6/26 From 1930 Through the 1980’s: Wills 24-Gamer; JT 4-Homer Day; Game Stories; HBD Bill & Jason

• 1930 - Larry French tossed a seven-hit shutout to beat Phil Collins and the Philadelphia Phils 1-0 in the opening game of a Forbes Field DH’er. The Buc bats woke up in game #2, pounding out an 11-5 win. Paul Waner had three hits, including a double and triple, scored four times and drove in a run to lead the attack. All nine Pirates had hits; seven different Bucs scored and seven had RBI. Erv Brame went the distance for the victory. 

Lloyd Waner - colorized photo Conlon/The Sporting News

• 1935 - The Bucs swept a twin bill from Boston at Braves Field by 4-2 and 5-1 scores. It was their third doubleheader in five days (they went 5-1 in the three double dippers), and one that “Little Poison” Lloyd Waner was glad to have end so he could soak his overworked dogs - he set a record by running down 18 balls over the two games (nine in each contest) while collecting five hits. Guy Bush tossed a six-hitter in the opener, and Lloyd’s three knocks led the hit parade, with Pep Young (who homered), Woody Jensen and Gus Suhr adding a pair of raps. Bill Swift spun a four-hitter in the nightcap, chipping in with a pair of doubles along with two-knock outings by Waner, Jensen and Tom Padden. 
• 1943 - OF Bill Robinson was born in McKeesport. The Elizabeth-Forward grad played eight years for Pittsburgh, from 1975-82, batting .276 with 109 HR and 412 RBI. He was a fairly regular starter from 1976-79, and won a ring with the 1971 Bucs. He held a variety of coaching jobs afterward as a hitting coach for the Mets and Yankees, a minor league skipper for the Giants and Phils (he was also a batting instructor w/Philly) and Venezuelan manager,along with a brief gig with ESPN. 
• 1968 - In the year of the pitcher, the Bucs found themselves on the wrong end of history as St. Louis’ Bob Gibson tossed his fifth straight shutout against them, winning 3-0 on a five-hitter at Busch Stadium. He was zoned in on one of the great hurling streaks of history. The Dodgers scored once off him in the next game, then he authored three more shutouts in his next five games, giving up one run twice. His totals for that stretch of 11 games were: 11 wins, 11 complete games, 99 innings, three runs allowed on 56 hits, with 13 walks and 82 strikeouts. 
• 1968 - Bucco 3B Maury Wills ran his hitting streak to 24 games against Bob Gibson in a 3-0 loss to the Cards at Busch Stadium by beating out a ninth-inning bunt single. It ended during the second game of the twinbill, a 3-1 Pirate win, when Larry Jaster and Wayne Granger laid an 0-for-5 on Wills. It was a good run by Wills; he hit .419 during the 24-game stretch. 

Jason Kendall - 2004 Fleer Showcase

• 1974 - Jason Kendall was born in San Diego. He spent nine years as a Pirate (1996-2004), putting up a .308 BA, hitting over .300 six times and earning three All-Star berths. He was on a Hall of Fame track before a string of injuries slowed his career, finishing his 16-year run with a .288 BA. Kendall has been a member of the KC Royals coaching staff, serving as a roving special assignment coach, since retiring as a player in 2012. 
• 1984 - 1B Jason Thompson hit two homers in each game (a pair off Dennis Eckersley and then two more off Rich Bordi) during a doubleheader split with the Cubs at Wrigley Field, winning 9-0 behind a Rick Rhoden four hitter and dropping the nitecap 9-8. Thompson tied the club record (established by Ralph Kiner on 9/11/47) by hitting four home runs in a doubleheader. In the opener, the Pirates jumped to a quick 8-0 lead after three innings, with the only drama being Johnny Ray’s effort for a cycle (he fell a homer short). Doug Frobel joined the HR parade in the second match by also adding a pair of long flies, but the four homers were all solo shots and not quite enough to rally the Bucs from a six-run opening frame by the Cubbies against Larry McWilliams. 
• 1988 - It took 10 innings before anyone could push a run across the dish, but the Bucs outlasted the Expos 3-0 at Stade Olympique. Doug Drabek gave up two hits over eight innings and Jeff Robinson cruised home, giving up a rap and fanning four in 1-2/3 IP for the win. In the final frame, a Montreal error and two walks set up a sac fly by Sid Bream and the coup d’ grace was applied by Mike LaValliere, who doubled in a pair; all three runs were unearned. The Bucs made it hard on themselves by stranding 12 and going 1-for-11 w/RISP.