1/29 Through the 1950’s: Hans HoF; Waner, Simon, Rooks; Friend Signed, Dickson Bought, Swift Deal; HBD Denny & Frank

• 1848 - Harmar Denny McKnight, son of local politico Robert McKnight, was born on Western Avenue in Allegheny City. He founded the Allegheny Baseball Club of Pittsburgh on October 15th, 1881, making him the father of the Pirates. McKnight managed the club during the 1884 season and was also the first president of the American Association. The Alleghenys bolted to the NL in 1887 following a flap over signing Sam Barkley, after which McKnight sold the club to William Nimick. 

Denny McKnight 1909 (photo via National Baseball HoF)

• 1882 - OF Frank Delahanty was born in Cleveland to a baseball family - his brothers, Ed, Jim, Joe and Tom all played in the show. After a four-year run in MLB as a bench player, Frank jumped to the Federal League in 1914, starting briefly with Buffalo and closing out his big league time with the Rebels in 1914-15, batting .239. He went on to a life of turmoil after baseball, becoming a politician who retired after a bribery scandal and then turned to bootlegging. He saw the light at age 50, found a legit job and became a regular fan of his hometown nine, the Indians, before passing away after a serious fall at the age of 82. 
• 1914 - C Mike Simon jumped from the Pirates to the St. Louis Terriers of the Federal League. He was a light-hitting (.244 BA), backup catcher for five years during the Bucs’ Mooney Gibson era behind the dish and joined the “grass is greener” exodus to the upstart league in search of PT. He spent two seasons in the FL, moving to the Brooklyn Tip-Tops in 1915, and hit just .196 over that three-year span to end his major league career. 
• 1928 - The Pittsburgh Press’ sports page lede was “Lloyd Waner: Can He Continue Dazzling Pace?” A couple of column inches beneath the banner, the article continued “Fans Wonder if Youth Will Lose Luster After Year of Brilliance” following a rookie campaign that saw Little Poison finish third in batting with a .354 BA and lead the league in runs, plating 133 times. They needn’t have fretted during the winter - Lloyd patrolled center field for 17 seasons in Pittsburgh with a .319 BA while laying the groundwork for his later entry into the Hall of Fame. 

Bill Smith 1934 Goudey

• 1932 - RHP Billy Swift was traded by Kansas City Blues of the American Association to the Pirates for RHP Bob Osborn and C Eddie Phillips. It was a good deal: Osborne never pitched in the majors again and Phillips played for three more seasons while Swift worked eight years for the Bucs, posting 91 wins. Swift was a pitch-to-contact guy; he walked few (1.9/9 innings), struck out almost no one (3.4/9 innings) and still posted a 3.57 ERA in Pittsburgh. 
• 1936 - Honus Wagner, along with Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson, was selected by the BBWAA to become the first Hall of Fame class. They had to wait until July 12th, 1939, for the enshrinement, though, until the museum in Cooperstown was opened and the first four HoF classes were inducted en masse. 
• 1939 - Before the Pirates headed for camp, UPI published an article on six rookies to watch. Three ended up pretty good ballplayers - Bob Elliott was a six-time All Star, Frankie Gustine played in the Midsummer Classic three times and Ken Heintzelman pitched for 13 years in the show. Alas, the other three players - Fern Bell, Mel Preibisch and Jack Juelich - managed parts of just five major league seasons among them, none lasting past 1940. 
• 1949 - The Pirates purchased RHP Murry “Dick” Dickson from the Cardinals for $125,000. During his five-year stay in Pittsburgh, he went 66-85 with a 3.83 ERA and had a 20-win season in 1951 while the Pirates won only 64 games that year. In fact, during his Pittsburgh years, he accounted for nearly 25% of the Pirates wins (66-of-274) before being traded to the Phillies. Known as a soft thrower with a variety of pitches and a rubber arm, he worked more than 200 innings in 10 straight seasons, beginning when he turned 31 in 1947. 

Murry Dickson 1953 Redman

• 1959 - RHP Bob Friend signed a contract for $30,000, making him the highest paid Pirates pitcher to date, surpassing Rip Sewell’s $21,500 salary during the forties. Friend certainly earned the deal, sparkling in 1958 with a 22-14/3.68 slash, his second All-Star bid and a third place finish in the Cy Young balloting.