8/17 From 1980: Clemente Stamp & Movie, GI HR Run; Game Stories

• 1984 - A 20-cent commemorative stamp recognizing the 50th birthday of Roberto Clemente was issued by the Post Office in Carolina, Puerto Rico, his birthplace. The release ceremony was held at the Roberto Clemente Sport City facility. His stamp was designed by Juan Lopez-Bonilla and shows Arriba with the Puerto Rican flag in the background. 

• 1988 - Newly acquired Dave LaPoint went seven innings in his first Pirates start, giving up a run on three hits, to lead the Pirates to a 2-1 win over the Braves in front of 33,164 Buck Night fans at TRS. Pittsburgh got RBIs from Jose Lind and Tom Prince in the second and third innings, and it was just enough to squeeze by Tom Glavine. Jim Gott earned the save in a game that took the quick-working LaPoint and company just 2:05 to complete. 
• 1990 - In a battle of division leaders, the Bucs swept the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium by 7-1 and 4-3 tallies. In the opener, Wally Backman doubled twice and drove in two runs; Spanky LaValliere also doubled and had two RBI. Bobby Bonilla cranked a homer and scored three times as Mike York got the win in his MLB debut with help from Bob Patterson. In the nitecap, the Bucs rode three solo shots by Jay Bell, Bobby Bo and Jeff King and a two out single by Bell in the eighth that plated John Cangelosi to victory. John Smiley was credited with the victory and Stan Belinda worked the last two frames for the save.
• 2003 - The Pirates drew 24,092 to PNC Park for Charlie Brown bobblehead night, and the fans were treated to a 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Tike Redmond, Jack Wilson and Reggie Sanders homered for the Bucs as Josh Fogg claimed the win. Fogg helped himself by breaking the Pirates staff 10-game streak of giving up homers and helped the team with his performance; they were playing a man short after trading 1B Randall Simon to the Cubs earlier in the day for SS Ray Sadler. 
• 2004 - The Bucs dispatched Arizona 7-1 at Bank One Ballpark to win for the eighth time in their last nine decisions. Ty Wigginton and Craig Wilson homered as Jose Castillo banged out a pair of doubles. Ryan Vogelsong tossed seven innings of one run, six hit ball for the win. 

Garrett Jones - 2009 Topps Update

• 2009 - Garrett Jones homered in Pittsburgh's 9–5 victory over Milwaukee at PNC Park for his 13th home run in the 40 games since his June 30th call up. He was the first rookie in eight years to hit 13+ home runs in that span, joining Albert Pujols and Adam Dunn, who did it 2001. Adam LaRoche and Ronny Cedeno also went long as the Bucs won for only the second time in 14 games. He signed with the Pirates in the off season as a minor league free agent. 
• 2012 - James McDonald and four relievers held St. Louis to four hits at Busch Stadium to claim a 2-1 victory over the Redbirds. The two Buc runs scored in the fourth and both were unearned - one scored on a wild pitch, the other on a passed ball with an error in between. 
• 2013 - The film “Baseball’s Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories” premiered at the Strand Theater in Zelienople. The movie was written by West View native Richard Rossi. It had its initial showing in Hollywood, but Rossi edited the film into its final version for this viewing. 
• 2018 - The Pirates lost a second consecutive 1-0 game to the Cubs at PNC Park, both decided by Chicago solo homers, to run their scoreless streak to 23 innings. Today’s match was especially frustrating - the Pirates tied the MLB record held by the 1969 San Francisco Giants & 1942 Philadelphia Athletics by hitting into seven double plays in regulation, including the game-ender with runners on first and second with an out in the ninth; David Freese and Josh Bell each banged into a pair of DPs. The Cubbies and Buccos set a new nine-inning NL record by smacking into nine total twin killings. The poor fans sat through all the misery until the wee hours; the game start was delayed by 1:47 after waiting out a storm that rolled over the city, providing the only local thunder and lightning they would see. Trevor Williams and Ivan Nova were the hard-luck losers after dancing with Cole Hamels and Jon Lester.