10/2 Through the 1900’s: Pennant Parade; Iron Man George; HBD Scott, Ernie & Honest Eddie; Game Stories

• 1869 - RHP Scott Stratton was born in Campbellsburg, Kentucky. Stratton worked eight years in the show, spending two games with the 1891 Pirates between stints with the Louisville Colonels. He went 0-2/2.45 in two starts for Pittsburgh. He did have a pair of 20-win seasons in the American Association and played in the bushes until the age of 30, having transitioned to the outfield - he ended his minor league days with a .329 BA. Scott was known early in his career as the Taylorsville Wonder, dubbed for the town he was raised in. He retired to Louisville and worked a variety of jobs with farmer, grocer and haberdasher main among them. 

Scott Stratton 1886 Louisville Goodwin/Old Judge

• 1877 - OF Ernie Diehl was born in Cincinnati. Ernie was a wealthy lad (his dad owned a distillery) and a toolsy ballplayer who starred in local semi-pro ball. The Pirates picked him up for a game in 1903 and a 12-game stretch in 1904, both times to fill in for injuries, and Ernie went 7-for-40 (.175). Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss offered him a season-long contract for both years; Diehl refused and played the games w/o a contract, returning to his local team and business interests after the Bucs were back to full strength. In fact, it was said that he was offered and refused a player’s contract by various teams for 10 consecutive years, though he played briefly for Boston for a couple of seasons and had short stints with Toledo & Louisville in the American Association. He continued in business, was a standout in amateur sports (he was also an excellent tennis player) and dabbled in local politics. The whiskey business was sold in 1918 and Ernie moved to Miami, where he lived until passing away in 1958. 
• 1891 - OF “Honest Eddie” Murphy was born in Hancock, New York. Eddie spent 11 years in the show, mostly as a bench guy and played his final season as a Pirate in 1926, batting .118 in 16 games at age 35. He joined Pittsburgh after five years of solid minor-league play, called up in August when the Bucs were battling for a flag, but he injured his knee and didn’t have much impact. The Pirates finished 4-½ games behind the Cards, although they would come back to take the 1927 NL flag. Eddie played two more minor league years before retiring. His nickname came about because he was one of the infamous 1919 Black Sox, but the tiniest splatter of mud couldn’t be tied to him; his reputation was so clean that he became known as Honest Eddie. 
• 1901 - Pittsburgh railroaders held a parade complete with a band and marched from town to Exposition Park in the North Side to celebrate the final home game of the season for the pennant-winning Buccos. A horse-drawn carriage delivered a $500 loving cup that was presented to manager Fred Clarke, owner Barney Dreyfuss and club president Harry Pulliam for leading the team to its championship season, and each player was given a decorated badge with his likeness on it. After some speechifying, the Bucs went on to take an 8-4 win over Boston behind Sam Leever. The next evening, the Alvin Theater invited the team to enjoy its show as the Pirates were the toast of the town. Pittsburgh finished at 90-49, 7-½ games ahead of Philadelphia. 

Buccos -  Three Titles in a Row

• 1903 - Bill Dinneen struck out 11 and pitched a complete game three-hitter for the Boston Americans as they defeated the Bucs 3-0 at the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds in the second game of the first World Series. Patsy Dougherty homered off both starter Sam Leever, who left with an injury, and reliever Bucky Veil to provide the Boston offense. 
• 1908 - Pittsburgh took over the NL lead by a gnat’s eyelash after sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals at Robison Field. Lefty Leifield won the opener 7-4 as Fred Clarke and Alan Storke each had three hits to lead the attack. Howie Camnitz took the nitecap 2-1, tossing a seven hitter with seven K, backed by homers off the bats of Honus Wagner and George Gibson. Two percentage points separated New York‚ Chicago‚ and Pittsburgh going into the final week of the season; the Cubs won by a game over the Buccos and G-Men. 
• 1909 - Pirates backstop George Gibson set the then-record of catching in 134 consecutive games in a 3-1 loss to the Cubs, breaking the previous mark set by the Washington Senators’ Deacon McGuire in 1895. He set another MLB record for games played in a season by a catcher with 150, which had also been held by McGuire. His 150 games caught record stood until 1920 when Ray Schalk caught 151 games. And while he was at it, he led all NL catchers in fielding percentage and caught stealing, both in number of runners and percentage in 1909. Oh, he helped win a pennant and World Series while he was at it.