6/21 Through the 1970’s: Baker Debut; Big Day Bigbee; Robby Busy; Game Stories; HBD Spencer

• 1888 - Chicago’s George “Rip” Van Haltren no-hit the Alleghenys in a rain-shortened, seven inning outing at West Side Park that the White Stockings won 1-0. Van Haltren would convert to the outfield in 1891, and spent a couple of years in Pittsburgh (1892-93) roaming the pasture, with a dozen games at SS. 

Jake Beckley - Dick Perez Art Card

• 1893 - Pittsburgh rallied past Cleveland 6-5 by scoring five in the bottom of the ninth at Exposition Park. The Spiders committed a pair of errors in the last frame, and Jake Beckley blasted a three-run triple for the walk-off win. The Pittsburgh Press set up Beckley’s blow: “The bases were full, and so were the Cleveland’s - full of alarm and bad humor. The crowd was full of excitement and began to yell and scream. But finally Beckley settled the controversies of the day by swinging the ball into right field good and true...” 
• 1898 - IF Spencer Adams was born in Layton, Utah. He spent four seasons in the majors on four teams as a bench guy, starting as a 25-year-old in 1923 with the Pirates and hitting .250 in 25 games. The Pirates had sent two players and $5,000 to Seattle to get Adams; at the end of the year, they flipped him to Oakland, another PCL club, as part of the Ray Kremer deal. 
• 1922 - Carson Bigbee banged out five hits, including two doubles and a triple good for three RBI while Clyde Barnhart added four hits and chased home four Buccos, but it was for naught as Brooklyn won in 10 innings 15-14. Bigbee and Barnhart each booted a ball, along with Pie Traynor, in the extra frame to lose to the Robins at Ebbets Field. 
• 1961 - Gene Baker became the first African-American manager in organized baseball when the Pirates named him skipper of their Batavia Pirates farm club in the New York-Penn League. A couple of seasons later, he became a Bucco coach, and later finished his off-field career as a midwest Pirates scout. Baker was an eight-year MLB vet as an infielder, and he spent 1957-58 & 1960-61 seasons with Pittsburgh. 

Gene Baker - image via Des Moines Register

• 1971 - Bob Robertson set a MLB record for most assists in a nine inning game by a first baseman with eight in a 6-0 win over the Mets at TRS, helping Dock Ellis to an eight-hit shutout. Ellis was busy, too, setting the NL record for putouts by a pitcher with five. The extra-inning mark for assists was also eight‚ set by the Buc’s Bob Skinner in 1954. 
• 1978 - Bucco shortstop Frank Taveras delivered a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning, bringing home Phil Garner with the walk-off run in a 2-1 victory over the Cubs at TRS. John Candelaria pitched a complete game for the Pirates, as did Chicago’s Ray Burris. “Scrap Iron” had three hits and scored both runs.