6/1 From 1950 Through the 1980’s: Veale K's 16; Roberto Eyeballed; Manahan Drafted; Fregosi Kicked Upstairs; Game Stories

• 1954 - Montreal Royals OF’er Roberto Clemente, who the Dodgers had sent to Canada, was nevertheless found out (Roberto was on several radar screens) by Pirate scout Clyde Sukeforth. Sukeforth, ironically, wasn’t even a scout but a Pittsburgh pitching coach on special assignment in Richmond, where the Royals were playing, to check out pitcher Joe Black. Sukeforth strongly recommended that the Bucs take Clemente in the upcoming minor league draft, based more on his pre-game eyeball scouting of Roberto throwing and running than his actual performance, and the rest is history. 

Roberto Clemente - 1955 Topps

• 1960 - Bob Friend gave up a leadoff single to Eddie Kasko, but the Reds would find him hard to hit the rest of the way as the Bucs beat Cincinnati 5-0 at Forbes Field. Friend tossed a three-hitter, walking only one, and none of the Redlegs reached second base. Four Pirates had two hits, with Roberto Clemente driving home a pair of runs and Don Hoak plating twice. 
• 1961 - The Bucs entertained 19,128 Forbes Field faithful by thumping the Milwaukee Braves 8-2. Smoky Burgess with two homers and Dick Groat with another got the crowd on their feet; both had three RBI on the day. Roberto Clemente got them out of the seats with his fielding. He ran down a Joe Adcock shot and taught rookie Joe Torre a lesson in baserunning as described by the Pittsburgh Press beatman Les Biederman: “Torre singled to right...rounded first and Dick Stuart cut off Clemente's throw home and politely tagged out Torre.” Harvey Haddix got the win; he tossed shutout ball after the first inning. 
• 1963 - The Pirates had the best of both worlds, banging out four homers and getting a two-hitter from Bob Friend in a 10-1 runaway against the Mets at the Polo Grounds. The dingers were launched by Bill Virdon, Willie Stargell, Jerry Lynch and Bill Mazeroski. The Bucs collected 16 hits, with four from Donn Clendenon and three each from Lynch and Ducky Schofield. Friend struck out eight in the complete game victory. 
• 1965 - Bob Veale set the Pirate nine-inning strikeout mark when he K'ed 16 Phillies at Forbes Field in a 4-0 victory, even though he sat through two rain delays that added two hours to the game. The big lefty also struck out 16 Reds in 12 innings on September 30th, 1964. Back before the gun, the 6’6” lefty was estimated to throw a heater in the 97-98 MPH range. The five-hitter was the Bucs 12th consecutive win; it came right on the heels of an eight-game losing streak. The Bucs lost the next day but still took eight of the next 10 games. The early hole they dug eventually did them in - although they won 90 games, they finished third behind the Dodgers.  

Bob Veale - 1965 Topps

• 1971 - Dock Ellis tossed a three-hitter as the Bucs bombed the Cardinals 9-0 at TRS. It was a team effort - every Buc had a hit, all but Ellis scored, and six had RBI. Richie Hebner and Dave cash had three hits while Manny Sanguillen and Vic Davalillo added a pair. It was the third straight shutout authored by the Bucs as Steve Blass and Bob Moose zipped the Cubs leading into the series. 
• 1978 - The Pirates released reserve infielder Jim Fregosi at the behest of California Angels’ owner Gene Autry. It was a good faith request - Fregosi, 36, replaced Dave Garcia as Angels manager the next day. 
• 1979 - The Pirates scored four times in the ninth inning to rally past the San Diego Padres 9-8 at TRS. Dave Parker cranked a one-out, three-run homer off John D'Acquisto to tie it, and Lee Lacy drew a bases loaded free pass with two away off Rollie Fingers for the win after Ed Ott had been intentionally walked before him. Phil Garner went 4-for-5 and scored twice. Teke gave up four runs in three innings of work, but it was good enough for the win. After the game, Willie Stargell belted out a tune he thought exemplified the club - “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge - and it caught on, not only among Pirates Nation but the public at large, selling a million copies each of the LP and single after it had sputtered out (although Kim Sledge, who along with her sisters were from Philadelphia, said “The Phillies...should have used our song.”) 

Jim Morrison - 1986 Fleer

• 1986 - Jim Morrison showed the way in a 12-3 win over the LA Dodgers at TRS, hitting a grand slam that he almost lost when when he passed Tony Pena for a heartbeat during his trot around the bases (Tony was standing on first and ready to tag if the big fly was caught, which was his bad, but the umps didn’t see it), a double and triple with seven runs chased home. How often does a guy fall a single short of the cycle? RJ Reynolds also had three knocks and Rick Rhoden went the distance for the win. 
• 1988 - The Pirates drafted prep SS Austin Manahan first in the draft (his bonus wasn’t released; Manahan said in an interview that it was “six figures”); he never made it past AA, and in fact Pittsburgh’s first five picks never made the show. They did hit on a couple of later selections, selecting Tim Wakefield, Randy Tomlin, John Wehner and Blas Minor.