- 1852 - OF Russ McKelvy was born in Swissvale. The local lad was on the Alleghenys first roster in 1877 when they were a member of the minor league International Association (the Alleghenys carried just 12 players and all of them made it to the majors) before moving on to the Indianapolis Blues. That move made McKelvy the first ballplayer from Allegheny College to make it to the show (Glenn Beckert of the Cubs/Padres and Josh Sharpless of the Pirates later joined him). Josh’s minor league record is MIA after that (it seems he played in the local leagues, possibly as a semi-pro player), but he did get one more shot in the majors. His old club, the Alleghenys, now a big-league team, played him on August 24th, 1882. Russ started in right field and went 0-for-4, taking his final bow in the show. He shuffled off to Omaha after that where he became a successful businessman and civic mover.
- 1875 - LHP Eli Rosebraugh was born in Charleston, Illinois. Out of Oberlin College, he tossed briefly for Pittsburgh in 1898-99, working six games (four starts) with an 0-3, 4.55 line. Eli, also known as Zeke (his middle name was Ezekiel although he later used Ethelbert) or Rosie, then spent the following campaign in Ohio, tossing for Dayton, Mansfield and Youngstown in the Interstate League. His trail grows cold after that until he shot himself at the age of 54 while living in Fresno.
 |
| Val Picinich 1934 Big League |
- 1896 - C Val Picinich was born in New York City. Picinich caught for 18 seasons, never cracking the 100-game mark in any one of them. Though he was mostly a caddy, during his five-year stint with the Senators he was Walter Johnson’s personal battery mate, catching all but two of his starts. Val finished his career with Pirates in 1933 at the age of 37 when the Bucs were looking for some relief for regular catcher Earl Grace who was battling nagging injuries. He hit .250 in 16 games to end his career. Picinich retired to become a chicken farmer after a couple of shots at managing in the minors, then later took on a job with the Bath Iron Works shipyard.
- 1899 - Pittsburgh's 3B Jimmy Williams‚ who earlier set a MLB rookie record by hitting in 26 consecutive games‚ ran his club record string to 27 games before he was stopped by Deacon Phillippe of Louisville‚ who had also ended his earlier streak, as Louisville won 5-3. Deacon joined the Pirates a year later, much to William’s relief. Kenny Lofton (2003) and Danny O'Connell (1953) also strung together 26 game streaks for the Pirates. His rookie mark lasted until 1987, when it was bested by Benito Santiago. Jimmy also set the franchise high water mark for RBIs by a rookie with 116, later matched by Maurice Van Robays in 1940.
- 1905 - As written by the Pittsburgh Press “(Cincinnati pitcher) Charlie Chech was touched up for fifteen safeties, including six two-baggers, and allowed eight bases on balls, but still the Pirates could get but three little runs out of all that swatfest” as Pittsburgh lost 8-3 to the Reds at Exposition Park. The Bucs stranded a NL record 18 men in the loss.
 |
| Buck Leonard 2001 Upper Deck Hall of Fame |
- 1907 - 1B Walter “Buck” Leonard was born in Rocky Mount, NC. He played 15 years for the Homestead Grays (1934-48), batting ahead of Josh Gibson, and the pair were often likened to Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. The Grays won nine consecutive Negro National League pennants (1937-1945) with Leonard and Gibson ("the Thunder Twins") in the middle of the order. Leonard finished his Grays’ career with a .320 BA and was selected to the HoF. In 1994, when the All-Star Game was held in Pittsburgh, the then 88-year-old Leonard was named an Honorary Captain.
- 1908 - Howie Camnitz tossed a five-hitter with seven whiffs and made two first-inning runs chased home by Honus Wagner stand as the Bucs swept a four game set from the St. Louis Cards, 2-0, at Exposition Park. The Pirates set a major league record against the Redbirds with only two assists in the field, both by 2B Charlie Starr.
No comments:
Post a Comment