8/9 From 1950 Through the 1970’s: Rabbit HoF; Candy No Hitter; Pops Wallop; HBD Pat & Matt

• 1954 - SS Rabbit Maranville was inducted into the Hall of Fame after a 14-year wait. The sweet fielder played for Pittsburgh from 1921-24, hitting .283. Rabbit sadly passed away in January, so his long anticipated moment was posthumous. Rabbit’s given name was Walter; he earned his moniker because he was quick as a bunny thx to his speed and size (5’5”). 

Rabbit Maranville 1921 - photo Transcendental/Getty

• 1959 - The Pirates‚ losing 3-1 to the Cubs in the ninth‚ tied the game and then won 5-3 in the 10th at Wrigley Field. Roberto Clemente singled home Dick Groat in the ninth and touched home to tie the game on Smoky Burgess’ sac fly. Groat’s knock in the 10th scored Roman Mejias with the go-ahead run and Rocky Nelson’s bases-loaded walk added an insurance tally. Elroy Face got the W to go 15-0. The win was the 11th extra inning victory in a row for the Pirates; their only loss in their past 16 overtime games was Harvey Haddix's 12-inning perfect game against the Braves in May. 
• 1963 - It was a long day at the yard. A twin bill between the Colt 45's and the Pirates was delayed an hour by rain‚ and then both games went into extra innings. Houston took the opener 7-6 in 15 innings; the Bucs claimed the nitecap by the same score in 11 innings. Only 300 hardy fans remained at Forbes Field when the curtain finally fell at 2:30 AM. Roberto Clemente picked up five RBI in the two contests; Don Schwall lost the first match while Al McBean won the second game. 
• 1964 - Don Schwall and Al McBean combined on a four-hitter to shut out the Chicago Cubs 2-0 at Forbes Field. Battery mate Jim Pagliaroni launched a two-run homer off Bob Buhl in the fourth to back his hurlers. Schwall started and didn’t give up a hit until there were two outs in the sixth inning. 
• 1970 - Willie Stargell became the first player to hit a homer into the RF upper deck at the freshly minted TRS, drilling a shot off the Mets Ron Taylor. Pops would reach the top tier four times, with Bob Robertson and Bobby Bonilla also joining him from the Pirates. The Bucs won 8-3, with Luke Walker getting the victory. Willie and Manny Sanguillen, with a pair of doubles, each had two hits as the Pirates sent Nolan Ryan to defeat. 
• 1970 - RHP Pat Mahomes was born in Bryan, Texas. He began his 11-year career as a starter before being converted into a bullpen arm/spot starter and finished it in Pittsburgh in 2003, going 0-1/4.84 in nine outings, with most of his time spent in AAA Nashville. Pat got around; he worked for six teams in both leagues, pitched in the WS with the Mets in 1999, tossed a couple of seasons in Japan and closed out his career in the indie leagues. His son, Patrick II, is also using his arm, but as an NFL quarterback. Young Mahomes was a multi-sports star in high school like his pops and sported a mid-90s heater before opting for the gridiron. 

Pat Mahomes 2003 - photo Ezra Shaw/Getty

• 1974 - RHP Matt Morris was born in Middletown, NY. Matty Mo was at the end of a solid career when the Pirates took over his hefty contract in 2007 by sending Rajai Davis to the SF Giants for him. Mo went 3-8/7.04 in 16 Bucco starts from 2007-08 and was cut, leaving the Pirates approximately $10M in dead money and greasing the skids for then GM Dave Littlefield. 
• 1976 - The 500th game in Three Rivers Stadium history turned out to be one of its more memorable contests as John Candelaria threw the first no-hitter by a Pirates' pitcher in Pittsburgh since Nick Maddox in 1907 at Expo Park, a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Candy Man gave up a walk with a couple of errors committed behind him, and survived his only jam, a bases-loaded pickle in the third. It was a fitting showcase performance; the Pirate promotion for the game was “Candy Nite” with the fans (all 9,860 of them) getting a Clark Bar before the ABC National Game of the Week.