- 1856 - RHP James Galvin was born in St. Louis. The Hall of Famer was MLB’s first 300 game winner and may have had the most nicknames of any player ever, going by "Pud," "Gentle Jeems," “Gentleman James” and "The Little Steam Engine." He threw 6,003 IP and 646 complete games, both of which are second only to Cy Young. Pud tossed seven years (1885-89, ‘91-92) for the Alleghenys/Pirates, with the 1890 campaign lost when he jumped to the Pittsburgh Burghers of the rogue Player’s League. He was 126-110 with an ERA of 3.10 during his Steel City career. As for his litany of nicknames, Charles Hausberg in Galvin’s SABR bio wrote “He may have been called Pud because of his ability to turn batters into pudding, or from his pudgy physique. He was presumably called “The Little Steam Engine” because he was small but powerful, and he was called “Gentle James” or “Gentle(man) Jeems” for his kind demeanor.”
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James "Pud" Galvin - 1989 Hall of Fame sticker |
- 1869 - LHP Alex Jones was born in Bradford, located in the northern tier in McKean County. Alex got into 26 games in four big league campaigns with five teams. His first was as a 19-year-old for the Alleghenys, giving up five runs (three earned) in a complete game win. He tossed for 11 pro seasons, missing several more with a variety of injuries, and finally called it a career after 1907 at age 37 when he tossed for the Class D Washington (PA) club of the Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland League.
- 1884 - LHP Ed Henderson was born in Newark, New Jersey. He tossed six games for the Federal League’s Pittsburgh Rebels in 1914 (0-1/3.94) and two more for the Indianapolis Hoosiers later in the season to close out his only big league campaign. Ed had started his pro career in 1907; it appears he concluded it as a 30-year-old after his lone MLB season.
- 1898 - RHP Earl “Pinches” Kunz was born in Sacramento, California. He worked one MLB campaign in 1923, going 1-2, 5.52 (per Baseball Reference; “Gold on the Diamond” cites a 2-4, 4.00 line). He preferred working out west, spending 10 years in the Pacific Coast League with half that time on the hometown Sacramento roster. The workhorse retired in 1930 at age 31 and spent his time raising and racing horses. His original nickname was Pinchers, as in the crab claws, and was shortened a bit; we’re assuming it came about because of his delivery/grip.
- 1912 - C Quincy “Big Train” Trouppe was born in Dublin, Georgia, the grandson of slaves. He worked for nine Negro League teams from 1930-49, including the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays in the early thirties, was an eight-time All-Star, played in the Mexican League, managed the Cleveland Buckeyes and had a cup of coffee in MLB when he caught six contests (10 games overall) for the 1952 Cleveland Indians. He was 39 years old when he made his big league debut and was behind the dish to catch "Toothpick Sam" Jones, forming the first black battery in AL history. Trouppe carried the nicknames of "Big Train" and "Baby Quincy," probably because of his 6’2”, 225 pound frame. He was also an excellent boxer.
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| Quincy "Big Train" Trouppe - photo via Lauren County Afro-American History |
- 1934 - The NL released its final official figures confirming that OF Paul “Big Poison” Waner had won his second batting crown, compiling a .362 BA to defeat Bill Terry of the Giants at .354. Long-ago Pirate Kiki Cuyler, 35-years-old and in his seventh season with the Cubs, claimed the third spot by hitting .338. Pittsburgh was a good-swinging club that year; they finished second in the league with a .287 BA, just one point behind the pennant winning St. Louis Cards.
- 1934 - As noted by John Dreker of Pirates Prospects, RHP Bill Harris was the only Pirate ever released on Christmas Day (what a grinch FO!) when he was demoted from the big club and sent to the farm at Buffalo. He had one more hurrah in the show in 1938 with Boston, but otherwise spent 1935-45 toiling in the minors, hanging up his spikes at the age of 45.
- Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Years to you all!
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