2/17 Through 1932: Demon-for-Turkey; Coast-to-Coast; Pace-of-Play (1900's Style); HBD Rivington & Eddies

• 1890 - IF Rivington Bisland was born in New York City. He got his first big league game with the Pirates in 1912, going 0-for-1 as a September pinch hitter after hitting .287 for Springfield of the Central League. Bisland was taken in the Rule 5 draft by the St. Louis Browns in 1913 and then got another shot with the Cleveland Naps the following season after reneging on an oral agreement with the Pittsburgh Rebels. That was it for him. In 31 games, he hit .118, and after being released in June spent the next two years with the Atlanta Crackers, where the club paid him $350 per month, well over the league limit, to keep him from jumping to the Rebs. He retired after the overpay was discovered rather than face the league’s music (a suspension), played a year of semi-pro ball and then went on to be a fairly successful boxing promoter. (Thx to Diamonds in the Dusk for filling in his background story.) 

Rivington Bisland as a Nap - photo 1914 via Find-A-Grave 

• 1901 - C Eddie Phillips was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Phillips caught for parts of six MLB campaigns and got his most work as a Pirate in 1931. He started behind the plate for 100 games, batting .232, and was traded to Kansas City as part of the Bill Swift deal the next season. He retired after the 1943 season following 17 years of pro ball and became a minor league manager. 
• 1905 - LHP Ed Brandt was born in Spokane, Washington. In his final two MLB seasons (1937-38), he tossed for Pittsburgh and went 16-14-2/3.23. He was mostly a good pitcher on bad big league teams. In 11 MLB years, Ed’s record was 121-146/3.86. He started 278 games and finished 150 of them. After his 1939 retirement, Brandt ran a hometown hunting lodge and tavern. He was killed on November 1st, 1944, when he was struck by a car while crossing a street at the age of 39. 
• 1909 - With an early “pace-of-play” reg, the NL made it mandatory that a relief pitcher face one batter with a five-pitch warm up limit. The rule countered managers who would yank a pitcher, bring in another (slowly) to kill a little time, and then pull him if they didn't like the hitting match or when the guy the skipper really wanted on the mound was good and loose. It eventually became Rule #6.2.2. 
• 1912 - The Pirates switched outfielders, sending Vin Campbell to the Boston Braves for Mike Donlin. Both players were solid hitters but neither were one trick ponies. Campbell was a successful businessman while Donlin was a vaudevillian (he carried around an old theater program with him as a good luck talisman), movie actor and all-around bon vivant. Both left baseball for periods of time to hold out for bigger salaries knowing they could pay the bills with their side jobs. Donlin hit .316 in 77 games for the 1912 Pirates while Campbell hit .296 and led the league in at-bats for the Braves that season. After the season, the 34-year-old Donlin was waived and claimed by the Phillies but refused to report and retired. He came back in 1914 after sitting out a season to play for the Giants, but his bat deserted him and 35 games later, his career was finished. Donlin was nicknamed “Turkey Mike” due to his red neck and distinctive strut (It’s said many fans even imitated his way of walking). It wasn't a moniker that Mike particularly cared for; go figure. Campbell, who was expendable in Pittsburgh after the emergence of Max Carey, was also out of baseball for a year and then played out his string in the upstart Federal League, hitting .315 in 1914-15. His nickname was “Demon,” a carryover from his college football days. 

Mike "Turkey" Donlin - 2012 Upper Deck/Goodwin Champions

• 1932 - The Pirates hopped the train, chugging from the Pennsylvania Station to Paso Robles, California, to start spring camp. From camp’s end until the season started, the Buccos barnstormed in San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Fort Worth, Dallas and Memphis before stopping in St. Louis for Opening Day. That was followed by a trip to Cincy before finally reaching home to meet the Cards for the Home Opener on April 20th, two months and 6,884 miles later.