3/30 Through the 1950s: Blow The Candles Out - HBD Ripper, Happy, Hal, Ed, Dutch, George & Tom; RIP Deacon

• 1857 - IF/manager Tom Burns was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. After spending the first 12 years of his career playing for Chicago clubs, he spent his final campaign as a player/manager of the Pirates in 1892. Though the team was considered a contender with two future Hall of Famers on the roster in Joe Kelley and Jake Beckley, it started slowly and after putting up a 25–30 record, Burns was axed in favor of Al Buckenberger, who led them them to a 53-41 slate. Tom then managed in the minors, spent a couple of seasons as the skipper of the Chicago Orphans and finished his baseball career in 1901 as a farm club boss. 
• 1866 - OF George Van Haltren was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He played for the Pirates in 1892-93, hitting .325, but was deemed expendable because of a deep Pittsburgh outfield. A borderline HoF player, Van Haltren was sold to the New York Giants, where he spent the next decade putting up a .321 BA. He began his career as a pitcher, and in 1888 tossed a rain-shortened no-hitter against the Alleghenys. 

George Van Haltren - 1909 image Harry Murphy/Sunday Oregonian

• 1879 - Utilityman Arthur “Dutch” Meiers was born in St. Louis. A two-sport star at Princeton, Dutch spent just one year in the show, playing behind Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke in 1906. He hit a respectable .256 and got into 82 games. He earned his spot during the previous off-season when Meier showed his stuff by joining the team for exhibition and barnstorming games. After his Pittsburgh stint, he played for a variety of semi-pro clubs and served as baseball coach for his alma mater. And maybe even for his old team - it's speculated that Meier may have played a few more times with the Pirates on an as-needed basis since he appears in team pictures as late as the 1912 season. 
• 1897 - IF Ed Sicking was born in St. Bernard, Ohio. Ed spent four years in the show as a backup infielder for four different clubs, then spent six years with Indianapolis of the American Association. He opened the 1927 campaign with the Bucs, got into six games, went one-for-seven, and was sent back to Indy in early May. Though he didn’t leave much of a mark in MLB, Sicking was a pro ball lifer, spending 17 years fielding hot shots (12 seasons in the AA) before retiring in 1933 at age 36 from Class B Keokuk. 
• 1899 - IF Hal Rhyne was born in Paso Robles, California. He began his career in Pittsburgh (1926-27), coming over with Paul Waner from the San Francisco Seals, and hit .258. He was a .250 batter in his seven MLB years and a minor league mainstay, spending 20 years on various farm clubs. Rhyne came to the majors with a reputation as a hitter. The back of a 1926 photo carries a caption that claimed his “magnetic eyes” made a ball look twice as large as normal. He might have been better off with a magnetic bat instead, although he did finish with a .291 career BA on the farm, playing until he was 41. 
• 1899 - IF Bill “Happy/Gray Ghost” Evans was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He played semi-pro and indie league black ball from 1924 until the late 30s, with his longest stop being with the Homestead Grays from 1930-33. Happy played everywhere, mainly at short, second and the outfield, and was a solid stick guy with one of the strongest arms in baseball. He spent his last pro campaign in 1937 with Homestead’s crosstown rivals, the Pittsburgh Crawfords. He was called the Gray Ghost because of his speed & defense and Happy due to his disposition. Evans is still in the news today, or at least his bloodline is - he’s the great-great uncle of Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s better half. 

Happy Evans - photo via SABR

• 1904 - 1B Jim “Ripper” Collins was born in Altoona. He made his name as a hard-hitting prankster of the Gas House Gang and spent his last MLB campaign as a Pirate in 1941 after taking a two-year hiatus in the PCL at Los Angeles. The Bucs brought him in to share some of Elbie Fletcher’s workload at first, but at age 37 Collins’ best days were behind him and he batted just .211 in 49 games, mostly pinch-hitting. He stayed with the organization as a player/manager at Class A Albany. Cort Vitty of SABR, citing The Sporting News, wrote “The nickname Ripper developed during an on-field incident that occurred when Jimmy was a young player. A ball rocketed off his bat and struck a nail protruding from the outfield fence; it caused the cover to partially tear. When asked who hit the ball, the retrieving outfielder saw the ball hanging and said, ‘It was the ripper.’” 
• 1952 - Deacon Phillippe, 79, passed away peacefully in his Avalon home, watching TV. The righty tossed 12 seasons (1900-11) for the Bucs with a 168-92-11/2.50 line, winning 20 games six times and never suffering through a losing season. He won three World Series games against Boston in 1903, beating Cy Young in the opener and tossing five complete games. Toward the end of his career, he worked six shutout innings in the 1909 Series against Detroit. In 1969, Pirates fans voted him as Pittsburgh's top all-time right-handed pitcher. After he retired, he became a Allegheny County Courts bailiff after several other jobs. The Rural Springs native was posthumously selected as a member of the Virginia Hall of Fame in 1982.