12/1 Through the 1910s: McKinnon Deal; HBD Paddy, Jake, Eppie, Mike & Cookie

• 1868 - 1B/C George “Paddy” Fox was born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He played for Louisville in 1891 and then took a long hiatus from the show before making it to Pittsburgh in 1899, hitting .244 in 13 games. He did have some added value, though - he was sent, along with Jack Chesbro and a couple of other guys, to Louisville for the bulk of their roster, a master move by owner Barney Dreyfuss to pick up the nucleus (Honus Wagner, Deacon Phillippe, Tommy Leach, Fred Clarke & Claude Ritchey w/nine others) of his powerhouse turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh clubs. Paddy finished his playing career in Louisville. 

Alex McKinnon - 1887 Goodwin/Old Judge

• 1886 - The American Association Alleghenys traded 1B Otto Schomberg along with $400 to the St. Louis Maroons in return for 1B Alex McKinnon. Schomberg was in the minors for a year and then finished out his MLB days with a two-season stay with the NL Indiana Hoosiers. The 30-year-old McKinnon was just blossoming, getting into 48 games and batting .340 for Pittsburgh. But he caught pneumonia brought on by typhoid fever early in the season and he passed away in July of 1887. Pittsburgh wore black crêpe on their uniforms for the rest of the season to honor their fallen teammate. 
• 1895 - OF Jake Miller (Muenzing) was born in Baltimore. Jake was a minor league lifer who played on various farm clubs from 1913-30. His taste of the high life came in 1922 when he got into three games in two days (July 16-17th) for the Pirates, going 1-for-11 against Brooklyn. The newspapers said he was “ripe for the big leagues” but apparently the Bucs had a different take. 
• 1900 - IF Everett “Eppie” Barnes was born in Ossining, New York. A basketball and baseball star at Colgate, he got seven at-bats for the Pirates with a hit during 1923-24, but had a long and distinguished athletic career afterward. A noted semi-pro player, he was later the athletic director at his alma mater and the baseball coach, along with being the president of the NCAA for three years and Director of the 1968 US Olympic Committee. Eppie was named to the American Association of Baseball Coaches, United Savings-Helms Athletic Foundation and Colgate Halls of Fame. Barnes was also a member of the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues set up by the Hall of Fame from 1971-77 to elect Negro League players to the Hall. 
• 1900 - LHP Mike Cvengros was born in Pana, Illinois. Mike had a long and solid career in the minors, toiling from 1921-37 on the farm, but in six big league seasons, his 1927 campaign with the Pirates was the only year he finished with an ERA under four (2-1-1/3.35). As a bonus, he got to toss a couple of frames against the Yankees in the WS, holding his own. The Pirates apparently weren’t that impressed (he had more walks than whiffs) and traded him to minor league Wichita Falls for another lefty, Fred Fussell. Mike got one more shot in the show with the Cubs in 1929, then spent the next eight years in the bushes before retiring to the life of a small town Illinois barkeeper. 

Mike Cvengros 1927 - photo via Detroit Public Library

• 1912 - IF Attilio Harry “Cookie” Lavagetto was born in Oakland, California. He started his MLB career as a Bucco bench player, batting .249 from 1934-36. He was then traded to the Dodgers, where he blossomed into a four time All-Star before losing the next four years to WW2, then returning to Brooklyn for two more campaigns. In 1961, he became the Minnesota Twins first manager and was a coach for the New York Mets (1962-63) and San Francisco Giants (1964-67). He got his nickname as an Oakland Oak farm hand early in his career as a hand-me-down from team owner Cookie DeVincenzi, who was fond of the young Lavagetto.