7/10 Through the 1940s: Pancho Villa & The Grays; HR Or No Count; ASG's; Game Tales; HBD Gene, Link & Harvey

• 1865 - IF Bobby “Link” Lowe was born in Pittsburgh and raised in the New Castle area. He played 18 years and in over 1,800 games with a .273 lifetime BA and was the first to hit four homers in a game, but was barely a blip on the home team’s radar - he got into one game as a pinch hitter and K’ed for the Bucs in 1904 before being sold to Detroit. The 38-year-old Link was at the end of his road; though he played through 1907 with the Tigers, he only managed a .206 average during that span and retired to coach in the minors and college ranks, adding a little scouting to his resume later. His nickname was a nod to the Great Emancipator; he was born a few weeks after Lincoln was assassinated and was given the middle name Lincoln. 
• 1877 - P Harvey Cushman was born in Rockland, Maine. His one major league campaign came in 1902 as a 25-year-old Pirate, getting four starts with a slash of 0-4/7.36 and managing to walk 31 batters in 25-2/3 IP. Harvey finished out his pro career after the 1905 season with Braddock of the Class C Ohio-Pennsylvania League. He apparently liked the area; he died in 1920 in Emsworth. 

Happy Jack Chesbro - 2014 Goodwin Champions

• 1901 - The Boston Beaneaters collected 15 hits in 12 innings against Pittsburgh, but failed to score in a 1-0 loss at Exposition Field, setting a record for most hits with no runs. It was part of a four-game sweep by the Bucs. The Bucs got four hits off Bill Dineen, who lost to Jack Chesbro. The Pirates won when Honus Wagner reached second on a throwing error, went to third on a bunt single and scored when Dineen’s pickoff toss to first went by 1B Pat Moran. 
• 1908 - At Exposition Park, the Bucs overcame a 4-0 NY Giants lead to win 7-6 on Tommy Leach’s ninth-inning, walk-off homer to center. Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke and Chief Wilson had triples for the Pirates. Sam Leever, who allowed the Giants to tie the game in the top of the ninth, got the win. 
• 1929 - The Pirates mashed the Phillies, 15-9 at the Baker Bowl. Pittsburgh hit five homers and the Phils banged four. The teams showed off their muscles with regularity; there were homers hit in eight of the nine innings, with only the sixth frame dinger-free. George Grantham had a pair of long balls for the Bucs, along with Pie Traynor, Lloyd Waner and pitcher Fred Fussell also homering. 
• 1934 - 3B Pie Traynor, SS Arky Vaughan and RF Paul Waner represented the Bucs in the second All-Star game held at the Polo Grounds. Traynor went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, an RBI and stolen base (he became the first and only player to swipe home in an ASG), while Waner and Vaughan both went 0-for-2 in the NL’s 9-7 victory. It’s known best for Carl Hubbard’s feat - he struck out five future Hall of Famers in a row. After two batters reached in the first, he fanned Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, & Jimmie Foxx, adding Al Simmons & Joe Cronin to his list in the second. 

Pie - Pittsburgh Heroes deck

• 1936 - The Bucs dropped a 10-inning, 9-6 decision to the Phils at Forbes Field thanks to OF Chuck Klein. The Hoosier Hammer banged four homers, two of which landed on the right field roof, off three different Pirate pitchers and drove in six runs to almost single-handedly beat the Buccos. His three-run homer in the tenth off Bill Swift sealed the deal for Philadelphia. Paul Waner had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run while Gus Suhr added two more knocks, good for a pair of RBI to lead the Pirates. Klein, a Hall of Famer, played for Pittsburgh later when he joined the club in 1939. 
• 1940 - SS Gene Alley was born in Richmond, Virginia. He played his entire 11-year career (1963–73) with the Pirates. A modest hitter - his BA was .254 - he won a pair of Gold Gloves, was twice selected an All-Star, and set the MLB DP record for middle infielders with Bill Mazeroski in 1966 with 161. Shoulder and knee problems slowed and ultimately ended his career. 
• 1943 - Pittsburgh surrendered a franchise record for most runs given up in the modern era when the Brooklyn Dodgers spanked them 23-6 at Forbes Field. As motivation, the Dodgers only had two players willing to suit up before the game after Leo Durocher suspended pitcher Bobo Newsome. Da Bums, led by ex-Buc Arky Vaughan, were ready to walk out in support of Newsome until GM Branch Rickey stepped in and calmed the seas, leaving Brooklyn to take out its frustrations on the Buccos. Vaughan despised Leo The Lip so much that he sat out the following three seasons at his ranch and wouldn’t return to Brooklyn until Durocher was gone. 
• 1943 - Homestead Grays co-owner (and numbers king) Rufus "Sonnyman" Jackson was briefly jailed after a confrontation at Forbes Field with a Mexican baseball agent (actually, the Mexican diplomatic consul AJ Guina) trying to raid his roster. As quoted by Mark Ribowsky in A Complete History of the Negro Leagues, Jackson said “I don’t care if they send Pancho Villa, they’re not getting my ballplayers.” Sonnyman eventually kept his players and he ran the team himself after team co-owner Cum Posey's death, winning the last pennant in Negro National League history in 1948.