12/7 From 1930 Through the 1970’s: Hebner Leaves; Connie HoF; Reynolds, Lopez, Johnson Deals; HBD Hal, Ken, Don & Bo,

• 1930 - C Hal Smith was born in West Frankfort, Illinois. Although the backup catcher only played two seasons (1960-61) in Pittsburgh, his three-run homer in the seventh game of the 1960 World Series, overshadowed by Maz’s dramatic walk-off, may have been the key blow of the entire set. Mel Allen called it "one of the most dramatic base hits in the history of the World Series." It put the Bucs up 8-6 after eight innings and set the stage for Maz, whose blow nudged Smith from the history books. Hal retired after 10 years in the show, batting .267 overall and catching 75> games in seven of those campaigns. 

Hal Smith 1960 Topps

• 1930 - Scout Ken Beardslee was born in Vermontville, Michigan. Beardslee was called high school’s first ace - he set national records in strikeouts in a 9-inning game (26), threw eight no-hitters, won 24 of 25 games and set the national record for career strikeout average (18 out of every 21 batters) and season average (19 of 21 batters in 1949) while tossing two career perfect games for VHS. It led to six minor league campaigns before back injuries forced him off the mound. Beardslee went on to scout/supervise for the Pirates for 21 years, earning a World Series ring in 1971. He also went on to write eight books including novels, poetry and a pitching how-to titled “Making Every Pitch Count.” 
• 1935 - RHP Don Cardwell was born in Winston-Salem, NC. He spent four seasons (1963-66) in Pittsburgh, where injuries led to a lot of bullpen time. He was 33-33-1 with a 3.38 ERA in his time with the Pirates, winning 13 games in 1963 and again in ‘65 when healthy and starting, but was dogged by arm woes in 1964. Cardwell lasted 14 campaigns, tossing for five teams. He threw a no-hitter for the Cubs and won a ring with 1969 Mets. 
• 1936 - RHP Bo Belinsky was born in New York City. He was the closest thing baseball had to Joe Namath and brought his glitter to the Steel City in 1969 after his playboy career had pretty well dissipated. He went 0-3/4.38 and would pitch just one more major league game in the show after his Bucco stop. Bo did clean up his act later in life, getting clean and becoming a born-again Christian. 
• 1937 - Connie Mack was announced as a selection of the Centennial Commission to the Hall of Fame and was installed on June 12th, 1939, when the Hall officially opened. Mack's last three seasons in the NL were as a player-manager with the Pirates from 1894 to 1896, compiling a .242 BA, close to his career average, and a 149–134 (.527) record as a field general. In 1901 he became manager, treasurer and part owner of the AL's first-year Philadelphia Athletics franchise. He managed the A’s through the 1950 season, compiling a record of 3,582–3,814 (.484) before he retired at 87. 

Al Lopez 1942 Play Ball

• 1946 - The Indians sent OF Gene Woodling to Pittsburgh for veteran C Al Lopez. Lopez played just 61 games in 1947‚ and Woodling spent a season as a reserve, hitting .266 before the Pirates sent him to the minor league San Francisco Seals. Woodling joined the Yankees in 1949, and by the time that he finally hung up his spikes in 1962, he had a 17-year career with three All-Star nods, five World Series rings and a lifetime .288 BA under his belt. 
• 1973 - RHP Bob Johnson was traded by the Pirates to the Cleveland Indians for OF Bill Flowers, who played prep ball in Cincinnati with Dave Parker and was drafted 13 rounds ahead of The Cobra. Johnson won three games before ending his career while Flowers never made it out of the minors. In one of those close but no cigar scenarios, it was reported that a handshake deal had been been made to get 24-year-old Cecil Cooper from the Tribe, but the deal between Boston and Cleveland that would have made that possible fell through at the last minute. 
• 1976 - Pittsburgh traded shortstops Craig Reynolds and Jimmy Sexton to Seattle for LHP Grant Jackson. It was a win-win; the surrendered Pirates prospects had solid MLB careers while Buck was a key part of the bullpen for five years and pitched shutout ball during the 1979 postseason for the World Champion Bucs. Fun fact: this was the first trade ever made by the Mariners. 
• 1976 - Richie Hebner signed a deal with the Phillies after nine campaigns with Pittsburgh. Per SABR, Buc GM Pete Peterson offered the FA $80,000, 90,000, and $100,000 across three seasons. Hebner received an offer from GM Paul Owens of the Phillies for $600K (Baseball Reference shows it at $550K) over three years on 12/6 and signed the contract a day later, becoming official on the 15th. But that superior bid didn’t stop the Pittsburgh FO from being steamed; The Gravedigger had promised they would get last crack at an offer. Ooops. But they eventually kissed and made up; Hebner returned to the fold in 1982.