5/31 Through the 1950s: Dizzy v Satch; Vic-Ball; Rain, Rain; Twin Bill Babe; Double 0; Two-Bags; Game Tales; HBD Russ

• 1888 - The Alleghenys forfeited a game to the New York Giants when they failed to show up at the Polo Grounds while it was raining, staying high and dry in their hotel. The Pittsburgh Press wrote “Manager Phillips claimed that he had word that there would be no game and that it rained from 3:30 to 4 (the game’s starting time). President Nimick will protest the game.” He did; the league didn’t buy the alibi and the Pittsburgh nine forfeited the match. 
• 1909 - Babe Adams won both ends of a doubleheader at Exposition Park against the Cardinals. He worked the final two frames of a 5-4 win in the opener, then tossed a complete game 4-2 victory in the second match. Dots Miller had five hits during the twin bill with Hans Wagner adding three more knocks. The two games drew 20,633 fans. 
• 1915 - The Pirates swept the first place Cubs by identical 1-0 scores at Forbes Field in front of 15,000 fans as Wilbur Cooper (three hits, eight K) and Al Mamaux (five hits, five K) hurled complete game whitewashes. The Pirates won the first game when RF Bill Hinchman was plunked with the bases loaded to force home C George Gibson (they wouldn’t win another 1-0 game via the plunk again until 2017) and the second on a wild pitch that allowed Hinchman to plate from third. As Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press noted, “This was getting the breaks...it was the luck of the Buccaneers to profit twice from slips made by Chicago twirlers.” 

Joe Harris - 1927 photo George Rinhart via Detroit Public Library

• 1927 - The Pirates overcame a 6-1, sixth-inning deficit by scoring nine times in the final four frames to nip the Cubs 10-9 at Forbes Field. 1B Joe Harris was on fire, going 5-for-5 with two triples, a double, four RBI and two runs scored. Carmen Hill, Pittsburgh’s fourth pitcher, got the win after K’ing a pair while posting a quiet ninth. 
• 1930 - Umpire Russ Goetz was born in McKeesport. After 13 seasons of honing his craft in the minors, he was an AL umpire from 1968 to 1983. Goetz was part of the blue crew for two All Star Games, four AL playoff series, and two World Series, including the Bucs 1979 battle against the Baltimore Orioles. Russ went into umpiring after serving in the Navy during the Korean War with deployments in Korea and China. He started his sporting days as a basketball player for the Tigers and remained in Tube City after he retired. 
• 1932 - Paul “Big Poison” Waner banged out his 20th double of the month at Forbes Field in the fifth inning against Cincinnati’s Red Lucas to set the MLB record. The Pirates won the game 4-1 as Waner went 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI to back Larry French’s mound work. During the month, Big Poison collected 43 hits in May - 21 singles, 20 doubles and two triples. 
• 1937 - The Reds beat the Pirates 8-3 in the opener of a doubleheader at Crosley Field. It was the only game Cincinnati won against the Pirates that season. Starting with a 7-5 loss in the nightcap - Pep Young’s three-run homer was the big blow - Cincy lost the next 17 straight to the Buccos, and dropped 21 of 22 games‚ tying the MLB record set by the Cubs over the Braves in 1909 and the Yankees over the Browns in 1927. In fact, the Reds would drop the first three to open 1938 for a 20 game losing streak against Pittsburgh, another MLB record. 

Satch as a Crawford - via Negro League Museum

• 1942 - Satchel Paige rejoined his old Grays teammates when they played against the Dizzy Dean All-Stars in an exhibition game at Washington’s Griffith Park. The match drew 22,000 fans (the major league Senators averaged just 5-6,000 per game) and the Satchels beat the Dizzys, 8-1. Clark Griffith, the Sens’ owner, told Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard after the game that he was going to “break up your league” and sign black ball players, but he never made good on the promise. 
• 1948 - At Wrigley Field, the Cubs set a paid attendance record when 46‚965 fans passed through the turnstiles during a doubleheader split with the Pirates on Memorial Day. The Bucs lost the opener 4-3 after Chicago scored in the ninth off Kirby Higbe. Pittsburgh rallied in the nightcap behind Elmer Riddle to win 4-2. Danny Murtaugh chased home a pair of runs and scored once to provide Riddle with some working space. 
• 1953 - Vic Janowicz became the first Heisman Trophy winner to play MLB when he appeared as a pinch runner for the Pirates in the opening game of a doubleheader loss to the Dodgers. He was a better gridder than ballplayer; he hit .214 in his 1953-54 MLB stint with the Buccos. He went on to play a little NFL ball, but a car accident in 1956 ended his pro sports days.