12/1 From 1920-1950’s: Elroy, Rocky, Yde & Gornicki Taken; Mtg & DH; HBD Cal

• 1923 - The Bucs sent a PTBNL (OF Ed Hock) to Oklahoma City of the Western League for LHP Emil Yde. The lefty went 41-19/3.53 for the Pirates from 1924-26, but the wheels fell off in ‘27, he was waived, and spent one more season in the majors, with Detroit in 1929. Hock did get to sip some coffee in the big leagues, appearing in 19 games and getting one hit over the three campaigns.

Emil Yde 1927 - photo via Detroit Public Library

• 1925 - RHP Calvin Coolidge “Cal” Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish (Cal explained that “There were eight kids in the family, and I was number seven and my dad didn’t get to name one of them before me. So he evidently tried to catch up.”) was born in Anadarko, Oklahoma. He also went by “Bus,” a childhood nickname his pop (he had a way with names) dropped on him, who said the first time he saw his son that “He’s as big as a bus!” McLish didn’t hit his stride until the fifties, but got in three games for the Bucs in 1947-48, giving up seven runs in six innings as a 21/22-year-old and mostly working at Indy before being traded to the Cubs with Frankie Gustine. Cal ended up more of a workman (4.01 lifetime ERA) than All-Star, but still won double digit games in five of six seasons from 1958-63, with a 19-win year for Cleveland in 1959, his only AS season. His last campaign was in 1964 and he stayed in baseball as a pitching coach and scout for Philly, Montreal and Milwaukee.
• 1927 - The coming year’s schedule was finalized by the leagues at the William Penn Hotel. It was a departure from the norm as the schedules were usually drawn up at the winter meetings, but the AL passed a resolution that their dates be already prepared to be voted on at that get-together. The NL wasn’t under the gun but decided to set the games ahead of time too, with Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss being the lead man, assisted by Senior Circuit President John Heydler and his aide Harvey Traband. Junior Circuit prez Ernest Barnard and his secretary William Harridge were also at the William Penn doing the AL honors.
• 1928 - During the winter meetings, NL President John Heydler proposed a ten man team that included a designated hitter in place of the pitcher. The senior circuit voted in favor of the proposal, but the AL nixed it, more because the NL proposed it than on its merits. The DH in one form or another had popped up on occasion going back to the 1890s but didn’t see the light of day until the American League adopted it in 1973.
• 1941 - The Bucs claimed RHP Hank Gornicki off waivers from the Cards, and the righty lasted three seasons (1942-43, 1946) with Pittsburgh, posting a line of 14-19-6/3.38 while swapping in his 1944-45 tour of duty from the Pirates to the Army, where he suffered from a bad leg that eventually squelched his return to baseball (being 35-years-old upon discharge didn’t help, either).

The Baron of the Bullpen - 1994 Ted Williams

• 1952 - The Pirates chose ElRoy Face from the Montreal Royals, the top minor league affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the first overall pick of the minor league draft. GM Branch Rickey said the decision was between Face and C Johnny Bucha. He made a good choice; Bucha was taken by the Tigers and lasted one more big league season, hitting .222. During a 15-year career with the Pirates, Face led the NL in saves three times, collecting 100 wins and 188 saves as a Bucco while popularizing the forkball, a prototype of the modern day splitter. He retired to North Versailles where he made his living as a carpenter. During his career, he was known as “The Baron of the Bullpen” as popularized by Bob Prince, and is still considered a pioneer in the closer’s evolution. GM Branch Rickey also selected vet pitchers Johnny Hetki and Swissvale’s Bob Hall. Hetki, who had worked for the Browns & Reds, lasted two more seasons, making 112 appearances, and Hall, who had tossed for the Braves, one more, both ending their MLB careers in Pittsburgh.
• 1958 - The Pirates drafted Rocky Nelson from Toronto of the International League for a $25,000 fee in the minor-league Rule 5 draft. He was already 34, but would spend three seasons with the Bucs, hitting .270 as a platoon player and pinch hitter. Rocky went 3-for-9 in the 1960 World Series with a home run.