10/8: Busy Day in Series & Playoffs; Title To the Wire; Danny - BD & MOY; Cannonball Gets A Dozen; Game Tale; HBD Spanky, Robbie, Catfish, Tom & Donie

• 1870 - RHP Tom Colcolough was born in Charleston. He pitched for the Pirates from 1893-95 with a line of 10-8/6.55 in 38 games, 23 as a starter. Tom spent the remainder of his career in the minors, with a brief 1899 stop with the NY Giants. When Colcolough’s baseball days were done, he returned to Charleston, where he became an alderman. 
• 1886 - The Alleghenys’ LHP Ed “Cannonball” Morris whitewashed the New York Metropolitans, 9-0, at Recreation Park. It was his 12th shutout, which is still a franchise record. Cannonball went 41-20 that year with a 2.45 ERA over 555-⅓ IP, striking out 327 batters. 

Donie Bush - Conlon Collection/Getty

• 1887 - Owen “Donie” Bush was born in Indianapolis. He was a hometown hero (Donie was a manager, president and part-owner of the Indy club who was known as “Mr Baseball” around town) and until 1996, the Indy ballyard was called Bush Field before a new downtown park (Victory Field) opened. After a 16 year playing career, mostly with Detroit, the infielder managed the Bucs briefly from 1927-29, taking them to a World Series in 1927 against the Yankees’ “Murderers’ Row” club (and the Pirates got murdered in four straight). But he’s probably best remembered for his feud with Hall-of-Fame OF Kiki Cuyler, whom he benched and then traded to the Cubs. Donie managed four big league clubs, three top minor league franchises and did some scouting. He was given the title "King of Baseball" (a minor league service award) during Major League Baseball's 1963 winter meetings and was an inaugural inductee of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame. His nickname “Donie” (pronounced like Tony) was a misrepresentation of his original nickname, Ownie, but it stuck with him. 
• 1903 - Game Six was a rematch between Boston's Bill Dinneen and Pittsburgh's Sam Leever at Exposition Park. Both went the distance, with Boston coming out on top, 6-3, to tie the best-of-nine series at three games. Ginger Beaumont went 4-for-5 with a pair of stolen bases while Jimmy Sebring and Fred Clarke added two hits for the Bucs. Boston's "Royal Rooters", 200 strong, traveled to Pittsburgh with a brass band and sang their theme song "Tessie" to distract the opposing players (especially Honus Wagner). Boston won three out of the four games at Pittsburgh to keep their Rooters rocking. 
• 1905 - Cincinnati Reds CF Cy Seymour and Pittsburgh Pirates SS Honus Wagner faced one another in a doubleheader on the season’s final day as the pair would finish the year one-two in the race for the batting title. Seymour was well ahead going into the games and collected four hits to Hans’ two to finish as the easy winner at .377 while The Dutchman clocked in at .363 at the end of the day. A newspaper account of the twinbill stated "...10,000 were more interested in the batting achievements of Wagner and Seymour than the games...cheer upon cheers greeted the mighty batsmen upon each appearance at the plate..." The Reds swept the Bucs at the Palace of the Fans by 3-1 and 4-1 scores. 

Babe Adams - 1909 Dick Company Cutout

• 1909 - After walking two of the first three batters and giving up a first-inning run, Babe Adams settled down and pitched the Pirates to a 4-1 win over the Detroit Tigers in the opening game of the World Series at Forbes Field. Pittsburgh only had five hits off George Mullin, including a homer by Fred Clarke, but four different Tigers committed errors that led to three unearned runs. This series was the first head-to-head matchup of league batting winners with Honus Wagner (.339) and Ty Cobb (.377) squaring off. 
• 1917 - Danny Murtaugh was born in Chester, Pennsylvania. He was a Bucco infielder from 1948-51, with a lifetime BA of .256 and a stolen base crown in 1941 while with the Phils. The Irishman won a couple of World Series as the skipper in 1960 and 1971, managing the club from 1957–64, 1967, 1970–71, and in 1973–76. He guided five playoff squads and had a record of 1115-950. He was known as "The Whistling Irishman" (it's even the title of his biography) because he used to whistle while playing the infield. 
• 1920 - 1B/OF George “Catfish” Metkovich was born in Angels Camp, California. George was signed by the Tigers and declared a free agent in 1940 in a wholesale release of Detroit players, the penalty for illegally restricting their movement (Johnny Sain of the Braves was another freed by this decree). That launched Catfish on a 10-year career, with a 1951-53 stop at Pittsburgh. He had a line of .276 with lots of playing time, but in May of 1953 left as part of the Ralph Kiner deal with the Cubs. George played through 1954, spent three years in the PCL, then took some minor-league managing and scouting work before retiring to open a restaurant with his brothers. He got his nickname because one day when he was fishing during training camp in Florida, he caught a catfish and accidently stepped on it; a fin penetrated his shoe and foot and had to be removed at a hospital. His manager at the time, Casey Stengel, then of the Boston Bees, spread the story and George became “Catfish” or just plain ol’ “Cat” for the rest of his playing career. 
• 1925 - The Bucs evened their World Series count against Washington at a game each with a 3-2 win at Forbes Field. The only dent against the Senators’ Stan Coveleski was a Glenn Wright homer until the bottom of the eighth when Kiki Cuyler’s two-run blast put Pittsburgh up 3-1. The Sens added a ninth-inning run to provide some late drama, but Vic Aldridge went the distance for the win. 

Kiki Cuyler - 1925 Bain/Library of Congress

• 1927 - The NL Champion Pirates lost, 4-3, and were swept in four games by the New York Yankees, led by their "Murderers Row" lineup featuring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The Pirates had tied it in the seventh on RBIs from Clyde Barnhart and Paul Waner, but lost it in the ninth at the House That Ruth Built. Pirates RHP Johnny Miljus loaded the bases with no outs, then struck out Lou Gehrig and Bob Meusel. But with Tony Lazzeri up, he uncorked an 0-1 wild pitch and Earle Combs came home with the winning run, the only World Series to end on a wild pitch. It was the first ever sweep of an NL team by an AL club. Babe Ruth and Pirates rookie Lloyd Waner each hit .400 during the series. 
• 1944 - Utilityman Ed “Spanky” Kirkpatrick was born in Spokane, Washington. He played 16 years in the majors (he suited up for just three teams - the Angels, Royals and Pirates - during his first 15 years but another three clubs - Pittsburgh, Texas and Milwaukee - in his last campaign) and was a Bucco from 1974-77, batting .236 while playing the infield corners, all three OF spots and pinch-hitting. He got his nickname while with the California Angels because he looked like Spanky of the “Little Rascals” TV show. 
• 1946 - The Jackie Robinson All-Stars beat the Major League All-Stars (a sort of pick-up club with Pirates Frankie Gustine, Lee Handley and Al Gionfriddo part of the lineup), 6-4, at Forbes Field. Jackie led both teams in hits, collecting three, and won the respect of a local old-timer who was at the game, Honus Wagner. Robinson would become MLB’s first black player the following year, and Post Gazette writer Al Abrams asked him if he caught much grief from the fans while a minor-leaguer or touring. Jackie replied, “No more than when I played college ball...I didn’t let it bother me. I just went about my business and made the fans like me whenever I could. The players were grand.” 
• 1960 - The Yankees returned home in style, ripping off six first-inning runs and burying the Bucs, 10-0, at Yankee Stadium to take a two games to one lead in the World Series. Whitey Ford tossed a four-hitter and only allowed two Pirates to reach second base; none touched third. Bobby Richardson belted a grand slam (he had one regular season homer) and had six RBI. It took three Pirates pitchers (Vinegar Bend Mizell, Clem Labine and Fred Green) to get out of the opening frame. 

Danny Murtaugh - 1970 Getty photo

• 1970 - It was announced that birthday boy Danny Murtaugh was selected as Manager of the Year in a poll of the current managers. He won eight votes to top the Yankees’ Ralph Houk, who had five, and the Reds Sparky Anderson, who was named on four ballots. It was an unofficial honor, but prestigious because of the selection committee. 
• 1972 - The Reds scored four times in the first inning off Bob Moose (he didn’t retire a batter, giving up five straight hits) and then hung on to take a 5-3 win at TRS and knot the NLCS at a game each. Roberto Clemente, Milt May and Dave Cash each drove in runs to make it 4-3 after six innings, but Joe Morgan’s eighth inning homer took the wind out of the Pirate sails while Tom Hall retired six of the last seven batters for the Cincinnati win. 
• 1974 - The Pirates scored five times in the first and never looked back as they defeated LA, 7-0, at Dodger Stadium. Bruce Kison and Ramon Hernandez combined on a four-hitter to cut the Pittsburgh deficit in the NLCS to two games to one and stave off elimination (for a night). Willie Stargell drilled a three-run homer and Richie Hebner added a two-run shot off Doug Rau in the opening frame to ignite the win. 
• 1990 - LHP Robbie Erlin was born in Oakland, California. Erlin had five years with San Diego as a starter and long man before the Pirates signed the 29-year-old to a $1.5M contract as a free agent in 2020. He made the 40-man roster as a reliever and was called up in late July by the Bucs, but was waived in early August after just two outings. Robbie was claimed by the Braves, who used him as a starter without a lot of luck; they waived him in September. 

Robbie Erlin - 2020 Brian Bianco/Getty

• 1990 - Cincinnati took a two-games-to-one lead in the NLCS by whipping the Bucs, 6-3, at TRS. Zane Smith surrendered a three-run homer to Mariano Duncan and a two-run shot to Billy Hatcher to give the Reds’ Danny Jackson and the “Nasty Boys” in the bullpen working room. Bobby Bonilla, Carmelo Martinez and Jose Lind had the Buccos' RBIs.