6/7 Through the 1950’s: Klein Signed; Walkout Nixed; Game Stories; HBD Les, Bones & Bill

• 1863 - SS William “Bones” Ely was born in North Girard, just outside Erie. And if you’ve ever wondered who held down the regular SS position before Honus Wagner, wonder no more - Bones is the man. Ely played for the Alleghenys/Pirates from 1896-1901, and was a good glove man who hit .256 for Pittsburgh. He was released in the summer of 1901, the Bucs first pennant-winning year, at the age of 38 and his spot was taken by the Flying Dutchman. If you saw him, you’d understand his nickname in a flash - Ely was 6’1” and 155 pounds soaking wet. 

Bones Ely - 1896 team photo snip

• 1907 - Les Biederman was born in Wilkinsburg. He was the Pittsburgh Press' Pirates beat reporter for 31 years (1939-69) and served as The Sporting News' Pittsburgh correspondent. Les was also president of the BBWAA and named “Sportswriter of the Year” in 1960 by a couple of national organizations. 
• 1911 - Talk about pitching to contact: Pirates hurlers had the Giants beating the ball into the dirt all day as Pittsburgh fielders handled 55 total chances for a MLB record 28 assists and 27 putouts. Unfortunately, there were more than a couple that got away, as the Bucs committed seven errors (it was contagious; the Giants chipped in five boots of their own) with miscues charged to five different Pirates on their way to a 9-4 loss to New York at Forbes Field. The Pittsburgh Press lede was “The Pittsburgh Pirates were defeated by the New York Giants...in a genuine comedy of errors. The Buccaneers made as many bungles as bingles while the Giants ran a close second in the foozle column.” Both teams straightened out - John McGraw’s G-Men won the NL with 99 victories while Fred Clarke’s Pirates finished third with an 85-69 slate. 
• 1939 - The Bucs signed former All-Star/triple crown winner and future Hall-of-Famer OF Chuck Klein, who was released by Philadelphia. Klein, 34, hit .300 in 85 games for Pittsburgh and then returned to the Phils as a free agent. In a bit of an oddity, the Bucs released another future Hall of Famer at the end of his career, Heinie Manush, to make roster room for Klein. 
• 1940 - LF Maurice Van Robays went 4-for-5 with a 2B, 3B and five RBI to lead Pittsburgh to a 10-5 win over Philadelphia at Forbes Field. Paul Waner and Arky Vaughan added three hits apiece as every Pirates starting position player had a hit plus run scored and/or RBI. Mace Brown, the starter, was chased in the second and gave up all the Phil scores; Johnny Lanning finished out the final 7-1/3 innings surrendering just three hits; neither Buc hurler registered a K. 

MVR 1940 photo via Retro Images

• 1946 - An hour before the game, the Pirates voted against a walkout in support of the American Baseball Guild, which was pushing for a minimum salary of $7‚500‚ arbitration of salary disputes‚ and players sharing in 50 percent of any team sale price. The motion actually carried by a 20-16 vote, but needed a ⅔ majority. The Bucs took it out their frustrations on the poor baseball, beating the New York Giants 10-5 behind a 15 hit attack. Every Pittsburgh starter, including winning pitcher Ed Bahr, reached base via hit/walk and all but C Bill Salkeld either scored and/or chased runs home.
• 1955 - Ump Bill Hohn was born in Butler. He spent a decade calling games in the minors with a couple of part-time shots in the show and was hired by the NL full time in 1989. He worked the 1994 All-Star Game, three NLDS sets and was the home plate umpire for Hideo Nomo's 1996 no-hitter. Hohn took a hiatus from 1999-2001 when he was part of the umpire gang that resigned in an effort to get a new labor deal and didn’t get reinstated until the 2002 season. Bill’s last campaign was in 2010; he sat out 2011 with back/neck injuries and retired in 2012.