9/17 From 1920 Through the 1970s: Frankie's Record Swipe; TSN Pops; Game Stories; HBD Brian, Jim, Ed & Ralph

• 1920 - IF Ralph Wyatt was born in Chicago. Ralph was a good glove infielder whose Pittsburgh connection was during the 1943 Negro World Series. He played for the Chicago American Giants of the Negro American League, which lost in the playoffs to the Black Barons, setting up a Birmingham-Homestead Grays championship. The Giants loaned Wyatt to the Grays for the series (being an equal opportunity club, the also loaned catcher Double Duty Radcliffe to the Barons). The Grays won the series in seven games, with Wyatt going 3-for-7 and then returning to Chicago. 
• 1927 - The Pirates won their 10th and 11th games in a row, sweeping the Brooklyn Robins 2-1 and 6-0. Vic Aldridge won the opener and drove in a run to help himself. Ray Kremer tossed his third shutout in four outings while Lloyd Waner banged out his 200th hit of the season, becoming the first MLB rookie to reach that mark in the 20th century. The Bucs went on to lose 5-of-7 and see their lead cut to 1-1/2 games, but finished strong to win the NL. 

Ed Vargo - photo via Ancestry.com

• 1928 - NL ump Ed Vargo was born in Butler. A minor league catcher, he first called games while in the Army, then spent 1953-59 honing his craft in the minors before going on to have a long career in blue. He worked in the NL from 1960-83, retiring only because he hit the mandatory retirement age of 55, and then became the league supervisor, holding the post until 1997. He umped four World Series, four NLCS and four All-Star Games. Ed called eight no-hitters, including Sandy Koufax’s perfecto, did the game when Henry Aaron tied the Babe’s HR mark and was part of the first WS night game. He was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. Vargo died at his home in Butler at age 79 in 2008. 
• 1930 - RHP Jim Umbricht was born in Chicago. Umbricht joined the Pirates in 1959 in a minor league trade with the Braves. From 1959-61, he put up a line of 1-2-1, 5.12, in 19 games, mostly working in the minors. Umbricht was drafted by the expansion Houston Colt .45s in 1962 and became one of the NLs top tier set-up guys with a 2.33 ERA in 69 games from 1962-63. Diagnosed with melanoma in March 1963, his return to baseball following surgery made headlines and spurred research & funding to fight the cancer. Umbricht's health deteriorated after the season and he passed away in April of 1964 at age 33 with his ashes spread over the construction site of the Astrodome. The team retired Umbricht's #32 and wore black armbands in his honor for the 1964 season. 
• 1939 - In a 7-3 loss to Philly, the Bucs set a club record with eight errors - 3B Frankie Gustine alone had three misplays - and every Philadelphia run was unearned. The game was the opener of a doubleheader at Forbes Field. The Pirates played flawlessly in the field during the nitecap to earn a split with a 10-1 victory. Bob Klinger not only tossed a four-hitter, but went 3-for-4 at the plate and scored twice. Paul Waner and Arky Vaughan homered. 
• 1966 - Willie Stargell was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Plundering Pirate.” Pops had a banner year, hitting .315 with 33 HR and 102 RBI while earning his third straight All-Star nod. 
• 1972 - LHP Brian Smith was born in Salisbury, North Carolina. He got into three games for the Pirates in 2000, giving up five runs in 4-1/3 innings, and that was the extent of his MLB stay. He spent a decade in the minors, ending his career playing indie ball in 2003. 

Willie Stargell - 1973 Kellogg's Super Stars

• 1973 - Willie Stargell went 4-for-4 with a homer, triple, and two doubles good for four RBI as the Bucs beat the Mets 10-3 at TRS. Richie Zisk and Milt May both went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI each. Bruce Kison got the win and Chris Zachary earned a three-inning save. It put the Bucs up by 1-½ games after an 18-for-22 roll, but they would lose the flag in the race no one wanted, winning just 80 games and finishing 2-½ games behind the Metropolitans. 
• 1976 - Behind Doc Medich and Dave Giusti’s combined six-hitter, the Bucs defeated the Mets 4-1 at Shea Stadium for their 18th win in 22 games. Frank Taveras’ two run single in the fifth was the telling blow. The win made the NL East race interesting. The Pirates cut Philadelphia’s lead down to three games, but it would be the closest they came as they finished with 92 wins, nine games behind the Phils. 
• 1977 - Frank Taveras tied and then broke Max Carey’s single season team record of 63 stolen bases, which was set in 1916, during a 6-3 Bucco victory over the Expos in Montreal (Omar Moreno stole 96 sacks in 1980). Scheduled starter Jerry Reuss was scratched after warming up, and his short-notice replacement Ed Whitson pitched five innings (it was Ed’s first MLB start and win) for the victory with Goose Gossage tossing the final four frames to earn his 23rd save. 
• 1979 - The Pirates moved back into first with a 2-1 victory against their chief competitors, the Montreal Expos, in a game played in front of 54,609 fans at Olympic Stadium. Pittsburgh took the lead in the fifth when Dave Parker collected his second RBI of the day by scoring pitcher Don Robinson, who just beat the tag of Gary Carter at home. Robinson was strong on the hill, too, tossing a six-hitter and getting stronger as the game went on. In the final four frames, he surrendered just an infield single, and that runner was caught stealing. Still, it remained a see-saw race in the NL East; Pittsburgh didn’t take control of the standings for good until September 25th, and didn’t clinch the pennant until the final day of the campaign.