7/16 Through the 1960s: Teke Signed; Starg Splashdown; Burner Bernier; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Howdy

• 1894 - SS James Howard “Howdy” Caton was born in nearby Zanesville, Ohio. He spent his four year MLB career (1917-20) with Pittsburgh, hitting .226 as a reserve infielder. Howdy never did hit a homer, but he did leg out 16 triples. After his Bucco tenure, he played for local teams in the Midwest League including the Zanesville Greys for several years and was a city worker for Zanesville. Howdy also answered to the nickname Buster. 
• 1910 - Chief Wilson had three hits, including two triples, and the Bucs scored three times in the eighth off Christy Mathewson to sweep a four game set from the NY Giants at Forbes Field by a 6-3 score. With two outs in the eighth frame, Fred Clarke and Honus Wagner banged back-to-back doubles for the lead. The insurance markers came on a John Flynn RBI knock followed by Bill McKechnie’s drive that glanced off a glove to score Flynn. Deacon Phillippe got the win. 

Earl Hamilton - 1921 photo via RMY Auctions

• 1920 - Lefty Earl Hamilton pitched 16 shutout innings before running out of gas and losing 7-0 to the New York Giants, getting just one out in the 17th frame. The Giants Rube Benton went the distance for the win at Forbes Field, tossing a seven hitter. The game featured outstanding defense, with the Pittsburgh Press citing “remarkable work in the field” and “fielding thrills” provided by both nines. It described Pirates birthday boy SS Howdy Caton’s grab behind second and spin-a-rama toss to first to retire the Giants Frankie Frisch as “the greatest play witnessed on the local lot in several years.” 
• 1950 - The Bucs scored three times in the eighth and once in the ninth to edge the Boston Braves 6-5 at Forbes Field. Ted Beard (whose ball hit the RF roof and bounced over it, making him the first batter since Babe Ruth in 1935 and just the second in Forbes Field's 41-year history to clear the stadium's 89-foot-high roof), homered. Then Gus Bell went long after Ralph Kiner was intentionally walked with two down in the eighth to tie it. Earl Turner cracked another two-out dinger in the final frame to win it for Hank Borowy. Pittsburgh dropped the opener of the twin bill 9-5. MLB set a record of 37 HR launched on this day; the Bucs contributed five to the cause - Bell (2), Beard, Turner and Danny O’Connell’s blast in the first game. 
• 1953 - Pittsburgh’s happy feet and a day by Carlos Bernier snapped the Pirates 10-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Braves at Forbes Field. In the fourth, the Bucs set up shop when Eddie O’Brien and Danny O’Connell inadvertently ran a double steal. Caught off base after a missed bunt, O’Brien redeemed himself by dancing into third after the Braves tried to pick him off at second, with O’Donnell steaming into second during the festivities. Bernier singled them both home and went to third on Paul Smith’s knock. Smith stole second without a throw, and then Carlos stole home, drawing a wild throw to the plate during his dash that allowed Smith to come around, too. Bernier later tripled and scored to help Bob Friend to a complete game victory. 
• 1960 - The Bucs jumped ahead of the Reds 2-0 in the first inning, but found themselves down 5-2 going into the seventh at Forbes Field. Maz’s homer made it 5-3 and Don Hoak’s two-out, bases-loaded single an inning later tied it. The Pirates came all the way back when Dick Stuart drilled a pinch-hit, walk-off homer to left with an out in the ninth for a 6-5 victory. Stu hit for Earl Francis, who worked two scoreless frames for the win. 

Pops lands a cannonball - 7/17/1969 Pgh Press clip

• 1969 - Willie Stargell cannon-balled a pitch 495’ over the RF fence into the municipal swimming pool behind Jarry Park Stadium in the eighth inning as the Bucs beat the Expos 8-7. The Pirates scored three times in the eighth and three more times in the ninth to claim the win. Roberto Clemente had a two-run, two-out single in the final frame, followed by the eventual game-winning knock, a Richie Hebner single that scored Stargell. Chuck Hartenstein got the save, even though he gave up a ninth-inning homer (the Expos hit four long balls), to close the victory for Joe Gibbon. It was a win, but not one of the team’s finer outings - they committed three errors, hit into four double plays and lost a run when Manny Sanguillen left third base too soon on a tag-up. Fun fact: The Expos later presented Willie with a life preserver to commemorate “all the swimmers he chased out of the pool” with his homers at Jarry Park. 
• 1969 - Pirates scout Dick Coury signed 22-year-old RHP Kent Tekulve as an undrafted FA out of Marietta College. The contract was offered following a tryout at Forbes Field, where Tekulve didn’t pitch during the regular session but in a private bullpen after the main event, per Bob Hurte of SABR, and was sent to Geneva farm club. Teke was a late bloomer, not cracking the Bucco roster until 1974, but made up for lost time - he tossed for a dozen years for the Pirates, making 722 appearances with a 2.68 ERA, 70 wins and 158 saves as a rubber-armed reliever. He put together a 16-year MLB career with 1,050 outings and a line of 94-90-184/2.85, working 90+ games three times and once pitching nine straight games before hangin’ up the mitt at age 42. Telulve then worked for the Wild Things, as a Bucco scout, and finally a broadcaster before having a heart transplant in 2014 and retiring in 2017.