10/2 From 1910 To 1974: Mateo Takes Crown; Triple Header; Bucs Clinch in '74; Game Stories; HBD Maury, Rex & Robby

• 1911 - Scout Rex Bowen was born in Shiloh, New Jersey. After a minor league career as a player, Bowen bird-dogged for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1943-50, the Pirates from 1950-1967, spending the last 12 years as the club’s scouting director, and as his last act joined the Reds front office from 1967-90. He signed Bill Mazeroski (who ended up marrying Rex’s secretary, Milene), Dick Groat, Bruce Dal Canton, Gene Freese, Gene Michaels and George Freese among others. In 2000, Baseball America named him one of the top ten scouts of the 20th Century. 
• 1914 - Phil Douglas of Cincinnati gave up just one hit, a single to Honus Wagner, but three walks - one with the bases loaded - and two errors in the ninth turned the tide as the Reds lost 2-1 to George McQuillan and the Pirates at Forbes Field. It was the third game in his career where Hans had the only Pittsburgh hit. With a game to go, Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press described the last series as “...closing out the most disastrous season the Pirates have known since Fred Clarke became their chieftain.” The Bucs finished 69-85, in seventh place and 25-½ games out. 

Hits in 3 games in one day - Clyde Barnhart (photo Paul Thompson/via RMY Auctions)

• 1920 - After a pair of rainouts, the Pirates and Reds played the last MLB tripleheader at Forbes Field. The Bucs wanted to get in the games to keep alive its slim hopes for a third place finish (and post-season bonus). It didn’t happen as the Reds took 2-of-3 to clinch the third spot. Cincy won the first two games 13-4 and 7-3 before losing the third game 6-0 to Johnny Morrison, a six-inning affair shortened due to darkness. Buc rookie 3B Clyde Barnhart became the only player in big league history to have hits in three games in one day, as he had two knocks in game one, and one each in the other two games. Peter Harrison earned his check; he was the home plate umpire for all three games. Starting at noon, the three games took exactly five hours to play. The Pittsburgh franchise also played the first MLB tripleheader, being swept in 1890 by Boston, so the circle was unbroken. And finally, it was the first true three-bagger in baseball as the other two triple headers played were actually morning games followed by an afternoon twin bill, with two admissions charged. 
• 1932 - IF Maury Wills was born in Washington, DC. His glory years were with the Dodgers, though he played for Pittsburgh for two seasons, from 1967-68, as a third baseman who hit .290 with 81 steals. The Pirates sent him to Montreal and in 1969 he returned to LA, where he had spent the first eight years of his career and would spend his final four campaigns. Wills was one of the great base stealers of his era, amassing 564 swiped sacks in his 14 years. Maury coached in several one-off leagues and did some broadcasting; his one year as skipper of the Seattle Mariners was pretty much a fiasco. 
• 1946 - Bob Robertson was born in Mt. Savage, Maryland. A member of the 1971 WS champs, Big Red hit four home runs in the 1971 NLCS against the Giants, three in one game, and added two more in the Fall Classic against the Orioles. In the years 1970-71, he bombed 53 HR, but never realized his potential as a Pirate. In nine Pittsburgh seasons, he hit .245 with 106 long balls, which was enough for Bob Prince to nickname him “The Mount Savage Strong Man.” 
• 1966 - Matty Alou finished the season with a .342 BA to win the NL batting title. He went 4-for-6 against the Giants at Forbes Field in a 7-3 Bucco loss. The Pirates finished the season with 92 wins and the Giants with 93, but LA took the pennant with 95 victories. 
• 1969 - The batting title went down to the final swing; Pete Rose bunted for a single at Atlanta in his last at-bat while Roberto Clemente went 3-for-4 in a 8-2 win against the Expos, giving Rose a final .348 to .345 edge. If Clemente, who grounded out in his last dibs, had singled, his BA would have been .347; if Rose’s bunt failed, his would have been .346. 

Roberto Clemente - 1969 Topps

• 1971 - The San Francisco Giants scored four runs in the fifth inning off Steve Blass on a pair of two-out homers by Tito Fuentes and Willie McCovey, and the outburst was just enough to drop the Pirates 5-4 in the opening game of the NLCS at Candlestick Park. Dave Cash scored twice and had an RBI while Al Oliver drove home a pair of runs in the loss. It was the Pirates sixth straight loss in the City by the Bay. 
• 1974 - Bob Smizik’s Pittsburgh Press game story was headlined “Pirates Blunder Into Division Title” and it was right on. The Pirates rallied from a 4-0 hole against the Cubs at TRS to get within a run in the ninth. With two gone and Manny Sanguillen on third, pinch hitter Bob Robertson K’ed on a Rick Reuschel slider. The ball got away from Steve Swisher, and his throw to first hit the plodding Robby on the back and caromed into right, allowing The Roadrunner to score. The Bucs won it in the next inning when Al Oliver tripled and scored on Sangy’s swinging bunt up the third base line. A loss would have given the St. Louis Cardinals, with a rainout to make up, a chance to tie for the lead. The fans didn’t act in championship fashion, tossing bottles at the Cub outfielders, who had to wear batting helmets in the field. Plate ump Shag Crawford told Smizik after the game that “It was the worst I’ve ever seen a big league crowd. I finally gave some thought to forfeiting in the ninth, but (manager Danny) Murtaugh really helped out...” when he went on the field and scolded the crowd into civility.