6/10 Through the 1950s: Jocko Knocko; B-2-B-2-B; Game Tales; HBD Hank, Specs, Vic, Deacon Danny & Jap

• 1882 - IF William “Jap” Barbeau was born in New York City. Barbeau spent four years in the show, and only one of those seasons was he a starter. That was for the Pirates in 1909, but after he hit .220, he was sent to St. Louis late in the season as part of the Bobby Byrne deal. He played MLB ball for part of 1910 and was done, although he did carve out a 14 year pro career. He got his nickname because he was short - 5’5” - and according to Alfred Spink in his 1910 book The National Game, “owing to his swarthy appearance,” leading a Columbus writer to pin the “Jap” tag on Barbeau as a minor-league rookie in 1905. 
• 1890 - OF Jocko Fields of the Pittsburgh Burghers hit the first home run at Exposition Park (the third incarnation of the yard) in a 10-4 win over the aptly named Chicago Pirates. Fred Carroll banged out four hits and Ed “Cannonball” Morris went the distance for the win. The Burghers were part of the Players League, and were manned primarily by guys who had previously played for the Alleghenys such as Fields, Carroll and Morris. 

Jocko Fields - 1887 Goodwin/Old Judge

• 1905 - Vic Harris was born in Pensacola, Florida. His family moved to Pittsburgh in 1914, and Vic spent 23 years playing the outfield for the Homestead Grays, hitting .299. He was also a player-manager for the Grays and his clubs won nine consecutive Negro National League pennants from 1937-1945 (he was off during the war years of 1943-44). 
• 1905 - RHP “Deacon Danny” MacFayden was born in Truro, Massachusetts. He spent 17 years in the majors, mostly with the Boston Red Sox and Bees, and his last full campaign was in 1940 with the Pirates when he went 5-4/3.55 and then was released at the age of 35. After his pitching days, Danny became the baseball coach at Bowdoin College from 1946 to 1970. Per Wikipedia, Danny’s serious demeanor won him the nickname "Deacon Danny" while New York World-Telegram sports writer Dan Daniel, a critic of his play, called him "Dismal Danny" when he was with the Yankees. 
• 1911 - The Bucs ran Brooklyn in circles at Forbes Field. Bobby Byrne stole 2B, 3B, and home in the sixth inning, taking third base while the Superbas argued the original call at second. The Pirates pulled off a pair of double steals and an uncredited triple steal that was instead ruled an error on the throw. When the dust settled, Pittsburgh had a 9-0 win over Brooklyn. But it was an all-around fine game by the Pirates. Beat man Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote “The Pirates played like real champions...they fielded like fiends, ran wild on the bases and hit when hits meant runs.” Fred Clarke and Newt Hunter each had three hits while pitcher Babe Adams added a pair of knocks with 10 whiffs from the mound. 
• 1920 - RHP Johnny “Specs” Podgajny was born in Chester, Pennsylvania. Podgajny put five years in the big leagues, and was a regular from 1941-43, mostly with Philadelphia (he was a teammate of Danny Murtaugh) who served some time with the Pirates in ‘43. He went 0-4/4.57 in 15 games with five starts and then was out of MLB except for a brief 1946 stint with the Indians. He ended his 12-year pro career after the 1950 campaign. “Specs,” of course, wore glasses. 

Johnny "Specs" Podgajny - 1946 photo via Baseball Birthdays

• 1929 - C Hank Foiles was born in Richmond, Virginia. He played for the Pirates from 1956-59, starting two seasons. Foiles was an All-Star in 1957, hitting .270 and throwing out 38% of the base stealers trying his arm, but his bat didn’t hold up as his four-year Bucco BA was just .230. 
• 1935 - Paul Waner, Arky Vaughan and Pep Young hit back-to-back-to-back HRs in the eighth inning off Benny Frey during the Pirates 14-1 win against the Reds at Forbes Field. Gus Suhr also went yard for the Pirates and Bill Swift earned a complete game victory. The feat wasn’t witnessed by many; only 1,186 fans showed for the contest. 
• 1951 - Ralph Kiner smacked a two-run homer in the 11th off Carl Erskine to give the Pirates a 5-4 doubleheader split with Brooklyn at Ebbets Field. It was Kiner’s second blast of the game, with Gus Bell adding another to give Bill Werle the win. The Bucs lost the opener 2-1; Ralph Branca, who wisely walked Kiner twice, won a duel against Bob Friend.