7/14 Through the 1930’s: Pie In the Sky; Wild Win; HBD Bob, Earl, Tanny, Joe & Jack

• 1874 - LHP Jesse “Tanny” Tannehill was born in Dayton, Kentucky. He played six seasons (1897-1902) for Pittsburgh, with a line of 116-58/2.75. Tanny won 20 games or more four times for the Pirates and led the NL in ERA in 1901 (2.18). He was also pretty handy when not hurling, batting .277 and making 71 OF appearances for the Bucs. After six years with the Pirates, he and owner Barney Dreyfuss got into a contract squabble. Tannehill then jumped to the AL New York Highlanders and spent the next seven years of his career in the junior circuit before a last hurrah with Cincinnati. He coached, managed and even umped after his playing days but eventually joined the 9-to-5 crowd as a machinist. 

Jesse Tannehill w/Boston - photo via SABR (filter ColouriseSG)

• 1889 - RHP Joe Conzelman was born in Bristol, Connecticut long before ESPN was a twinkle in an eye. He spent his three year MLB career (1913-15) with Bucs, going 6-8 with a 2.92 ERA. He was a Columbia and Brown graduate and left baseball to pursue his calling as an engineer. 
• 1892 - Utilityman Floyd “Jack” Farmer was born in Granville, Tennessee. Farmer played 2B, SS, 3B, LF & RF for the 1916 Bucs, getting into 55 games and batting .271. He would play big league ball again in 1918 briefly for the Indians and gave up the baseball life after spending the 1920 season at Nashville of the Southern Association. 
• 1910 - The Bucs were down 3-0 going into the ninth against Christy Mathewson and the NY Giants at Forbes Field, but scored four times to take home the win. A walk, error and two singles set the table. Matty then loaded the bases with back-to-back walks, and after throwing two balls to Tommy Leach was relieved by Red Ames. Ames lost Leach, forcing home the winning run and giving Deacon Phillippe the victory. 
• 1922 - The Pirates denied that they were about to swing a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Robins involving 3B Pie Traynor, UT Clyde Barnhart and C Walter Schmidt for OF Zach “Buck” Wheat and SS Jimmy Johnston. Pie was only 23-years-old and in his first season as a starter; he would have a 17-year Pirates career that ended with a .320 lifetime BA and induction into the Hall of Fame. Barnhart was 26 and would serve a nine-year MLB tour of duty, all with the Bucs, and hit .295 over that span. Schmidt was a 35-year-old reserve who would last through 1924 with Pittsburgh, with a final campaign as a Card the following year. Wheat was 34 and had 14 years under his belt, but would play through 1927, hitting .346 over those final six seasons. Like Pie, Buck also entered the HoF. Johnston was 32 and would be a solid stick man through 1925 (.313 BA from 1922-25), playing one more year afterward before ending his MLB stay. 
• 1929 - RHP Bob Purkey was born in Pittsburgh and was signed by the Bucs right after he graduated from South Hills HS. The knuckleballer spent his first four and his final seasons with the Pirates (1954-57, 1966), going 16-30/4.13. His heyday was with the Reds, where he won 100+ games, appearing in a World Series and three All-Star contests. The Pirates dealt Purkey to Cincinnati in 1957 for relief pitcher Don Gross. Pirates GM Joe Brown often called the transaction "the worst trade I ever made.'' After his retirement, he lived in Bethel Park and ran an insurance agency. 

Bob Purkey - 1957 Topps

• 1935 - Earl Francis was born in Slab Fork, West Virginia. The hard throwing righty tossed five seasons (1960-64) for the Bucs, going 16-23/3.77 with his time split between starting and as a long man from the bullpen. Francis was the Pirates first African-American Opening Day pitcher in 1963 against the Reds and became the first pitcher that a young Pete Rose ever batted against. His short spell in the show wasn’t because of lack of talent but a bad wing; Francis battled a sore arm throughout his career. He retired and put that powerful arm to good use - he became a butcher.