8/3 Through 1955: Birdie Ploy; Hank Moves On Up; Game Stories; HBD Gee-Gee & Dave

• 1889 - IF Gus “Gee-Gee” Getz was born in Pittsburgh. He closed out his seven-year MLB stay with seven games for the home team in 1918, going 2-for-10 and playing some hot corner. Gus started his career back in 1908 as an 18-year-old with McKeesport and closed it out in 1927 with Scranton. 
• 1895 - Pittsburgh took over first place with a rousing 5-4 win over the Cleveland Spiders at Exposition Park in front of 6,000 fans. The Pirates were down 4-2 in the eighth when Elmer “Mike” Smith banged a two-strike, two-run triple off the wall in right to tie the score. The Bucs took it in the ninth on Jake Starzel’s double, a bunt, and Monte Cross’ walk off single. Pink Hawley, making his third start of the week, got the win. Alas, it would be the last day Pittsburgh was in first; the Pirates finished the year in the middle of the pack at 71-61.

Dave Brain - 1909-11 American Tobacco

• 1905 - Pittsburgh ended the NY Giants 13-game winning streak with a 10-4 victory at a rockin’ Exposition Park. The Pittsburgh Press reported that “...after little rooting in the first five innings,” when the Pirates took the lead in the sixth “The crowd went wild with delight (and) was on its feet for five minutes cheering with might and main and waving hats, canes and handkerchiefs.” In fact, one fan had a fatal heart attack during the action, and a Giant supporter had to be removed by the police after assaulting Pirate owner Barney Dreyfuss in his box; of all things, the attacker was a seminary student decked out in his clerical garb. 3B Dave Brain had three hits and four other Buccos had a pair of knocks apiece. Sam Leever, with help from Pat Flaherty, got the win over Iron Man McGinnity and reliever Sam Wiltse. 
• 1914 - The Pittsburgh Rebels of the Federation League took their second straight 1-0 win from first-place Chicago at Exposition Park. The Pittsburgh Press noted that “The winning...was due to the great pitching and timely hit of Walter Dickson.” Dickson wasn’t much of a hitter, but the paper reported that “He was twirling such fine ball that (manager Rebel) Oakes didn’t want to take a chance on a pinch hitter.” Walt rewarded the skipper by banging the game winning hit. No box score was available, but Dickson faced just 33 batters in 10 innings and none reached third. The Rebels had to lend the Chi-Feds a catcher, Skipper Roberts, to continue their road trip, as the two Windy City receivers were laid up with appendicitis and a broken finger. He played four games for them before returning to the Pittsburgh fold. 
• 1917 (several sources have 1925 as his birth date, but 1917 is the consensus) - OF/P Dave Hoskins was born in Greenwood, Mississippi. A RHP and LH batter, Hoskins spent his early career with the Homestead Grays from 1942-44, batting .289 as a right fielder and 5-5 as a pitcher (ERA unavailable) in a dozen starts. Hoskins went on to play a couple of years of MLB with the Indians, mostly as a pitcher, slashing 9-4-1-/3.81 and hitting .227. In 1953, he and Satchel Paige made the history books when they matched up in the first MLB game that had black pitchers opposing one another. He played pro ball until he was 41, spending 11 years in the minors and closing out in Mexico in 1960. Dave then retired to his 18-acre Flint, Michigan, farm and worked at GM as his day job. 
• 1930 - The Pirates won their seventh game in eight outings when they whipped the Chicago Cubs 12-8 at Wrigley Field. Gus Suhr and Adam Comorosky had three RBI while Dick Bartell scored three times. All nine Pirates in the lineup had hits for the second day in a row. Erv Brame went the distance for the win. A
• 1941 - Ken Heintzelman started both ends of a doubleheader against the Giants at Forbes Field. The Bucs took both games, 5-4 and 10-5. Heintzelman didn’t get the decision in either contest though; he lasted two innings total and gave up seven runs. The victories went to relievers Dutch Dietz and Bob Klinger. 

Ken Heintzelman - 1947 Bowman

• 1950 - RHP Hank Borowy was sold to the Tigers, moving from a last-place Pittsburgh club to the AL frontrunners. The 34-year-old started the season with the Chicago Cubs, was sold to the Bucs in June and so was on his way to his third team. Of course, he’s probably lucky that three teams wanted him - he went 1-3/6.25 during the year. However, he was a solid get for the Tigers down the stretch, going 1-1/3.31 from the pen in 13 outings, but even with 95 wins, Motown finished three games behind the Yankees. Detroit released him following the 1951 season. 
• 1952 - The last-place Pirates knocked the Giants 6-1/2 games behind the Dodgers by sweeping a doubleheader at the Polo Grounds‚ 7-0 and 10-8. The two wins matched the hapless Buccos’ longest win streak of the year. Murry Dickson came in for Paul La Palme in the third inning with the bases loaded and an out. He got a DP ball from Bobby Thompson and then cruised 6-2/3 IP with three hits and no runs. Gus Bell was a homer shy of the cycle and drove in two runs. The Pirates jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the closer‚ scoring four times in the sixth before the Giants answered with seven scores of their own. The Bucs managed to hang on to the win when the game was called because of darkness. 
• 1954 - At Forbes Field‚ Reds manager Birdie Tebbetts started RHP Bud Podbielan and Bucco skipper Fred Haney countered with an all-lefty Pirate lineup. Birdie then lifted Podbielan after one batter and brought in southpaw Joe Nuxhall. The ploy worked as the Reds won‚ 7-2. Haney was duped by an old gambit first pulled by manager Bucky Harris in Game 7 of the 1924 World Series. (S/O to John Thorn’s “Old News in Baseball”).