- 1965 - 28,589 fans got their fill of baseball at Forbes Field when the Bucs split a twilight twin bill with the Reds. The contests started at 6:05 and ended at 1:42 AM, with the Pirates taking the opener 2-1 in 16 innings and dropping the second game 7-5. Cincy had 11 hits in the first game but went 1-for-11 w/RISP; the last of the Buccos six hits was a two-out rap by Roberto Clemente that scored Bob Bailey, making a winner of Steel City’s fourth hurler, Don Schwall. The Reds broke out of their malaise with a five-run fourth frame in game two to overcome two-hit outings by Clemente, Manny Mota and Donn Clendenon to hang the L on Joe Gibbon.
- 1967 - John Wehner was born in Carrick. The Rock was drafted out of Indiana University by the Pirates in the seventh round of the 1988 draft and the infielder spent nine seasons (1991-96, 1999-2001) with the Bucs as a utilityman, hitting .250. On October 1st, 2000, Wehner hit the final home run smacked at TRS. He played every position except pitcher during his career. John shares the major league record of 99 consecutive errorless games at third base with Jeff Cirillo and has a 1997 World Series ring won with the Florida Marlins under Jim Leyland. After a couple of years as a Bucco hitting coach at Altoona, he became an analyst on the Pirates’ TV team.
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| The Rock - Pirates promo |
- 1968 - The Pittsburgh Press sports page lede was “M-000 000 000-se Blanks Phils” after Bob Moose twirled a two-hit, one walk, eight-K performance at Veterans Stadium to claim a 1-0 win. Both of the hits were weak, with one being a bad-hop single off Maury Wills’ mitt and the other a ball through the box that Moose didn’t react quickly enough to glove. His eight whiffs were of three Phillies - Dick Allen (4 times), Johnny Briggs (2) and pitcher Larry Jackson (2 - both on foul third strike bunts). The Buccos' only score came in the ninth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Matty Alou hit a two-hopper to seven-time Gold Glove winner Bill White at first; it went through his wickets to allow Wills to score the game’s only run.
- 1977 - Pops Stargell became the first Pirates player to hit 400 career home runs when he connected in the fifth frame off Eric Rasmussen in a 9-1 win at Busch Stadium. Bill Robinson had a four-bagger and double while Phil Garner added a long ball against the Cards. Bruce Kison and Goose Gossage combined for a seven-hitter. Captain Willie finished his career with 475 bombs, far and away the most by a Bucco - Ralph Kiner is a distant second with 301.
- 1977 - RHP Tony McKnight was born in Texarkana, Arkansas. Tony was a big righty who was a first round draft pick and pitched modestly well for Houston (5-1/3.91 in nine starts) in limited work. The Pirates took a dice roll on the 24-year-old by swinging a deadline deal that sent reliever Mike Williams to the ‘Stros for him. They rolled snake eyes; Tony went 2-6/5.19 in 12 starts with a 1.572 WHIP, then spent two years in the minors before moving on. He’s now a coach at Texas A&M at Texarkana.
- 1978 - Rennie Stennett, gimpy but game with a bum ankle, came off the bench in the eighth and tripled in Phil Garner to give the Bucs a 4-3 win over the Mets at TRS. The drive gave Grant Jackson the win with a ninth-inning save by Ed Whitson after they took over for Bert Blyleven and Kent Tekulve. Willie Stargell had three knocks, including a homer and double, and Kenny Macha added three more, one a triple, to account for half of the Pirates 12 hits.
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| Jason Kendall - 2000 Topps Stars |
- 2000 - Jason Kendall put on a show with two hits, including a homer, walk, two stolen bases, three RBI and two runs as the Bucs outlasted the Cubs 5-4 in 10 innings at TRS. He capped the game with a walk-off single to bring home Mike Benjamin for the bonus baseball win. Marc Wilkins, the fourth Pirates pitcher, got the victory in a game started by Jose Silva.
- 2003 - Matt Stairs drove in four runs with a homer and double while Jason Kendall added four knocks to lead the Bucs to a 9-0 whipping of the Rockies at PNC Park. Jeff Suppan pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout for the win. In other big news, veteran Kevin Young was released. He was hitting just .202 and the writing was on the wall, but KY was a respected clubhouse guy and mentor for many of the players in the organization as the 34-year-old had spent 11 of his 12 big league years with Pittsburgh.
- 2005 - LHP Ollie Perez was placed on the DL with a broken toe. He kicked a laundry cart in frustration after being pulled from a game in St. Louis on the 26th (an eventual 10-inning, 5-4 Pirate win) and was out of action for 10 weeks.
- 2006 - The Pirates edged the White Sox at PNC Park 7-6, ending a club-record 13-game losing streak. Freddy Sanchez was the hero with four hits, including a walk-off ninth inning homer. He had help from the tres Jose's - Bautista, Castillo and Hernandez had two hits - and Jack Wilson, who also rapped out a pair of knocks. Mike Gonzalez got the win after Roberto Hernandez blew an eighth-inning lead.
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| Freddy Sanchez - 2006 Fleer Ultra Gold |
- 2012 - The Pirates pounded four homers on the way to a 14-5 win at Busch Stadium. Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones, Clint Barmes and Alex Presley all went yard. Cutch had a 4-for-5 day with four runs and three RBI; Alvarez added four RBI. Kevin Correia went five frames for the win; Brad Lincoln and Chris Resop covered the final four innings. It was an early leg of a 24-of-35 winning streak that put them 16 games above .500 in early August, though a dog-day’s free fall left them at just 79 wins at season’s end.
- 2013 - A life-size statue of Roberto Clemente was unveiled at the 25-acre Roberto Clemente State Park along the Harlem River in the Bronx. The likeness, sculpted by Maritza Hernandez, was the first in New York to honor a person of Puerto Rican heritage, according to the park's director. The park opened in 1973 as the Harlem River Park before being renamed after Clemente, and holds an annual Roberto Clemente Week to celebrate its namesake.
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