- 1884 - RHP Frederick Mitchell “Mysterious” Walker (his moniker came from pitching under a fake name for the San Francisco Seals) was born in Utica, Nebraska. He didn’t play much or well in Pittsburgh: in 1914, Walker pitched for the Rebels of the outlaw Federal League and appeared in 35 games, tossing a career-high 169-1/3 innings with a record of 4–16 and a 4.33 ERA. He made more of a name for himself locally in football. He was Carnegie Tech’s head coach from 1912-13 and in 1914 served as an assistant football coach at W & J College.
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| Lefty - snip from 1896 team photo |
- 1893 - The Pirates traded C Duke Farrell and $1,500 to the Washington Nationals for LHP Frank “Lefty” Killen in a win-win deal for both clubs. Farrell banged heads with manager Al Buckenberger and after leaving Pittsburgh played 13 more years as one of baseball’s better hitting catchers, retiring in 1905 with a career .277 BA. Duke, just recovering from a broken leg, appeared against his old mates for Boston in the 1903 World Series as a pinch hitter. Killen tossed six seasons for the Bucs with an 112-82/3.71 line and set the team record for wins with 36 in 1893, one of two 30-win seasons he spun for Pittsburgh.
- 1915 - RHP Bill Brandt was born in Aurora, Indiana. Brandt spent his brief career (1941-43) as a Pirate, going 5-3 with a 3.57 ERA and getting just 80-⅔ IP over that time (he was a call-up for the first two campaigns, getting his only full season in 1943). He was effective as a minor leaguer, but after serving his country from 1944-45, Brandt never pitched above AAA ball again, topping out at Hollywood in the PCL.
- 1944 - Pirate C Manny Sanguillen was born in Colon, Panama. In 12 years with the Bucs, he batted .299 and was on three All-Star teams, which was quite a feat during the Johnny Bench era. Manny hit .282 in two World Series and five NLCS bouts. Noted for never seeing a pitch he didn’t like, the free swinger’s lifetime batting average of .296 is in the Top Ten for catchers in MLB history. Like many Buccos, he was dubbed by Bob Prince; his nickname was "The Road Runner" because of his surprising speed as a catcher. Manny is still a well known figure with a ballyard eatery and serves as a camp instructor during the spring.
- 1945 - SS/OF & scout Pablo Cruz was born in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic. Pablo never played for the MLB Bucs, although he spent all 14 years of his pro career (1965-’78) in the Pirates farm system. He was a good stick, so-so glove guy who had the bad luck to play during the Gene Alley era and then lost out to younger prospect Frank Taveras in the seventies. After his playing days, Cruz became a full-time scout for the Pirates and lassoed a corral full of Latino talent like Moisés Alou, Tony Peña, Aramis Ramírez, Félix Fermín, José Guillén, José Lind, Orlando Merced, José de León, Cecilio Guante, José Castillo, Ronny Paulino and Rafe Belliard. He scouted for several teams after the Bucs, and his son, Ismael, also became a Pirates bird dog for a spell.
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| Wally Westlake - 1950 Bowman |
- 1950 - A visit by scout Ted McGrew to the Phillies camp launched a rumor that the Bucs were sniffing for a deal, reportedly with Philadelphia, said to be asking for OF Wally Westlake and C Ed Fitz Gerald in exchange for C Ed Seminick and 1B Dick Sisler. Pittsburgh was thought to have interest in Seminick, but considered Westlake too valuable to include, killing the potential deal. Wally played through the 1950 season and hit .285 with 95 RBI, then was dealt to the Cards in June of 1951 in a six-man swap for pitching rather than catching.
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