9/17 Through the 1910’s: Hans Finale; Specs Debut; Game Stories; HBD Otto, Wildfire, Bob, Whitey & Sam

• 1870 - IF Dick “Brain” Padden was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. A middle infielder, he played his first three big league seasons in Pittsburgh (1896-98) and hit .265; he spent nine years total in the show. His nickname came about because of his baseball savvy, with words like “crafty” and “clever” used to describe his play. After he retired, Padden scouted for the St. Louis Browns & the Washington Senators and worked in the Ohio glass industry. 

Otto Krueger 1904 - image The Sporting Life

• 1876 - Utilityman Otto Krueger was born in Chicago. Otto played 15 years of pro ball, seven in the majors. He suited up for the Pirates from 1903-04, hitting .219. Krueger missed the ‘03 World Series (he was recovering from a beaning) and was traded the next season as part of the package for Del Howard. He was nicknamed "Oom (Uncle) Paul” Otto after the president of the Transvaal, “Oom” Paul Kruger, as American audiences of his era were fascinated by the Boer War. 
• 1882 - OF Frank “Wildfire” Schulte was born in Cochecton, New York. Frank played organized pro ball for 21 years, beginning his journey in 1902 after turning down $1,000 from his father to give up baseball and work in the family business. He was a star for the Cubs and played in four World Series, but was on the downhill slope of his career in 1916 when he was traded to the Bucs. Frank hit .239 in Pittsburgh and was sold to the Phils; his last campaign was 1918. His nickname was somewhat self-anointed; he was a fan of actress Lillian Russell and a play she starred in by that title. That led him to name one of his racehorses Wildfire; eventually the sportswriters picked up on it and applied the moniker to him. 
• 1893 - RHP Charles “Whitey” Glazner was born in Sycamore, Alabama. He pitched from 1920-23 for the Bucs, with a line of 27-18/3.48, with an exceptional 1921 campaign when Whitey went 14-5-1 with a 2.77 ERA. He was the first Pirates starter to open his career with five straight wins (he relieved twice in 1920), a record that held up until Zach Duke matched it in 2005. But he couldn’t repeat, and was traded to the Phils in 1923. 
• 1898 - 1B Willie Clark banged a pair of bases-loaded triples to help the Pirates avoid being swept by the Brooklyn Bridegrooms at Washington Park, escaping with an 8-8 tie (called after nine innings because of rain) after dropping the opener 6-1. Clark, a local lad who hit .306 during the year, is still the only player in franchise history to hit two bases-loaded triples in a game. 
• 1900 - LHP Sam Streeter was born in New Market, Alabama. After starting out with Birmingham and the Cuban League, Sam worked both sides of the local black league street, tossing for the Homestead Grays from 1928-30 and then finishing his career with a 1931-36 stint with the Pittsburgh Crawfords where he won an All-Star berth in 1933. Streeter had several pitches, but was known particularly for his curve and smarts in setting up a hitter. After his pitching days, Sam went to work at Jones and Laughlin steel mill for 29 years before retiring for good. 

Specs Hill 1927 - photo Conlon/The Sporting News/Getty

• 1915 - Rookie Carmen “Specs” Hill won his first start, 5-0, over the NY Giants in the second game of a twin bill at Forbes Field. Hill pitched eight years for the Pirates, winning 22 games in 1927 for the NL pennant winners. He also became the second MLB pitcher to wear glasses; Lee Meadows, who became a Bucco teammate of Hill in the twenties, was the first big leaguer to sport peepers earlier in the season. The Bucs won the opener 9-6 behind Wilbur Cooper. 
• 1917 - Hans Wagner, at the age of 43, played his final game in a 15-inning, 4-1 loss to the Boston Braves at Forbes Field. Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote “Wagner did not practice but he played second base for the last five innings (actually, he played just a couple or three innings; he was pinch-hit for in the 13th and never batted. Hans did get an assist in the field.) Honus has a very sore right hand which prevents him from properly grasping either ball or bat and he was not anxious to play…” and also was suffering from a badly spiked foot injured in July. The Flying Dutchman sat out the final 12 dates (16 games in all, w/four doubleheaders), finishing his last campaign hitting .265 and retiring as the NL's all-time hit leader with 3,418 knocks (later surpassed by Ty Cobb and later, Pete Rose).
• 1918 - 3B Bob Dillinger was born in Glendale, California. Dillinger was a speedy contact hitter who lead the league in stolen bases from 1947-49. The Bucs had him for the last half of 1950 and first half of 1951. The 31-year-old hit a respectable .279 in 70 games as a platoon player, but his wheels weren’t what they used to be and he stole just six bases in that span.