4/14 Through the 1960s: Abba Dabba Joins; Bunning 1,000 K Club; Kids Comin'; WGN's First Game; Fed Opener; Game Tales; HBD Wild Bill & George

• 1880 - P George Merritt was born in Paterson, NJ. He spent from 1901-03 with the Pirates as a pitcher and part-time outfielder, slashing 3-0/4.50 from the hill and hitting .213 as a bench stick. That was the extent of his MLB days. During his 1903 campaign, he left Pittsburgh and joined the hometown Jersey City Skeeters, playing with them until 1910 before finally hanging up the glove in 1915. 

George Merritt - 1901 Cameo/Pepsin pin

• 1884 - RHP Wild Bill Luhrsen was born in Buckley, Illinois. Wild Bill’s MLB career consisted of five games (three starts) for the 1913 Pirates when the 29-year-old rookie went 3-1/2.48, with his only loss to Christy Mathewson. The Pirates bought his rights from Albany of the Sally League during the season after a rash of injuries chewed up the staff. He was later sent to Columbus after the pitching recovered. When his baseball days ended, Luhrsen worked as a machinist and a lumber buyer in Little Rock. 
• 1914 - The Pittsburgh Feds and the Brooklyn Tip-Tops played the first game of the short-lived Federal League. The contest was front page news in the papers, a band led a parade from town to Exposition Park, and Mayor William Magee tossed out the first pitch. Tom Seaton of the Tip Tops outdid Carrick native Elmer Knetzer of the Feds, winning, 1-0, in 10 innings. The game was played in front of an estimated 10,000 fans. The team became the Pittsburgh Rebels after Rebel Oakes took over from Doc Gessler early in the year, and like their NL counterparts came in seventh with a 64-86 finish. Alpha/Omega: Knetzer tossed out not only the opening pitch of the club, but also of the Federal League itself. He also delivered the last ball of the Rebel franchise/FL on October 2nd, 1915, in a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Whales, a game that gave Chi-town first place over the Rebels in a three-way race with St. Louis; the trio finished within a 1/2 game of each other. The FL folded after the season. 
• 1920 - The Pirates opened the season on a winning note, thanks greatly to the Cards, who committed four errors leading to three unearned runs and a 5-4 Pittsburgh win in 10 innings at Robison Field. For all the miscues, the Redbirds made a thriller out of it, scoring with two outs in the ninth and putting runners at second and third before Babe Adams could coax the final out. The Bucs came right back with a two-out run in the 10th frame when pinch hitter Fred Nicholson singled home George Cutshaw; the tally was, natch, unearned, set up when St. Louis hurler Marv Goodwin threw away a bunt. Pittsburgh managed just seven hits, with Carson Bigbee (single, double) and Charlie Grimm (single, triple) each banging out a pair. Earl Hamilton came on to save the victory for Adams. 

Earl Hamilton - 1920 Pittsburgh Press

• 1925- Chicago’s WGN Radio broadcast its first ever regular season Cubs’ baseball game (Quin Ryan announced the contest from the grandstand roof) as Chicago’s Grover Alexander defeated the Pirates and Emil Yde on Opening Day, 8-2. Six of the runs against Yde were unearned thanks to three Bucco boots. Old Pete not only won, but helped himself with a single, double, and home run. 
• 1937 - The Bucs bought minor league pitcher Jim “Abba Dabba” Tobin from the Yankees, who had him stashed on the PCL Oakland Oaks roster. Tobin tossed three seasons for Pittsburgh, going 29-24-1/3.71 before being sent to Boston. He was a staff mainstay during the war years and pitched in MLB through 1945; he tossed a no-hitter for Beantown in 1944. He was also a good stick; he hit .230 during his career/.275 during his Pittsburgh stay and was often used as a pinch hitter. Abba Dabba is the only modern-era pitcher to hit three homers in one game, as he did for the Braves in 1942 (Guy Hecker, who would later manage the Alleghenys, was the only other pitcher to equal him, back in 1886). Tobin called it a day as a pro player after the 1950 campaign. As for his nickname, the Detroit Athletic Company explained “Tobin liked to do imitations of a vaudeville magician. As part of the act, Tobin would pause in the middle of a magic trick and declare, ‘Abba Dabba, are you ready?’” 
• 1952 - In a sure sign that the Pirates expected a long year, the team brought seven rookies north with them: IF Dick Hall, OF Bobby Del Greco, P Ronnie Kline, P Jim Waugh, OF Brandy Davis, P Ed Wolfe and OF Lee Walls. IF Tony Bartirome was called up a couple of days later, and the youthfulness of the club became apparent as the year went on - the Bucs finished last in the NL while going 42-112. 
• 1960 - The Pirates showed that they would be a NL force to reckon with during their home opener, pounding the Reds, 13-0, in front of 34,064 fans. Vern Law pitched a complete game shutout while Roberto Clemente and Billy Maz combined to chase home nine runs. One of the Great One’s RBI was a 445’ sac fly that Vada Pinson corralled just short of the batting cage parked in center field. 

Al McBean -1963 Topps

• 1963 - Al McBean tossed Pittsburgh to a 1-0 victory over the Reds at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field on Easter for their fourth straight victory. The Bucs pushed their only run across in the fourth thanks to a walk and pair of infield singles off Joey Jay, with only one other runner reaching third. Cincy had 10 hits to go with a walk and error, but stranded 12 runners, twice leaving the bases loaded and three times leaving runners at second and third. But Alvin was clutch and then mowed down the final seven batters without a ball leaving the infield to ice the win. 
• 1968 - Jim Bunning earned his first win with Pittsburgh, 3-0, at Los Angeles. It was his 40th career shutout and included his 1‚000th NL strikeout‚ making him the first pitcher since Cy Young with 1‚000 punchouts in each league. His bacon was saved when Roberto Clemente brought back a potential two-run homer to right by Ron Fairly, leaping above the wall to snag the ball.