8/6 Through the 1920s: Sothern Man; Game Stories; HBD Clem, Buds, Jim & Brownie

• 1860 - Utilityman Jim McDonald was born in San Francisco. He spent most of his brief career with the Alleghenys in 1884, batting .159 while playing 2B, 3B and the outfield. Though he only got into 43 big league games for three teams between 1884-85, he did have a long minor league career on the coast, mostly playing in the California League from 1878-94. When he was done, he stayed in the game as an umpire with four years as an NL arbiter. 
• 1875 - LHP John “Brownie” Foreman was born in Maryland. He tossed for two big league campaigns, spending 1895-96 with the Pirates before being released and finishing out his second year with the Reds where he joined his brother Frank, also a hurler. Brownie, who came up as a 19-year-old, went 11-9-2/4.25 with the Bucs. He played pro ball from 1893-1900, with nine different stops in the minors and after his baseball days he became a policeman. 

Brownie Foreman - 1896 snip from team photo

• 1881 - 1B Bayard “Bud” Sharpe was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Bud played in the majors in 1905 and again in 1910 for three teams, and was with the Pirates to open 1910 and went 3-for-16 in four games before being traded to Boston as part of the Kirby White deal. The Penn Stater was also a noted soccer player, spending his off season as a booter. Sharpe was a player and manager in the minors along with scouting for Boston, but was plagued by health problems and eventually succumbed to tuberculosis at age 34. 
• 1902 - The Pirates shut out the Giants 2-0 to sweep a four-game set against New York at Exposition Park‚ as Jack Chesbro beat Dummy Taylor in five innings of a rain-shortened affair. Ginger Beaumont and Tommy Leach scored first inning runs on a hit by Kitty Bransfield and a Giant error. Tempers did flare, although not between players. The Giants’ Jimmy Jones knocked the mask off umpire Bob Emslie while arguing a strike call and was suspended for the season. The Pirates beat a lot of teams that year; they won the NL pennant by 27-1/2 games with a record of 103-36. 
• 1912 - OF Bud Hafey was born in Sacramento, California. He spent three years in the show, hitting .222 with the Pirates in 1935-36. His cousin, Chick Hafey, apparently got the deep end of the gene pool and was elected to the Hall of Fame. Bud only got one full season of major league ball, spending most of 1930-41 in the minors. 
• 1913 - The Giants’ Christy Mathewson was tagged for nine runs on 10 hits in five innings at Forbes Field as the Pirates took a 9-1 victory from New York. One Giants player speculated that manager John McGraw left his ace in so long because Matty had gone golfing at Schenley Park before the game, a sport that Muggsy thought was bad for pitchers’ arms. Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote “Whether golf or something else was responsible, it is certain that Mathewson took the drubbing of his long career.” George McQuillan went the distance for the win. 
• 1926 - RHP Clem Labine was born in Lincoln, Rhode Island. The 13-year vet spent his last full-time days with the Bucs in 1960-61. The Pirates signed him in mid-August after the Tigers released him as a complement to ElRoy Face. In 15 games through the remainder of the season, he slashed 3-0-3/1.48, helping the Bucs to the pennant. After the ‘61 season (4-1-8/3.69), he finished out with three games with the Mets in 1962 at the age of 35. One of the early closers, when he retired, his 96 career saves ranked fourth in MLB history. Clem went on to work in the sporting goods business and died at the age of 80 in Florida where he was working at a Dodger fantasy camp. 

Denny Sothern - 1936 photo TSN/Getty (filter ColouriseSG)

• 1930 - In a roundabout manner, the Bucs sent 23-year-old OF Fred Brickell to Philadelphia for 26-year-old OF Denny Sothern. The trade deadline had passed, so both centerfielders had to be waived past the Boston Braves and Cincy Reds, both beneath the Pennsylvania clubs in the standings. But Boston had a young CF’er in the wings and the Reds weren’t looking to add any payroll, so the waiver gambit worked. Southern was a fizzle, hitting .176 the remainder of the year for Pittsburgh before being sent to the minors; he played 19 games for Brooklyn in 1931 to finish his MLB career. The speedy Brickell was given through 1931 to earn a starting spot in Philly, but hit just .250. He got into 53 more games over the next two years and was released; he retired from baseball in 1936. 
• 1943 - Rip Sewell lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 8-3 at Sportsman’s Park, snapping his win streak at 11. Rip and his Eephus pitch would end up 21-9 that season, but he did fade after the loss, finishing 4-5 for the remainder of the year, although he did pick up three saves in that stretch.