9/6 Through the 1960s: Wood Deal; Veale, Coop Zippos; Groat Out; Turnin' Two; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Pat, Jack, Vince, Johnny, Tommy & Billy

• 1892 - 2B Billy Gleason was born in Chicago. He played sparingly in the majors, spending two of his three years with Pittsburgh (1916-17) and batting .159 in 26 games before being traded to minor league Chattanooga. Billy was a career farm hand, beginning in the bushes in 1913 as an 18-year-old and still playing as late as 1934 with only one season (1918 - we assume he was in the service) off. 
• 1901 - The Pirates swept a doubleheader from the NY Giants, 15-2 and 13-4, to win their ninth and 10th straight games (they played four twin bills in five days and swept all four, with three straight two-fers v NY). The Bucs pounded out 22 hits in the opener, led by Ginger Beaumont’s 5-for-6 day, with a homer and 2B to grease the wheels for Sam Leever’s win. The Pirates rapped out 14 more hits in the nitecap, with Tommy Leach going 3-for-3 with a 2B. George Merritt got the win. It was the third straight double dipper they took from the Giants in three days, outscoring NY 80-23. The sweep was part of a 26-of-30 game roll as the Pirates boogied their way to the NL title, entering September with a 2-½ game lead and pulling away from the pack by 7-½ games at season’s end. 

Tommy Thevenow - 1933 Goudey

• 1903 - IF Tommy Thevenow was born in Madison, Indiana. He played five years for the Pirates from 1931 until 1935, and then came back to spend his last big league season, 1938, as a Bucco. Tommy batted .251 with 201 RBI for Pittsburgh as a good glove, so-so bat SS/3B. Tommy retired to his hometown after that campaign and ran a grocery store until he passed away at age 53. 
• 1910 - RHP Johnny Lanning was born in Asheville, NC. He tossed for the Pirates from 1940 until 1943, went in the service and returned for the 1945-46 seasons, finishing with a Pittsburgh line 33-29/3.44. Lanning wasn’t a flame thrower; his best pitches were variations of the curve, one hard, the other soft. Lanning came from a family of tobacco farmers and was known as “Tobacco Chewin’ Johnny” and “Johnny Tabaccy.” 
• 1912 - OF Vince DiMaggio was born in Martinez, California. He played center field for Pittsburgh from 1940-44 and hit .255 as a Bucco. He was named to the All-Star Game in 1943 and 1944, lighting it up in the ‘44 Classic with a home run, triple and single in three at-bats. Vince and his siblings Joe and Dom are the only brother trio to become All-Stars. 
• 1912 - In his major league debut, Wilbur Cooper shut out the St Louis Cardinals 8-0 at Robison Field. He gave up nine scattered hits with a walk and three K to earn the first of his 216 career wins. Chief Wilson had three hits and scored twice to lead a balanced, 13-hit attack. 
• 1921 - 1B Jack Phillips was born in Clarence, New York. Jack put nine years in the show and spent from 1949-52 with Pittsburgh, hitting .264. Following his playing days, Phillips managed in the minors from 1960-64. Jack then became baseball coach, among other athletic department duties, for 24 years at his alma mater, Clarkson College of Technology, retiring after the 1988 spring season. The college honored Phillips by re-naming its baseball facility "Jack Phillips Stadium at Snell Field" in 2008. 

Jack Phillips - 1952 Topps

• 1924 - Pittsburgh took two from the St. Louis Cards by 5-1 and 12-5 scores at Forbes Field behind the pitching of Emil Yde and Jeff Pfeffer. Kiki Cuyler provided the firepower with a homer and three RBI in the opener. Cuyler had another homer and three more runs batted in in the nitecap, Pie Traynor tripled and had three RBI, Rabbit Maranville homered with two runs batted in and Glen Wright drove in two more tallies and had a double. Max Carey scored once in the first game and three times in the second to touch home for his 15th straight game, a franchise record. He tallied 21 runs during the span, which began 8/23. 
• 1935 - Brooklyn took its lumps at Forbes Field as the Pirates pounded out a 13-6 win, whacking 21 hits and scoring in every inning against the Dodgers. Woody Jensen led the parade with four hits; Tommy Thevenow, Arky Vaughan and Paul Waner each added three while Bud Hafey homered. Cy Blanton earned his 17th win. 
• 1942 - The Bucs took a twinbill from the Cubbies at Forbes Field the easy way, tossing a pair of shutouts to take 6-0 and 5-0 decisions from Chicago. Hank Gornicki spun a four-hitter in the lid lifter, backed by Elbie Fletcher & Bud Stewart with three hits and Vince DiMaggio & Jimmy Wasdell with two raps. Luke Hamlin scattered seven hits in the nightcap, supported by Frankie Gustine, Bob Elliott and Al Lopez with a pair of knocks (Stewart was walked four times). The attack was balanced; five different players scored while five chased home runs. 
• 1947 - The Pirates banged four home runs, the last from Wally Westlake in the bottom of the 10th inning, to take a 7-6 victory from the Chicago Cubs at Forbes Field. Joining him in the long ball parade were Billy Cox, Jimmy Bloodworth and Clyde Kluttz. Rip Sewell worked eight innings of one-run, six-hit relief to earn the win. 

Wally Walkoff - 1947 Exhibits

• 1948 - A lotta glove work was going on as the Pirates swept a pair from the Cardinals, winning 2-1 and 4-1 at Forbes Field. The two teams struck out just twice in the doubleheader, an MLB record (the Pirates pitchers didn’t fan a soul in the two games). They also turned 13 double plays (eight by Pittsburgh) to tie the MLB mark for a twinbill. Pittsburgh turned a then record-tying six DPs in the opener, with 2B Danny Murtaugh in on five of them to equal the mark set by Detroit's Charley O'Leary. It wasn’t all roses for Murtaugh; his 23 game hitting streak ended when he went 0-for-2 with a walk in the opener. Bob Chesnes was the recipient of the glovely play, scattering seven hits to defeat Murry Dickson, who would become a Bucco next season. The winning blow was Ralph Kiner’s two-run homer. The big guns in the nightcap were Vic Lombardi, who spun a five-hitter, and 3B Eddie Bockman, who had two hits and three RBI. 
• 1954 - After losing 10 straight games, the Pirates took both ends of a twin bill from the Dodgers at Ebbets Field on "Back the Dodgers Day‚" winning the opener, 9-6, in 12 innings and the second match by a 9-7 score. It was the Bucs first doubleheader sweep of the Dodgers since 1951. Vern Law and Jake Thies were the winning hurlers. Bob Skinner had a homer and four runs chased home in the lidlifter while Frank Thomas went long in the nightcap. 
• 1958 - The Pirates scored a lot of ways - on a bad throw from the outfield, a wild pitch, a sac fly, and a couple of two-out singles, but it took just one swing from Johnny Powers, who banged a solo, pinch hit homer in the eighth, to finally nail down the 7-6 win at Forbes Field against the Milwaukee Braves. Bob Friend and Bob Buhl were both chased early, and the bullpens restored order - Bob Smith and ElRoy Face tossed four innings of one-run ball for the Bucs, and the Braves Humberto Robinson went 3-1/3 frames with his only miscue being the Powers blast. The Pirates had five players collect two hits - Bill Virdon, Ted Kluszewski, Billy Maz, Dick Groat and Bill Hall - and seven different Corsairs either scored, chased home runs, or both. Smith got the win and the Baron of the Bullpen earned the save. 

Dick Groat - 1987 TCMA ('60 Pirates set)

• 1960 - All-Star SS Dick Groat broke his wrist after being hit by a Lew Burdette pitch. The Pirate captain, second in the batting race, was sidelined until the final weekend of the season. Dick “Ducky” Schofield, his replacement, had three hits as the Bucs rallied for a 5-3 win. Ducky, a reserve infielder with a career .227 BA, hit .333 for the Pirates in 1960 and kept them rolling toward the title without skipping a beat. 
• 1963 - Bob Veale picked up his first MLB shutout, downing the St. Louis Cards, 5-0, at Forbes Field. Veale gave up just six hits and was backed by Bill Virdon and Ducky Schofield with three hits apiece. The big blow that opened up a 2-0 game was Willie Stargell’s two-run, eighth-inning rap. It was only Big Bob’s third start of the year; he had spent until mid-August working out of the bullpen. He also finished his career as a reliever because of arm woes, but in between managed to toss 20 shutouts in seven full seasons as a Bucco starter. 
• 1964 - The Red Sox sold RHP Wilbur Wood to the Pirates. The knuckleballer went 1-3/3.28 with the Bucs out of the bullpen in 1964-65. Pittsburgh sent Wood to the White Sox in the 1966 off season after he spent the year with AAA Columbus for Juan Pizarro. Wood saved 55 games in four years for Chicago, then was converted to starter where he won 106 games from 1971-75 and earned three All-Star berths. 
• 1965 - The Pirates swept Cincinnati, 3-1 and 4-2, at Crosley Field to close within four games of first-place Los Angeles. Seventh-inning doubles decided both games: Gene Alley's in the opener, driving in Bill Mazeroski with the go-ahead run, and Willie Stargell's bases-loaded, bases-clearing two-bagger in the nitecap. Roberto Clemente threw out Red runners during both ends of the double dip. Bob Veale went the distance to win the first game, striking out 12, and Al McBean tossed six innings in relief to take the second match. 

Steve Blass - 1968 KDKA promo

• 1968 - The Pirates won their fourth game in a row and Steve Blass claimed his fifth straight victory with a 2-1 win over the Mets at Forbes Field. Steverino scattered four hits over nine innings - his one mistake being a Jerry Grote homer - with seven whiffs to run his slate to 14-5. Freddie Patek manufactured the Bucs first tally when he led off in the first. The Cricket laid down a two-strike bunt single, stole second, tagged to third and came home on a sac fly. The game winner was a bit more traditional as Roberto Clemente’s solo shot in the fourth gave Blass all the pad he’d need. And if any old timer tells you he saw the game, take it with a grain of salt - there were only 4,085 fans in the yard. 
• 1968 - IF Pat Meares was born in Salina, Kansas. He played for the Bucs from 1999-2001, hitting .238, was injured from 2002-03, carried on the DL for the last two years of his contract and never played again. It was an awkward situation; a foul off his hand was originally misdiagnosed as a sprain but ended up as severe ligament damage. He underwent surgery but the strength didn’t return. Meares said he would rehab and play through it but wouldn’t submit to the knife again, as the Pirates requested. Charges, grievances and general bad blood marked the relationship; Meares wanted his release so that he could play for another team, but the Pirates refused as they would then lose any chance of collecting insurance they held on him (they did eventually settle on the policy for an undisclosed sum). So he ended up DL’ed and on the payroll for his final two seasons with his $15M in dead money a roadblock for the financially struggling Buccos.