- 1970 - IF Lee Handley died in Pittsburgh of a heart attack at age 56. Lee played 10 years in the show, with the middle eight seasons (1937-41, 1944-46, with a break for the service) spent as a Bucco. He hit .269 as a Pirate and was a starter for five of his eight campaigns here. Lee tied for the NL lead in stolen bases in 1939, although his 17 swipes weren’t exactly Maury Wills-type numbers. The little guy (he was 5’7”) was plenty tough - he suffered a serious beaning in 1939 and was hurt in a car crash after the 1941 season and bounced back from both.
- 1972 - Roberto Clemente was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Mr. Big.” He went on to bat .312 and collected his 3,000th hit, winning All-Star and Golden Glove recognition in his final campaign.
- 1973 - The Bucs took a pair from the Cards thanks to the longball, sweeping a TRS twinbill 4-3 and 5-3 in front of 23,391 chilly (it was in the forties) fans. In the opener, the Bucs blew an early 2-0 lead before tying the game in the ninth when Gene Clines singled, went to third on Rennie Stennett’s knock by deking CF Jose Cruz with a stop-and-go turn at second, then plating on Manny Sanguillen’s fly. Pittsburgh won it in the 10th on Bob Robertson’s homer. Nellie Briles went the first nine innings for the win with Dave Giusti earning the save. In the nightcap, the Pirates used blasts by Willie Stargell, Milt May and Gene Alley to claim a victory for Dock Ellis. He finished one out shy of a complete game, as Ramon Hernandez was called on to get the final out against St. Louis.
Brian Burres - 2010 photo Marc Serota/Getty
- 1981 - LHP Brian Burres was born in Oregon City, Oregon. Burres got six years and 106 games in MLB, with the last pair in Pittsburgh from 2010-11, slashing 5-5/4.82. He tossed pro ball from 2001-2016, closing out his career as an indie league pitcher.
- 1984 - Rod Scurry checked into a 30-day drug rehabilitation program to battle his cocaine demons, returning to action on May 13th. He finished the year 5-6-4 with a 2.53 ERA, and the Pirates sold him a year later to the Yankees for New York’s September run.
- 1989 - The Pirates, who at the time were on national TV about as often as taxes get cut, not only were booked for seven outings on NBC during the season, but their game today against the Cubs at Wrigley was the season opener for the network. Alas, the Bucs struggled getting out of the gate this campaign, dropping five of their first six games, including this one, a 5-3 loss to the Cubbies. The lower half of the order (Glenn Wilson, Rafe Belliard and Neal Heaton) rang up four of the Pirates five hits and scored/drove home all three runs. Heaton took the defeat and former Bucco Mike Bielecki claimed the victory.
- 1997 - The Pirates quieted the Padres 2-0 behind Steve Cooke‚ Rich Loiselle‚ and John Ericks. They teamed up to toss a one-hitter, a single off Cooke by Steve Finley. Tony Womack was the Buc batting hero, driving in a pair of eighth-inning runs with a double to beat Sean Bergman at Qualcomm Stadium. Ericks was a swingman who was injured later in the season and never pitched afterward.
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