8/8 From 1940 Through the 1960’s: Bucs Sold; SI Groat; Law Retires; Basebrawl; Game Stories; HBD Mark & Brett

• 1946 - Bill Benswanger, representing the Dreyfuss family, sold the Bucs to a group headed by Frank McKinney and John Galbreath with Bing Crosby as one of the minority investors. The price was reported to be $2.5M. The Galbreath group controlled the Pirates until 1985 when he sold the club to a group of local business and civic leaders, the Pittsburgh Associates, who baby-sat the club for another decade.  

Murry Dickson - 1952 Topps

• 1952 - Murry Dickson did it all for the Bucs. He pitched a 10-inning, six-hit, 1-0 shutout against the Cubs at Forbes Field and drove in the game’s only run. Joe Garagiola led off the 10th with a single, and Brandy Davis, who had just been called up from Waco and didn’t arrive at the park until 7:30, was sent in to pinch run. A grounder moved him up a station, and with two down, Dickson hit a ball toward the SS hole. Roy Smalley made a diving stop to knock the ball down, but that didn’t slow down the speedster Davis who sprinted home from second on the infield knock. 
• 1957 - RHP Mark Ross was born in Galveston, Texas. Mark got six pretty brief stops in the show, two with Pittsburgh in 1987 and his last go-around in 1990. In 10 Pittsburgh outings, he went 1-0/3.95. Ross pitched for Team USA in 1987 and served for several seasons as a minor league coach for the Atlanta Braves organization. 
• 1960 - Dick Groat was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the story “Fiery Leader of the Pirates.” The team captain and All-Star became the first Pirate to be named MVP since Paul Waner in their last pennant year of 1927 and led the league with a .325 BA. 
• 1961 - The Bucs swept a twinbill against the Phils by 10-2, 3-2, scores at Connie Mack Stadium, running Philadelphia’s losing streak to 12 games. Harvey Haddix and Tom Sturdivant spun the ball nicely while Smoky Burgess went 5-for-5 in the opener with a homer and four RBI while Don Hoak added five hits during the afternoon, also launching a long ball. The frustrated Phillies didn’t go down without a fight - in the sixth inning of the nightcap, Roberto Clemente threw out the tying run, Tony Gonzalez, at the plate. Catcher Hal Smith was spiked high and applied a hard tag; Gonzalez took a poke at him and the fireworks erupted. The ensuing basebrawl went on for nearly 10 minutes, left both managers (Danny Murtaugh & Gene Mauch) battered (Mauch ended up with a shiner) and had seven different individual battles going on before peace was restored. The umps, who perhaps wisely stayed out of the fray and oddly didn’t toss a soul, had two of Philadelphia’s finest sit on each teams’ bench for the remainder of the contest. 

The Deacon would be back - 2001 Topps Golden Anniversary Greats

• 1963 - Injuries drove RHP Vern Law to the voluntarily retired list. But he returned with a vengeance to win 12 games in 1964, and in 1965, at the age of 35, he led the Pirates with 17 victories and a 2.15 ERA. He was honored with the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award as comeback player of the year. But the injuries finally wore him down and the Deacon retired permanently after the 1967 campaign. 
• 1963 - RHP Brett Gideon was born in Ozona, Texas. He was a sixth round pick of the Pirates in 1985 and made his debut in 1987, getting in 29 games with a 1-5-3, 4.46 line. He was traded to Montreal for Neal Heaton in 1989, and only got in five games in two Expo seasons. Brett worked in the minors until 1992 before hangin’ up the spikes. Now he’s the national sales director for a pharmo company. 
• 1964 - Bob Veale struck out 11 batters and tossed a complete game as the Pirates beat the Cubs 5-2 at Forbes Field. The Cubs scored twice in the first inning before Big Bob shut the door and let the offense do its thing. Bob Bailey put the Pirates ahead in the fifth inning with a three-run homer while Gene Freese provided the coup d’ grace in the sixth with a two-run blast. 
• 1969 - Manny Sanguillen was a homer shy of the cycle and scored three times as he led the Pirates to a 7-1 win over the Padres at San Diego Stadium. The Roadrunner was on a roll, going 13 for his last 26 at bats. Willie Stargell added a double and two RBI. Bob Veale gave up 11 hits but struck out 10 Friars for the win.