12/24 Through the 1940’s: Barkley Deal; New Uni; HBD Frank, Eppa,Tex & Del

• 1877 - OF George “Del” Howard was born in Kenney, Illinois. Del (short for his middle name, Elmer) spent his 28-year-old, 1905 rookie season as a Pirate after he was pried from the Phils for Kitty Bransfield, Otto Krueger and Moose McCormick. He had his best campaign, hitting .292 while playing 1B, OF and even pitching once and then was flipped to Boston as part of the deal for Vic Willis. He spent four more years in the majors, twice appearing with the powerhouse Cub clubs that won the World Series of 1907-08. Howard trivia: Not only was Del born on Christmas Eve, but he also passed away on 12/24 at the age of 79 in 1956. 

Sam  Barkley - 1887 Goodwin/Old Judge

• 1885 - The St. Louis Browns sold the rights of infielder Sam Barkley to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys for $1,000. It wasn’t an easy deal to consummate. In March, Browns owner Chris von der Ahe offered Barkley around the league for $1,000. Barkley, in the meantime, signed an undated contract with the Baltimore Orioles, with an complication: von der Ahe had already inked a deal with the Alleghenys’ owner, Denny McKnight. The owners convinced Sam to renege on the deal with the Birds and go to the North Side. The American Association threw a snit and suspended Barkley for not honoring his Oriole contract, settling out of court with a fine replacing the suspension. As part of the penance, Baltimore was sent 1B Milt Scott by the Alleghenys, so it ended up a costly transaction for McKnight. Barkley played well in 1886, hitting .266 with 31 doubles and 22 stolen bases. He faded the following campaign, batting just .224, and after the season was sold to the Kansas City Cowboys. After his career in baseball ended after the 1889 season, Sam became a cigar maker. He passed away at the age of 53 in his hometown of Wheeling. 
• 1899 - C Fred “Tex” Burnett was born in Houston. Burnett was a backup catcher and sometime starter for at least 14 different black teams (talk about your journeyman!) during the 20s & 30s, including the Pittsburgh Keystones, Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords. He briefly managed the Newark Eagles in 1937, and took over the Black Yankees in 1940. 
• 1910 - LHP Lloyd “Eppa” Johnson was born in Santa Ana, California. Eppa tossed for a dozen years in the minors and earned a stat line and baseball card in 1934 when he got to work a scoreless inning for the Buccos against the Reds. He hung ‘em up after 1941 after he was shuffled among three different farm clubs.
• 1939 - The Pirates President Bill Benswanger announced a uniform change. They eliminated the script “Pirates” across the chest and replaced it with a Buccaneer logo on the left breast, the first time the team emblem was worn on a Pirates jersey. 

John Lanning shows off the new 1940 look - photo George Burke

• 1949 - Frank Taveras was born in Las Matas de Santa Cruz, Dominican Republic. The SS spent eight years (1971-72, 1974-79) with the Pirates as a top-of-the order guy, swiping 206 bases with a streak of four seasons with 44+ steals, including an NL-leading 70 in 1977. But his bat (.253), OBP (.306) and not-so-steady glove work made him expendable and he was sent to the Mets in April of 1979 for Tim Foli, a dependable fielder and two-hole contact hitter that helped jell the World Series infield. Taveras played three seasons in NY, then spent his final year (1982) with Montreal.