2/6 Through the 1970’s: Maz Out, Jose In; RIP Rosey; HBD Richie, Smoky, Dale, T-Bone & Buckshot

• 1901 - SS Glenn “Buckshot” Wright was born in Archie, Missouri. He played five years (1924-28) for Pittsburgh, hitting .294, and was considered one of the league’s elite shortstops until a shoulder injury suffered in 1929. Wright was a member of the 1925 and 1927 World Series clubs, and was named to The Sporting News All-Star team in ‘25 while finishing fourth in the NL-MVP vote. He got his nickname due to the strength of his arm and his sometimes scattered tosses. 

Buckshot - 4/27/1924 photo/Pittsburgh Press

• 1926 - 1B Dale Long was born in Springfield, Missouri. Long played four seasons for the Pirates (1951, 1955-57), hitting 27 homers in 1956 and earning a spot on the All-Star team. He put his name in the record books that year by hitting eight home runs in eight consecutive games between May 19th-28th, still the MLB standard, tied but never topped (Ken Griffey Jr & Don Mattingly co-share). In 1958, Long became the last lefty thrower who caught (though not much, just two games for 1-2/3 innings, and with a first baseman’s mitt) in the majors until Benny DiStefano backstopped in 1989. The big guy had a choice of careers; he turned down an audition with the Green Bay Packers as a semi-pro gridder to focus on baseball. 
• 1927 - C Smoky Burgess was born in Caroleen, NC. He spent six years (1959-64) as a Pirates platoon catcher, hitting .296 as a Buc, and was a key part of the 1960 World Series club. People sometimes forget what a strong player Smoky was. Burgess was a six-time All-Star who led NL catchers in fielding percentage three times, while his MLB record of 145 career pinch hits (a late career specialty) wasn’t broken until 1979 by Manny Mota. Smoky also called every pitch during Harvey Haddix’s legendary 12-inning perfecto against the Milwaukee Braves in 1959. 
• 1932 - RHP Bill “T-Bone” Koski was born in Modesto, California. The Bucs signed him as a 19-year-old fastballer out of high school and he debuted that year, going 0-1/6.67, with a remarkably consistent line: 27 IP, 23 R (20 ER), 26 hits and 28 walks, lagging only in Ks with six. The Pirates still thought highly of him, but Uncle Sam grabbed him during the Korean War and after his 1954 return, he never got above Class B ball. Jeff Jardine of the Modesto Bee explained his nickname: while on a train trip with the Pirates, the teenaged Koski ate a T-bone steak for dinner. Later that night, he got hungry and ate another. A sports writer on the trip dared him to eat a third steak. He did, and that night his teammates dubbed the growing youngster “T-Bone.” 
• 1949 - LF Richie Zisk was born in Brooklyn. A third round pick in the 1966 draft, he spent six years in Pittsburgh (1971-76), hitting .299 as a Buc before being traded to the Chicago White Sox as part of the Goose Gossage deal. He made post-season appearances with the 1974-75 Pirates, batting .400 in the playoffs, and hit for the cycle against the Giants in 1974. Since his playing days, Zisk has managed, coached and scouted for the Cubs organization. 

Richie Zisk - 1976 Topps

• 1955 - While in the midst of preparing to go to Florida with the team, announcer Rosey Rowswell was struck with uremic poisoning and passed away in Pittsburgh at the age of 71. He was the Pirates announcer from 1936 until his death, beginning back when the road games were recreated from telegraphed wire reports. Rosey was a mentor to his booth partner, Bob Prince, and came up with plenty of unique phraseology - “Open the window, aunt Minnie” for homers, the “doozie marooney” for an extra base hit, the “old dipsy doodle” for a curveball, and even coined the phrase “Buccos” among his thesaurus of colorful but fractured English. Rowswell was also a noted author who wrote four books of humor and poetry. 
• 1974 - Recently retired Pirate vet Jose Pagan replaced Bill Mazeroski, who resigned from Danny Murtaugh’s staff a day earlier. Maz cited a preference to playing over mentoring and the desire to summer with his family; the papers also speculated the difference in pay and the loss of Maz’s bud, Bill Virdon (he was fired and replaced by Murtaugh), may have also played into the decision. Jose ended up staying on for five years as a Bucco assistant before jumping ship to coach in the minors and Puerto Rico.