5/17 From 1920 Through the 1970’s: Virdon Deal; Hank & Jackie; Game Stories; HBD Ozzie, Pascual & Jose

• 1920 - The Pirates scored three runs in the bottom of the 15th to edge the Giants‚ 7-6 at Forbes Field. NY plated a pair in the 15th when C Walter Schmidt took his sweet time chasing down a wild pitch by Elmer Ponder, allowing not one but two Giants to score. Pittsburgh rallied and took the contest in their half when Charlie Grimm singled in Possum Whitted with two down for the game winner. With all that, the game took just 2:43 to complete. 

Ozzie Virgil 1965 Topps

• 1932 - Utilityman Osvaldo “Ozzie” Virgil Sr. was born in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic. He spent nine campaigns playing off MLB benches, stopping in Pittsburgh in 1965 and hitting .265 while playing infield and catching. After his playing days, he coached for nearly 20 years. His son, Ozzie Jr., played in 11 MLB seasons (1980–90) and was a two-time NL All-Star. 
• 1947 - Hank Greenberg, who had heard an anti-semitic slur or three during his career, made Jackie Robinson’s transition a little easier when he checked on Robinson after a collision at first, then advised Jackie to “...stick in there. You’re doing fine.” during a 4-0 Bucco win at Forbes Field over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Per Paul Guggenheimer of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Hammerin’ Hank (Greenberg was the original) told Jackie “Don’t pay attention to these guys who are trying to make it hard for you. I hope that you and I can get together for a talk. There are a few things I’ve learned down through the years that might help you and make it easier.” As far as the game went, da Bums outhit Pittsburgh 12-4, but one of the Pirate knocks was a two-run homer by Greenberg. 
• 1956 - The Pirates traded with St. Louis for CF Bill Virdon, sending LHP Dick Littlefield and OF Bobby Del Greco to the Redbirds. The Quail, who was Rookie of the Year in 1955 for the Cards, played 11 seasons for the Pirates, roaming the spacious center field pasture of Forbes Field for a decade while hitting .266 and later returned as a coach and manager. 
• 1957 - RHP Pascual Perez was born in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic. Pérez was signed by scout Neftalí Cruz in 1976. He pitched for the Pirates from 1980-81 with a slash of 2-8/3.94 before being sold to Atlanta where he took off. The 11-year vet was quite a character, using a hand motion to shoot down opposing batters, liberally buzzing batters, tossing a blooper pitch and peeking between his legs to check runners at first, even on occasion hiking the ball through his wickets as his pickoff. His last big league campaign was in 1991 with the Yankees. Perez’s colorful career came to a sad end when he was beaten to death in 2012 during a robbery in his homeland. 

Pascual Perez 1982 Topps

• 1959 - The Cubs and Pirates traded long balls in a doubleheader split at Wrigley Field, with the clubs banging out 10 homers. Bill Mazeroski hit a pair and drove in three runs as the Bucs took the opener 5-4 behind Vern Law and ElRoy Face. The Cubs came back in the nightcap, claiming a 7-6 win thx to Pittsburgh’s “messing up of a pop fly” per Post Gazette writer Jack Herndon, giving Bennie Daniels the loss. Beside Maz’s two long flies, Roberto Clemente added a pair (one flew just to the left of the scoreboard, one of the longest blows ever hit at Wrigley) while Dick Hoak and Bob Skinner also homered. 
• 1971 - Roberto Clemente's two-out, two-run, walk-off triple off Mike Marshall carried the Bucs to a 6-5 win over the Expos at TRS. Clemente had three hits, including a homer, and three RBI. His home run and Bob Robertson’s in the eighth had pulled Pittsburgh within a run to set up Clemente’s ninth inning heroics. Montreal had jumped to a 5-0 lead in the third off Luke Walker, but the bullpen work of Jim Nelson, Nellie Briles and Mudcat Grant shut them down the remainder of the game. 
• 1976 - OF Jose Guillen was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. Signed by the Bucs in 1992, he made the Opening Day roster in 1997 after tearing up the High A Carolina League with Lynchburg. The RF’er was traded after the 1999 season after hitting .267 in his three-year Bucco span. In 2003, he found his power stroke and was a solid MLB player for 14 seasons, finishing up with a .270 BA and 214 long balls. 

Jose Guillen 1997 Pinnacle

• 1979 - Willie Stargell homered twice, with his two-run shot off Jesse Orosco in the eighth being the game-winner, in a 6-5 victory over the Mets at TRS. Pittsburgh only had seven hits on the day but made them count as they went 5-for-10 with RISP. Ed Whitson got the start, Jim Bibby came on in the sixth, and Teke Tekulve got the victory with two scoreless frames. The Pirates started the season slowly, being 12-18 at one point before a six-game winning streak got them back above water and helped launch them to an eventual world championship.