- 1964 - Harry “The Hat” Walker was named manager of the Pirates, replacing Danny Murtaugh after an 80-82 season and sixth place finish in the NL. GM Joe Brown had discussed the job with ex-Cards manager Johnny Keane but it never became serious as Keane had the Yankee position lined up and instead recommended Walker to Brown. After a couple of competitive seasons (the Pirates came in third with 90+ wins both years and finished second and then first in NL team BA), The Hat was let go in 1967 and replaced by...Danny Murtaugh.
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| Post-Gazette 10-20-1964 |
- 1979 - The World Champion Pirates had their moment of glory in downtown’s Market Square when 29 members of the team & their families were cheered by 15-35,000 fans (take your pick; estimates were all over the place); by any measure, the noontime celebration was packed. Tom Hritz of the Post Gazette wrote that “Market Square was so crowded you couldn’t get an X-ray through it.” Sister Sledge’s “We are Fam-a-lee” blared over the loudspeakers on the sunny day as Milo Hamilton and Lanny Frattare MC’ed the event. The local politicos got first crack at the mic, causing disgruntled chants of “We want the Bucs” that were finally answered when Tim Foli led off the Pirates lineup. The biggest cheer was for Willie Stargell, who wore a stetson with a gold star and told the fans that “You are as responsible for winning the World Series as we are.” The afternoon’s comic relief was provided by a hot air balloon that refused to fly, alternating between dropping on the fans and snagging buildings until it finally tore and was deflated.
- 1980 - 3B/OF Jose Bautista was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He played for the Bucs from 2004-08, and hit .241 with 43 HR during that time before being traded to Toronto in 2008 for Robinzon Diaz. Joey Bats blossomed after becoming a Blue Jay, leading the AL in homers and RBI twice before becoming a 37-year-old nomad in 2018. Diaz didn’t leave much of a mark. He didn’t crack the majors again after his Pittsburgh stop, and last played in 2016-17 in the Dominican Winter League.
- 1980 - OF Rajai Davis was born in Norwich, Connecticut. Raj was a late round pick in 2001 by the Bucs. He showed speed and a pretty good stick in the minors, but was always one step behind guys like Chris Duffy, Nyjer Morgan and Nate McLouth. He got parts of two years with the Pirates, seeing action in 44 games and hitting .242 before being traded for Giants’ P Matt Morris in 2007 in a deal that greased the skids for Dave Littlefield. Since then, Davis has played for six more teams with a .262 lifetime BA and 415 stolen bases over 13 big-league years.
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| JA Happ 2015 Topps Postseason |
- 1982 - RHP James Anthony “JA” Happ was born in Peru, Illinois. JA debuted with the Phils in 2007 and been in the majors ever since. He played a key role in the Pirates 2015 playoff run when the Bucs sent RHP Adrian Sampson to Seattle for Happ, who went 7-2/1.85 down the stretch to help Pittsburgh to a wildcard finish. The Pirates let him walk after the campaign and he signed with Toronto, moving on to the Yankees late in 2018, his sixth team in a dozen campaigns.
- 1984 - RHP James McDonald was born in Long Beach, California. The righty came to Pittsburgh in 2010 as part of the Octavio Dotel deal, and was an up-and-down member of the rotation until 2013, going 27-24/4.21 in his four Pirate years. J-Mac had a breakout campaign in 2012 until after the All-Star break when the wheels fell off, and he never recovered. He was injured before the 2014 season and hasn’t tossed since.
- 1987 - RHP John Holdzkom was born in Pasadena, California. After extreme control issues cost him his gig in the Mets system, Holdzkom was pitching indy ball when scout Mal Fichman signed him to a contract with the Pirates in 2014. Big John zipped through the minors and got a September call-up, striking out the side in his first outing and finishing the year with a line of 1-0/2.00 with 14 K in 9 innings. He was sent back to the minor leagues to start the 2015 season, where nagging injuries and inconsistency with control, mixed with him being on the gray side at age 28, kept him on the farm. He had a rough offseason; his brother Lincoln died in a car crash in December and he was DFA’ed in April of 2016. The White Sox signed him to a minor league deal but released him after six games and he’s been on the outside since then, finally ending his exile by signing up to pitch in New Zealand during the 2018 winter season.
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