8/14 Through the 1960s: King Kiner; Gems & Game Tales; RIP Cap; HBD Alex & Dale

• 1856 - 1B Alex McKinnon was born in Boston. He played briefly for the Alleghenys in 1887, which acquired him in an off season deal from Salem. Pittsburgh looked like it had a steal when he hit .340 in 48 games, but at age 30 he contracted typhoid fever and passed away three weeks later. Pittsburgh wore black crepe on their uniforms for the rest of the season in his honor. 
• 1902 - The Pirates beat Boston 6-1 at the South End Grounds as both Tommy Leach and Claude Ritchey went 4-for-5 to back Jesse Tannehill. Leach had a monster day with two homers and a double, three runs, and three RBI. Wee Tommy led the NL with homers that season with six, all inside-the-park four-baggers.

Wee Tommy Leach - 1903 photo/Carl Horner

• 1912 - The Pirates scored an unearned run in the 10th to beat Grover Cleveland Alexander and the Phils, 2-1, behind Claude Hendrix. It was Pete's first loss to Pittsburgh, although Pittsburgh did OK against the Hall-of-Famer in the long run with a 30-35 record. The Pirates took the opener of the doubleheader at Forbes Field by a 3-2 score to make it a sweep as Howie Camnitz won his 16th game. Bobby Byrnes had three hits and scored twice while Max Carey, batting behind him, added two raps and two RBI. 
• 1913 - Honus Wagner homered, tripled, and had another home run bid taken away thanks to a great catch by Casey Stengel as the Bucs romped 13-8 over the Brooklyn Superbas at Ebbets Field. The Pirates banged out 19 hits, led by Max Carey with four knocks and Dots Miller & Mike Mitchell with three each. 
• 1925 - Stuffy McGinnis, Clyde Barnhart, and Pie Traynor combined to drive in 10 runs in the Bucs 14-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Forbes Field. McGinnis and Max Carey scored seven times from the top of the order as Stuffy went 3-for-4 with a triple, four RBI, and three runs to help Lee Meadows cruise to victory. 
• 1929 - The Bucs Jesse Petty outgunned Boston’s Percy Jones to take a 1-0 victory at Braves’ Field. The Pirate run came in the fourth when a pair of walks followed by a bunt and an intentional pass set up Sparky Adams, whose sac fly would plate the only score of the day. Both pitchers went the distance, with Petty giving up five singles and Jones just three. 
• 1930 - 1B Dale Coogan was born in Los Angeles. Coogan got one year in the show as a Bucco in 1950, getting three months and 53 games in the majors while batting .240. The Pirates had signed him in 1948 out of high school and he continued on in the minors through 1958. Coogan earned a doctorate from Southern Cal and his second career was as a secondary school teacher and administrator. 

Pie - 2007 SP Upper Deck Legendary Cuts

• 1937 - The Pirates scored five times in the ninth inning to take a 6-5 victory from the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman’s Park. The Bucs used five singles and two walks to fuel their rally after being held to two hits by Ray Harrell over the first eight frames. Player-manager Pie Traynor played his final game as a Pirate, coming in as a pinch runner in the ninth and scoring the winning run on a Paul Waner knock. Jim Weaver got the win and Jim Tobin the save as Pittsburgh snapped a six game Redbird winning string. 
• 1952 - Ralph Kiner homered twice, with the second blast being the game winner, and drove in four runs as the Bucs beat the St. Louis Cards, 5-3, in 11 innings at Sportsman Park. Tony Bartirome banged three hits, Dick Groat scored twice and Murry Dickson went the distance for the win. 
• 1960 - The second-place Cards entered the day four games behind the Bucs; they went to bed six back as the Pirates swept a twinbill, 9-4 and 3-2, at Forbes Field to continue a 10-wins-in-12-games roll. Pittsburgh banged out six doubles in the opener and Rocky Nelson’s three RBI backed Vern Law’s complete game victory. It was his league-leading 17th victory. The nitecap went 11 frames; Don Hoak’s single off Lindy McDaniel brought in Bob Skinner with the game winner. Dick Stuart and Dick Groat drove in the other runs as the Buc bullpen pitched five scoreless frames, with Fred Green getting the win. 
• 1960 - Fred “Cap” Clarke passed away at the age of 87 in Winfield, Kansas at his farm called the “Little Pirates Ranch.” Clarke was the player-manager for four Pittsburgh pennants and two World Series appearances (1903, 1909) with a record of 1,422-969 (.595) and batted .299 as an outfielder in his 15 Pirates years. In his career, Cap hit over .300 11 times, stole over 30 bases seven times and led NL left fielders in fielding percentage nine times. He was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1945. 

Cap's HoF Plaque

• 1964 - The Pirates were down 2-1 to the Cubs with two down in the ninth at Wrigley Field. The Bucs had just had Orlando McFarlane cut down at home to end the eighth and a leadoff single in the final frame was erased on a DP, Pittsburgh’s third of the day. Starter Bob Buhl walked Roberto Clemente to keep a Pirates pulse beating as Jerry Lynch stepped to the plate. Bob Kennedy waved in lefty Bobby Shantz to deal with Lynch and Jerry won the mano-a-mano battle, going long to give the Pirates a rally-cap 3-2 win. Neither starter was involved in the decision as Schantz took the loss and Al McBean, who worked the last two rounds, got the win. It was quite a contrast in pitching - Veale gave up two runs on three hits while Buhl gave up one score despite 12 hits as the Pirates stranded 11 runners. The Cubbies avenged themselves in the second game with a 4-2 win as Lew Burdette got the better of Vern Law.