1/26: $1M Cobra; Dale & Johnny Signed; Ad Dealt; First Fest; Open Zone; HBD Jeff, Josh & Kaiser

• 1874 - RHP Irvin “Kaiser” Wilhelm was born in Wooster, Ohio. Kaiser tossed one year in Pittsburgh (1903), going 5-3/3.24 before bouncing around between the big leagues and the farm. He was quite the minor league arm, tho. While in the bushes, he authored a perfect game for Birmingham in 1906 and put together the minor league record (still standing) for consecutive shutout innings with 59 the following year, also as a Baron. And yes, his nickname was thanks to Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm. 

Kaiser Wilhelm in post-Pirates days - 1909-11 T206 Piedmont

• 1895 - RHP Addison “Ad” Gumbert was traded to the Brooklyn Grooms for C Tom Kinslow. The deal stirred some controversy on a couple of fronts. First, it happened four days after a newspaper report (which he denied) claimed he bad mouthed the Pirates’ Pink Hawley trade. Additionally, the Reds protested, saying they had a prior handshake deal for Gumbert with manager Connie Mack, but that argument was rejected by the league. Ad, only 26, had gone 26-21/5.71 for the Bucs in 1893-94 and Kinslow was a back-up catcher. Neither team got much out of the deal as both retired after the 1896 season. Ad was a local boy who was elected County Sheriff in 1906 & County Commissioner in 1915. He headed a variety of benevolent efforts - in fact, Pittsburgh Mayor William Magee once appointed him an Assistant Director of Charities for the City - and belonged to many service groups, including the Masons, Shriners and Odd Fellows. Ad is buried in Homewood Cemetery. 
• 1963 - A brief pitcher’s era began when the MLB Rules Committee opened up the strike zone between the top of the batter's shoulders and the bottom of his knees. The hurlers began to dominate, and after the run drought of 1968 (the “Year of the Pitcher”), the league reversed course, lowering the mound by five inches (from 15” to 10”) and tightening the strike zone between the bottom of the armpit and the top of the knee for the next campaign. Later changes yo-yo’ed the strike zone, though the mound remained unaltered. 
• 1967 - Former Pirates hitting coach Jeff Branson was born in Waynesboro, Massachusetts. A second round draft pick of the Reds in 1988, he spent nine seasons in the show as a utility infielder, mostly with Cincinnati. After his playing days, Branson joined the Bucco minor league staff in 2003, working his way up from short-season ball to AAA. In late 2012, he was called up to the home club to serve as an assistant hitting coach under Jay Bell; when Bell left after the following year, Jeff was promoted to his position. He held the job until after the 2018 campaign when he was replaced by Rick Eckstein. 
• 1979 - Dave Parker of the Pirates became the first $1M per year player in sports when he signed a five-year/$5M contract after winning consecutive batting crowns and being named MVP. He didn’t get to enjoy it long - he had three straight All-Star seasons, but missed half of the 1981 and 1982 campaigns with injuries before having a full-time but meh, by his standards, year in 1983. Fans behaved even more poorly when they tossed batteries and other assorted trash at him in the field. He signed with Cincinnati when the deal expired. As Lennon and McCartney so aptly observed, “Money Can’t Buy Me Love.” (Note: the contract payout was worth at least $7.75M in all but was spread out over 30 years, so he never received $1M in any single campaign but rather $775K per season for five years. How it turned out finally is unknown; the Pirates took him to court to void the deal due to Cobra’s coke use, and an undisclosed settlement was reached in 1988 before trial. In 1980, Nolan Ryan became the first actual $1M/season player when he signed a four-year free agent contract with the Houston Astros.)

Josh Sharpless - 2007 Topps Heritage

• 1981 - RHP Josh Sharpless was born in Beaver. Josh went to Freedom Area HS and was drafted in the 24th round of the 2003 draft out of Allegheny College, where he still ranks in the top five in several career pitching categories. He blew through the Pirates minor league system in three years, pitched in the Futures game, and tossed briefly for the Bucs, going 0-1/4.41 between 2006-07 cups of coffee in the show. Sharpless still lives in the area and gives pitching lessons while helping coach the LaRoche College Redhawks nine. 
• 1984 - SS Dale Berra signed a five-year contract worth nearly $3M, avoiding arbitration and putting to bed rumors that he was on his way to the Yankees, where his dad Yogi had just been named manager, in exchange for Roy Smalley. His middle-of-the-infield partner, 2B Johnny Ray, also signed a five-year agreement the following day. But it was a temporary reprieve for Berra; after hitting .222 during the ‘84 campaign, he was sent to the Bronx Bombers in the off season as part of the Steve Kemp deal. 
• 1990 - The Buccos held their first Pirates Fest at the Monroeville Expo Mart. It lasted two days and featured GM Larry Doughty, skipper Jimmy Leyland, Bobby Bonilla, Jay Bell, RJ Reynolds and Billy Maz among others, along with an exhibit of Buc memorabilia.