9/19 Through the 1970s: 21 For Rip, 26 For Danny, 50 For Ralph; Big Bob's Beauty; McKinley Honor; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Stuffy, Yank & Ed

• 1859 - IF William “Yank” Robinson was born in Philadelphia. Yank had his heyday from 1885-89 with the American Association’s St Louis Browns. He could play just about anywhere and was patient at the plate: from 1887-90, Robinson drew 472 free rides (427 walks w/45 HBPs) and 400 hits for an OBP of .412. Yank got into a beef with the Browns’ owner in 1889 triggered by a pair of tight pants and jumped to the Pittsburgh Burghers the following season, keeping up his old tricks. During the season, Robinson had just 70 hits for a .229 BA, but his 101 bases on balls jacked up his OBP to .434, fourth highest in the Players' League. That was his only Pittsburgh term. He was also noted because he played the field bare handed and could throw ambidextrously; the combination made him a dangerous fielder who could either make an outrageously difficult play or take a routine two-hopper off the pinky for an error. It’s thought that his nickname dates back from childhood as he was born just prior to the Civil War. 

Ed Glenn - 18889 Sioux City Goodwin/Old Judge

• 1860 - OF Ed Glenn (Glinn) was born in Richmond, Virginia. Ed played every other year in the majors, making stops in 1884-86-88, with the Alleghenys being his team in the middle. He hit .191 (his rep was as a gloveman), spent a year in the minors and split time in the NL in 1888. He lost his chance to repeat his two-year cycle when he injured himself badly crashing into another player while chasing down a fly while on the farm at Sioux City; he sat out 1890 and eventually passed away from injuries caused by the collision in early 1892. 
• 1882 - Rookie Guy Hecker of the American Association Louisville Eclipse (aka Colonels) tossed a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, winning 3-1 at Eclipse Park. He would join the Pirates in 1890, albeit for his final MLB season. 
• 1890 - 1B Jack “Stuffy” McInnis was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Stuffy, a solid contact hitter and glove man, spent the tail end of his 17-year career as a Pirate in 1925-26. McInnis still had a sharp stick, hitting .337 over that span and .286 in four games of the 1925 World Series against the Washington Senators, retiring after the 1927 campaign. He picked up his nickname as a youngster playing in Boston, where his feats on the field brought shouts of "that's the stuff, kid." 
• 1901 - The Pirates game with the Phils at Exposition Park was postponed by order of NL President NE Young (it was a league-wide day of mourning) to honor the burial day of assassinated President William McKinley. Pittsburgh was a hotbed of McKinley enthusiasts; a South Hills Park and street were renamed for McKinley. The clubs played two the next day to make up the date, with a Pirates sweep putting them 9-1/2 games up in the standings. The team finished the year 90-49, winning the pennant by 7-1/2 games to earn the franchise's first title. 

Lefty - 1909 Sweet Caporal Disk

• 1908 - Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote “In the presence of a grand out-pouring of more than 25,000 fans and in one of the most stubbornly fought battles ever waged at the Polo Grounds, the Pirates defeated the New York Giants by the score of 6-2 after ten innings of strenuous work.” The better part of that battle was fought by Lefty Liefield, who went the distance to outlast Red Ames and Doc Crandall. Ed "Batty" Abbaticchio knocked home a pair of runs in the 10th, and an error followed by Chief Wilson’s hit brought in the final two tallies. 
• 1925 - The Pirates edged the Braves, 2-1, at Forbes Field as Kiki Cuyler had four hits and Pie Traynor added three more. The two teams combined for 23 hits and drew seven walks but managed to strand 23 runners, hitting into two DPs and getting three runners thrown out trying to steal. The Bucs and opportunity took nine innings to get together - Pittsburgh left the bases loaded with one away in the eighth and needed a two-out, bases-packed single by Glenn Wright in the ninth to squeak out the win for Vic Aldridge. 
• 1943 - Rip Sewell whipped the Reds, 10–3, for his 21st win, which would top the MLB chart that season. Rip also stole a base to finish the year with seven swipes. Elbie Fletcher had three hits and two RBI; Bob Elliott inverted that with two hits and three RBI. The Pirates swept the twin bill, 2-1, as three Pirate pitchers (Xavier Rescigno, Hank Gornicki & Max Butcher, who got the W) combined to outlast Johnny Vander Meer. Pittsburgh was its own worst enemy in the nightcap, hitting into a DP, going 0-for-2 in stolen bases and getting a runner tossed out at home before scoring twice in the ninth on singles by Vince DiMaggio and Elliott. 
• 1949 - In a 6-4 loss to the NY Giants at Forbes Field, Ralph Kiner hit his 50th home run (he finished the season with 54) off Kirby Higbe. With that blast, the 26-year-old outfielder became the first NL’er to hit 50+ bombs in two different seasons. It would take until 1965 for Willie Mays to match Kiner’s record. 

Danny O'Connell - 1953 Topps

• 1953 - Danny O'Connell hit safely in his 26th consecutive game, a 4-1 loss to the NY Giants at the Polo Grounds. The streak ended later in the day as the Bucs won the back end of the twin bill by a 6-5 tally while Danny went 0-for-5. The streak was the second longest in Pirate history, trailing only Jimmy Williams’ 27-game streak of 1899 (Williams had a 26-game streak earlier in 1899 and Kenny Lofton also put together a 26-game run in 2003). 
• 1959 - Bill Mazeroski, who homered earlier, drilled a two-run triple in the 12th as the Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3, at Forbes Field. Elroy Face gave up a run in the top of the 12th but got the win thanks to Maz. Face’s record was 18-1, and he won eight straight games in extra innings. He ended the year with the top winning percentage (.947) of any pitcher with 15 decisions, capping a season for the ages for the relief ace. 
• 1965 - Bob Veale allowed one hit, a two-out, sixth-inning single by Tony Taylor, and struck out 12 to earn a 1-0‚ 10-inning win over the Phillies at Forbes Field. Roberto Clemente's two-out single off Philadelphia reliever Jack Baldschun to score Bob Bailey was the game winner; Veale had been thrown out the batter before, trying to score on Manny Mota’s single. 
• 1966 - The Bucs took an 11-inning victory from the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park by a 6-1 score, sparked when Roberto Clemente ignored manager Harry “The Hat” Walker’s instructions. Clemente, leading off and in an 0-for-13 funk, was told to bunt for a hit; instead he swung away and homered. Bob Bailey added a grand slam to close out the frame, giving Pete Mikkelsen the win in relief of Bob Veale. 
• 1970 - Roberto Clemente, out of action for 14 games with a bad back, returned to score one run and chase home another with a key double in Pittsburgh's 2-1 victory over New York, keeping their 1-½ game pad over Chicago intact. The Bucco D turned four DPs to give Luke Walker the win, with the final four frames closed down by the bullpen. With Roberto back, the club would go 12-5 to close out the month and win the division by five games, but were stopped by the Big Red Machine in the NLCS. 

Arriba back in action - 1970 Topps Super

• 1974 - Pittsburgh put up a five spot in the seventh inning to take an 8-6 win from the St. Louis Cards at TRS. The big blows in the frame were Richie Hebner’s two-out, three-run homer and Willie Stargell’s two-run two-bagger, giving Ramon Hernandez the win with Dave Giusti nailing the save. The win moved the Bucs within 1/2 game of first place, and they won the pennant over the Cards by sweeping the Cubs in the last series of the season. 
• 1978 - In one of Pittsburgh’s lighter moments, 38-year-old Willie Stargell attempted to steal 2B against Chicago (he did have three steals that year) quite unsuccessfully. As Cubs' SS Ivan DeJesus waited at the bag with the ball, Stargell slid in 10 feet short of the base, looked up and called for time-out. The Bucs won despite Pops’ baserunning antics and after blowing a 10-2 lead, 12-11. Dave Parker’s homer, his second of the day, in the 11th off Bruce Sutter, gave the Bucs their seventh straight win and 30th in their last 38 games. Parker and Bill Robinson, who also homered twice, combined for eight hits, seven RBI and five runs scored. John Candelaria started, giving up two runs in six frames but negated that with a hit, walk, and two runs scored himself. Odell Jones, the sixth Pirates hurler, got the win.