9/21 Through the 1940s: Connie Goes; 10 Straight for Kiki; Game Stories; HBD Sudden Sam, Max, Del, Tom & Gil

• 1860 - OF Tom Brown was born in Liverpool, England. Brown played from 1885-87 for the Alleghenys, hitting .287 and posting a 0-0/4.30 line as an emergency pitcher (three games, eight IP) over that span. He came over to the North Side club when it purchased the entire Columbus team after the 1884 season and became the first English-born player for Pittsburgh. After a 17-year MLB career, Brown became an umpire. 
• 1891 - SS Gil Britton was born in Parsons, Kansas. His MLB career was a three-game stand with Pittsburgh in 1913, with an 0-for-12 batting line and three errors. He spent from 1909-17 in the minors, mostly the Texas, Western and Central Kansas leagues. Gil hung ‘em up young at age 25 and returned to his hometown, where he remained until his death at age 91. 

Connie Mack - 2012 Topps Archives

• 1896 - Manager Connie Mack (given name: Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy) announced that he was leaving Pittsburgh to guide the Milwaukee club of the Western League; the Pirates finished in sixth place with a 66-63 slate during his last campaign. Patsy Donovan took over the reins in 1897. Connie’s claim to fame was managing the Philadelphia Athletics for the club's first 50 seasons of play, starting in 1901, and he became a Hall-of-Famer in 1937. 
• 1899 - RHP Del Lundgren was born in Lindsborg, Kansas. He started his brief three-year career (he pitched for Boston in 1926-27) with the Pirates in 1924, tossing eight games with an 0-1/6.48 line. Del tossed pro ball from 1922-30 before retiring with a sore arm. He got a job in a flour mill in Topeka and then retired to live the life of an outdoorsman in Lindsborg. 
• 1910 - RHP Max Butcher was born in Holden, West Virginia. He went 67-60/3.34 for the Bucs in seven seasons (1939-45), and had an ERA over 3.43 just once as a Pirate. His best year was 1941, when he went 17-12 with a 3.03 ERA. Though he was a big guy at 6’2” and 220 pounds, he wasn’t an overpowering hurler, averaging only 2.5 K/nine in Pittsburgh. 
• 1925 - In a 9-7 win over the Phillies at Forbes Field, Kiki Cuyler singled off Roy Crumpler in the second inning to run his consecutive hit streak to 10, a team record that still stands today. Cuyler began his streak against Boston’s Skinny Graham, and the hits fell in conjunction with a nine-game winning string for Pittsburgh, which won 95 games, the NL pennant and the 1925 World Series against the Washington Senators. Kiki went 4-for-4 in the next day’s game with two homers, making him 14-of-16 during his streak, in a 14-4 Bucco victory in the second game of the series. Johnny Morrison won the first game and Ray Kremer took the honors the following day. 
• 1940 - OF Deb Garms went 5-for-6 in the second game of a twinbill split against the Cincinnati Reds to push his BA to .379. He doubled, scored three times and drove in a pair in the 8-7 win during the second game after going 0-for-4 in a 8-1 loss in the opener at Forbes Field. Though he wore an 0-for-23 collar over the remainder of the season, his .355 BA won the NL crown. He played just 103 games (100 games played was the accepted, although unwritten, standard) with 385 PA and was awarded the title, causing some grumbling by those who preferred a full-time awardee. His title eventually led to the adoption of minimum plate appearances to qualify for the batting championship. 

Sudden Sam - 1975 Topps

• 1942 - LHP Sudden Sam McDowell was born in Pittsburgh. Though he pitched only briefly for the hometown Pirates in 1975 (2-1/2.86 in 14 games) , he may be the most dominating hurler the area ever produced. Sam went directly to the majors out of Central Catholic HS, signing with Cleveland. He played from 1961-75 with the Indians, Giants, Yankees and Bucs. McDowell struck out 2,453 batters in that span with a blazing fastball. His career was infamously short circuited by booze and pills, and he was said to be the inspiration for Cheers bartender Sam Malone. He beat his demons after retiring and became a MLB drug and alcohol counselor. His nickname was bestowed on him by Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter Bob Dolgan during Sam’s first spring training camp in 1961. 
• 1947 - The Bucs were a part of Queen City broadcast history when their game against Cincinnati was broadcast on TV by W8XCT (WLWT), the first time a Reds game was aired. An estimated home audience of 10,000 viewers watched the Redlegs lose 11-7 at Crosley Field. Elbie Fletcher, Jimmy Bloodworth and Clyd Kluttz each had three RBI; Gene Woodling had the other pair. The opening game of the doubleheader wasn’t shown (we think), and it turned out better for the Reds, who won 3-1 as Ewell Blackwell bested Kirby Higbe.