6/7: Klein Signed; Gunner Return; Manny's 1st; Team Mtg; No To Guild; Dirty Ball; Game Tales; HBD Virgil, Les, Bones, Leroy & Bill

• 1863 - SS William “Bones” Ely was born in North Girard, just outside Erie. And if you’ve ever wondered who held down the regular SS position before Honus Wagner, wonder no more - Bones is the man. Ely played for the Alleghenys/Pirates from 1896-1901, and was a good glove man who hit .256 for Pittsburgh. He was released in the summer of 1901, the Bucs first pennant-winning year, at the age of 38 and his spot was taken by the Flying Dutchman. If you saw him, you’d understand his nickname in a flash - Ely was 6’1” and 155 pounds soaking wet. 
• 1907 - Les Biederman was born in Wilkinsburg. He was the Pittsburgh Press' Pirates beat reporter for 31 years (1939-69) and served as The Sporting News' Pittsburgh correspondent. Les was also president of the BBWAA and named “Sportswriter of the Year” in 1960 by a couple of national organizations. 
• 1911 - Talk about pitching to contact: Pirates hurlers had the Giants beating the ball into the dirt all day as Pittsburgh fielders handled 55 total chances for a MLB record 28 assists and 27 putouts. Unfortunately, there were more than a couple that got away, as the Bucs committed seven errors (it was contagious; the Giants chipped in five boots of their own) with miscues charged to five different Pirates on their way to a 9-4 loss to New York at Forbes Field. The Pittsburgh Press lede was “The Pittsburgh Pirates were defeated by the New York Giants...in a genuine comedy of errors. The Buccaneers made as many bungles as bingles while the Giants ran a close second in the foozle column.” Both teams straightened out - John McGraw’s G-Men won the NL with 99 victories while Fred Clarke’s Pirates finished third with an 85-69 slate. 

The 1911 Ground Ball Society - photo via Baseball Reference

• 1926 - C Leroy Jarvis was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The Bucs took Jarvis from Brooklyn in the 1944 Rule 5 Draft. He served in the Navy for two years, coming back for two games in 1946 and spending most of 1947 at AA Indianapolis, getting into 18 games for the Pirates, swatting his first and only MLB home run off Clayton Lambert of the Cincinnati Reds on April 18 and batting .156. After that stint, he played for six organizations in the minors through 1955 before retiring at age 29. Per John Dreker of Pirates Prospects, he was given the nickname “Sweet Milk” in the minors after a teammate decided he had to be “nursed” in the ways of a pro ballplayer. 
• 1939 - The Bucs signed former All-Star/triple crown winner and future Hall-of-Famer OF Chuck Klein, who was released by Philadelphia. Klein, 34, hit .300 in 85 games for Pittsburgh and then returned to the Phils as a free agent. In a bit of an oddity, the Bucs released another future Hall of Famer at the end of his career, Heinie Manush, to make roster room for Klein. 
• 1940 - LF Maurice Van Robays went 4-for-5 with a 2B, 3B and five RBI to lead Pittsburgh to a 10-5 win over Philadelphia at Forbes Field. Paul Waner and Arky Vaughan added three hits apiece as every Pirates starting position player had a hit plus run scored and/or RBI. Mace Brown, the starter, was chased in the second and gave up all the Phil scores; Johnny Lanning finished out the final 7-1/3 innings surrendering just three hits; neither Buc hurler registered a K. 
• 1946 - An hour before the game, the Pirates voted against a walkout in support of the American Baseball Guild, which was pushing for a minimum salary of $7‚500‚ arbitration of salary disputes‚ and players sharing in 50 percent of any team sale price. The motion actually carried by a 20-16 vote, but needed a ⅔ majority. The Bucs took out their frustrations on the poor baseball, beating the New York Giants 10-5 behind a 15 hit attack. Every Pittsburgh starter, including winning pitcher Ed Bahr, reached base via hit/walk and all but C Bill Salkeld either scored and/or chased runs home. 

Bill Hohn - 2009 photo Bill Mangin/Getty

• 1955 - Ump Bill Hohn was born in Butler. He spent a decade calling games in the minors with a couple of part-time shots in the show and was hired by the NL full time in 1989. He worked the 1994 All-Star Game, three NLDS sets and was the home plate umpire for Hideo Nomo's 1996 no-hitter. Hohn took a hiatus from 1999-2001 when he was part of the umpire gang that resigned in an effort to get a new labor deal and didn’t get reinstated until the 2002 season. Bill’s last campaign was in 2010; he sat out 2011 with back/neck injuries and retired in 2012. 
• 1964 - Bob Veale tied Babe Adam’s 1909 record with 12 K against Houston at Forbes Field, but watched the bullpen implode in the ninth inning to give the Colt .45’s a 6-3 win, with the big blows a pair of two-run raps, a single by Rusty Staub followed by John Bateman’s homer, both off Fred Green. Veale’s reaction - “I’m angry at myself for not finishing.” Veale would later shatter his record with 16 strikeouts in 1965. It was the first game of a twin bill, and Vern Law did finish the nightcap, winning 6-1 behind Bill Virdon’s three hits and a Bill Mazeroski homer. 
• 1966 - Bob Gibson K’ed four Pirates in the fourth inning - Jerry Lynch, Jim Pagliaroni, Bill Mazeroski and Don Cardwell - to tie a record held by several (Maz reached on a wild pitch third strike). Gibson had the Bucs eating out of his hand, going into the eighth with 12 K and a 1-1 score, dueling with Don Cardwell. But that was the end of his rope; the Pirates plated eight times on the way to a 9-1 victory. Roberto Clemente was the boss man with three hits, including a game-capping homer in the eighth, two runs scored and three RBI to back Cardwell, who went the distance by tossing a four-hitter. The game involved a couple of streaks: it was the first time Cardwell whipped the Redbirds since 1962, and Gibby ended Willie Stargell’s batting streak at nine straight hits. 
• 1967 - Roberto Clemente called a team meeting in New York after a twin bill loss with the Pirates six games out of first place. The Great One’s motive, per Les Beiderman of the Pittsburgh Press: “I called this meeting to talk things out. If you have any gripes about the manager, about me or anybody else now speak up. We can settle it here.” The clan gathering was presumably to smooth the waters between the players and manager Harry Walker, of whom Clemente said “We must stop blaming others and blame ourselves. It’s one thing not to like the manager and another not to play your best for him.” It helped short-term as the Pirates won 4-of-5, but not in the long run. The team finished 81-81 and in sixth place, 20-½ games behind St. Louis. 

Manny's first dinger - 1969 Topps

• 1969 - Manny Sanguillen hit his first MLB homer and added a double to drive in three runs as the Bucs dusted the Braves 10-2 at Atlanta Stadium. Roberto Clemente went 4-for-5 with a three-run homer and triple while Matty Alou chipped in with three raps. Steve Blass went tape-to-tape, serving up a six-hitter. 
• 1972 - The Bucs can beat ya with a hammer or with small ball, as they proved to San Diego in a doubleheader sweep at Jack Murphy Stadium. They won the opener 12-5 behind Willie Stargell’s two homers and five RBI, then took the nitecap 1-0 in 18 innings with two infield singles, a double steal, and two walks. Maz was walked intentionally to get to Gene Alley, who drew a free pass from Mike Corkins to force home Al Oliver. Bob Johnson, who made his first two relief appearances of the year in the twin bill, got a win and a save. Starter Dock Ellis was brilliant, giving up just two hits and at one point retiring 22 straight Padres in the second contest. 
• 1976 - The Pirates and Reds combined for seven solo homers (out of a total of 12 hits) bombed out of TRS. Al Oliver, Willie Stargell and Bill Robinson connected in the seventh off Jack Billingham while Richie Zisk hit the game-winner in the eighth for a 5-4 Buc victory. It was noteworthy for another event, too. The Gunner returned to TRS as part of the crew broadcasting the ABC Monday Night game. In the third inning, when the scoreboard flashed a welcome to Prince, Bob Uecker, and Warner Wolf, Pirates fans gave Prince a long standing ovation as Bruce Kison stepped off the mound to allow The Gunner his moment. Prince bowed to the fans, waved a babushka to the crowd and then teared up on the air. 
• 1982 - RHP Virgil Vasquez was born in Santa Barbara, California. Virgil got a cup of coffee with the Tigers in 2007 and a better shot to show his stuff with a thin Pirates pitching staff in 2009, going 2-5/5.84 in 14 games (seven starts). He was traded to Tampa, but was hit by a car while driving his scooter and broke both wrists, effectively ending his pitching days. He’s been working as a Twins’ minor league pitching coach since 2015. 

Virgil Vasquez - 2009 photo Joe Robbins/Getty

• 2012 - Clint Barmes and Mike McKenry hit back-to-back doubles off Aroldis Chapman in the 10th inning to give the Pirates a 5-4 win against the Cincinnati Reds at GABP. It was a “who’d thunk it” rally - Chapman hadn't allowed an earned run in 24 appearances covering 29 innings prior to the game and hadn't even allowed a hit since May 17th, while Barmes and McKenry were both batting under .200. It was especially sweet coming right after Joel Hanrahan had blown the save by allowing Ryan Ludwick’s homer to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. 
• 2016 - The Bucs swept a twinbill from the NY Mets by identical 3-1 scores at PNC Park. The opener’s storyline was centered on Jon Niese and Neil Walker, traded for one another during the offseason and making their first appearances against their old teammates. Walker was held hitless while Niese spun seven innings of four-hit shutout ball. Josh Harrison had three hits and Jordy Mercer homered to help send Steven Matz to defeat. The Pirates collected 10 hits and RBIs from John Jaso, Cole Figueroa and Chris Stewart to give Juan Nicasio, with four innings of strong bullpen support, the nightcap win over Jacob deGrom. Mark Melancon completed a two-save day, the Pirates' first since Matt Capps in 2007, and Neftali Feliz worked both eighth innings to earn a pair of holds.