5/4 Through the 1910s: Babe's Day; Three 1-0 Wins; HBD Zip, Vic & Lou

• 1875 - OF Lou Gertenrich was born in Chicago. His MLB career consisted of six at-bats, half with the 1903 Pirates as he went 0-for-3. He was somewhat of a semi-pro legend in the Windy City who played sporadically in the pros as he was a well-off businessman (his family was in the chocolates business) besides ballplayer. He got his day as a Bucco when the Pirates were in Chicago. Manager Fred Clarke, who was injured, had given outfielder Jimmy Sebring three days off for his wedding and being a man down, the Buccos used Gertenrich for the match. He went hitless, but did lay down a bunt and played the pasture flawlessly. Though he did stay local, he dabbled in the pro ranks off-and-on until 1913, closing his career out with the then-independent Federal League Chicago Keeleys. After that season, he continued to play semi-pro ball in The Windy City until he passed away in 1933. 

Vic Saier 1919 (photo Conlon Collection/Getty)

• 1891 - 1B Vic Saier was born in Lansing, Michigan. Vic took over first base for Frank Chance (Tinker-to-Evans-to-Chance) in 1911. He had six good seasons for the Cubs before he broke his leg in 1917, missing almost all that year and 1918, when he worked in a defense factory. The Bucs took a chance on him in 1919, but Saier hit only .223 in 58 games and was released before the season was over; some say the performance was because he was unhappy that he was no longer a Cub. 
• 1892 - OF John Edgar “Zip” Collins was born in Brooklyn. Collins started his career in Pittsburgh in 1914-15 and also played with the Boston Braves and Philadelphia Athletics during his five-year big league run. He came to Pittsburgh as a 22-year-old hotshot out of the Texas League and he did hit .276 during his Pirates tenure before being sold to Boston late in the 1915 campaign. He played pro ball until 1925 and then managed in the minors until taking a variety of day jobs. Zip got his nickname not due to his wheels but because of his strong arm; he had 20 assists for the Pirates, but his 18 errors offset his rifle arm. 
• 1908 - After losing three in a row at Cincinnati’s Palace of the Fans, Vic Willis tossed a five hitter to top Billy Campbell and the Reds 1-0. Honus Wagner tripled in the seventh and a grounder by Ed “Abby” Abbaticchio brought him home. 
• 1909 - The Pirates won their fourth straight over the Cubs by beating Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown 1-0 in 11 innings at West Side Park behind a Dots Miller RBI and Babe Adams shutout. It was the second time in three weeks that the Pirates defeated the hard-luck Brown 1-0 in extra innings. 

Babe liked this date (1910 photo George Bain/Library of Congress)

• 1913 - Pitcher Babe Adams was a one man wrecking crew at Redland Field. He threw a two-hit shutout against Cincinnati and drove home the game's only run with the Pirates only hit, a triple. The 31 year old Adams (he pitched until he was 40) was the team ace that year, winning 21 games with a 2.15 ERA while working 313-⅓ innings.