair from the Cardinals‚ winning 2-1 and 4-1 at Forbes Field. The two teams struck out just twice in the doubleheader‚ a MLB record. They also turned 13 double plays‚ eight by Pittsburgh‚ to tie a ML mark for a twinbill. Pittsburgh turned a record-tying six DPs in the opener, with 2B Danny Murtaugh in on five of them to equal the mark set by Detroit's Charley O'Leary. It wasn’t all roses for Murtaugh; his 23 game hitting streak ended when he went 0-for-2 with a walk in the opener. Bob Chesnes was the recipient of the glovely play, scattering seven hits to defeat Murry Dickson, who would become a Bucco the next season. The winning blow was Ralph Kiner’s two-run homer. The big guns in the nightcap were Vic Lombardi, who spun a five-hitter, and 3B Eddie Bockman, who had two hits and three RBI. 
• 1954 - After losing 10 straight games‚ the Pirates took both ends of a twin bill from the Dodgers at Ebbets Field on "Back the Dodgers Day‚" winning the opener 9-6 in 12 innings and the second match by a 9-7 score. It was the Bucs first doubleheader sweep of the Dodgers since 1951. Vern Law and Jake Thies were the winning hurlers. 
• 1960 - All-Star SS Dick Groat broke his wrist after being hit by a Lew Burdette pitch. The Pirate captain‚ second in the batting race‚ was sidelined until the final weekend of the season. Dick “Ducky” Schofield‚ his replacement‚ had three hits as the Bucs rallied for a 5-3 win. Ducky, a reserve infielder with a career .227 BA, hit .333 for the Pirates in 1960 and kept them rolling toward the title without skipping a beat. 

Ducky Schofield 1960 Topps

• 1963 - Bob Veale picked up his first MLB shutout, downing the St. Louis Cards 5-0 at Forbes Field. Veale gave up just six hits and was backed by Bill Virdon and Ducky Schofield with three hits apiece. The big blow that opened up a 2-0 game was Willie Stargell’s two-run, eighth-inning rap. It was only Big Bob’s third start of the year; he had spent until mid-August working out of the bullpen. He also finished his career as a reliever because of arm woes, but in between managed to toss 20 shutouts in seven full seasons as a Bucco starter. 
• 1964 - The Red Sox sold RHP Wilbur Wood to the Pirates. The knuckleballer went 1-3/3.28 with the Bucs out of the bullpen in 1964-65. Pittsburgh sent Wood to the White Sox in the 1966 off season after he spent the year with AAA Columbus for Juan Pizarro. Wood saved 55 games in four years for Chicago, then was converted to starter where he won 106 games from 1971-75 and earned three All-Star berths.
• 1965 - The Pirates swept Cincinnati, 3-1 and 4-2, at Crosley Field to close within four games of first-place Los Angeles. Seventh-inning doubles decided both games: Gene Alley's in the opener, driving in Bill Mazeroski with the go-ahead run, and Willie Stargell's bases-loaded, bases-clearing two-bagger in the nitecap. Roberto Clemente threw out Red runners in both ends of the double dip. Bob Veale went the distance to win the first game, striking out 12, and Al McBean tossed six innings in relief to take the second match. 

Bob Veale 1965 Bazooka

• 1968 - IF Pat Meares was born in Salina, Kansas. He played for the Bucs from 1999-2001, hitting .238, was injured from 2002-03, carried on the DL for the last two years of his contract and never played again. It was an awkward situation; a foul off his hand was originally misdiagnosed as a sprain but ended up as severe ligament damage. He underwent surgery but the strength didn’t return. Meares said he would rehab and play through it but wouldn’t submit to the knife again, as the Pirates requested. Charges, grievances and general bad blood marked the relationship; Meares wanted released to play for another team, but the Pirates refused as they would then lose any chance of collecting insurance they held on him (they did eventually settle on the policy for an undisclosed sum). So he ended up DL’ed and on the payroll for his final two seasons with his $15M in dead money a roadblock for the financially struggling Buccos.