4/9: PNC Opens; Gleaton Claimed; Big Poison Signed; Grimes Dealt; Game Tales - Homers & Hurling; Spring Stories; Youth City Bene; RIP Pops; HBD Claude

• 1909 - RHP Claude Passeau was born in Waynesboro, Mississippi. Passeau worked 13 years in the show, getting his start in 1935 as a 26-year-old rookie for the Pirates when he got into one game and was hammered for four runs and seven hits in three innings. The Bucs gave up on him early (Passeau claimed he had a dead arm after tossing 244 IP in the minors before the Pirates brought him up in late September) and sent him to the Phils as a throw-in piece of the Al Todd trade. Claude ended up winning 162 games with a 3.32 ERA and made four All-Star teams. After he left the game, he only had one beef - he was rumored to throw a wet one but denied the charge, claiming it came about from his ability to change speeds and pitch movement. Claude was herky-jerky on the mound, always tugging his cap, smoothing his uniform, etc., and that probably led to the suspicion that he loaded the horsehide with some hidden hurler’s helper. 
• 1930 - After a contract clash and spring holdout, spitballer Burleigh Grimes was sent to the Boston Braves for lefty Percy Jones (who tossed nine games and was done) and “a considerable amount” of cash. Grimes was then flipped to the Cards later in the season. St. Louis made it to the Series in ‘30, losing to the Philadelphia Athletics and Lefty Grove. They took it all the following year as Grimes won 17 games and added another pair of victories in the Series as the Cards dethroned the Athletics in the rematch. Grimes had an in-and-out relationship with the Pirates; he started, spent the middle, and then ended his career with Pittsburgh, spending five of his 19 MLB seasons with the Bucs. 

Paul Waner - cartoon 1937 Bill Berger/Press

• 1937 - The 1936 batting champ‚ Paul Waner‚ ended his holdout and signed his 1937 contract. No official announcement was made of the amount, believed to be in the ballpark of $16,000. Big Poison went on to hit .354 and earn his last All-Star berth at age 34. 
• 1939 - The Bucco preseason wound down on a sour note when starting 3B Lee “Jeep” Handley was felled by a bean ball and taken to the hospital during a spring training game played three days before the opener. “The beaning caused an uproar in the Pirate camp that hasn’t been equaled in many years…” wrote Pittsburgh Press beatman Les Biederman as the Bucs boiled over the “intentions” of Cleveland hurler Johnny Allen, who caught Jeep in the temple with a sidearm fastball. Allen had just given up a homer and his next pitch nailed Lee, leading the Pirates to believe it was a purpose pitch (the Chicago catcher defended his guy by saying Jeep was crowding the plate). Handley recovered to hit .285 during the campaign but missed the first 10 games of the season while recurring complications from the incident caused him to sit out 52 games during the year. 
• 1939 - Not only was Jeep beaned, but manager Pie Traynor may have cost Cy Blanton his career. Blanton tossed a no-no against the Tribe in the same exhibition game, going the distance in a meaningless contest because the skipper didn’t want to pull him with a no-hitter on the line. It’s been hotly debated whether or not this outing led to Blanton being diagnosed with torn ligaments three starts into the season, but he was never the same. In the four prior years (1935-38), he started 122 games, tossing to a 3.23 ERA, and in his last four seasons, starting in 1939, he got just 42 starts with a 4.51 ERA. In brighter news of the day, Paul Waner, who in an annual rite of spring held out during camp, agreed to a new contract that reportedly cut his previous salary by $5,000. Big Poison was a week from reaching 36 and had his worst year as a Bucco in 1938, hitting .280 w/.331 OBP. He bounced back, batting .328, but would be released by the Pirates after the 1940 season. 
• 1953 - In an exhibition game at Forbes Field, 21-year-old rookie Mickey Mantle of the Yankees crushed a Bill MacDonald curve and launched it over the RF roof, joining the Babe and Ted Beard as the only hitters at that time to do that deed since the upper deck was added in 1925. In all, 18 balls would fly over the roof, seven put in orbit by Willie Stargell. Mantle cleared the stands again during the 1960 World Series. 

ElRoy Face - 1963 Fleer

• 1963 - The home season kicked off in grand style as the Benny Benack band provided the music, Jeanne Baxter sang the Anthem and Governor William Scranton tossed out the first pitch while Commissioner Bill McClelland, Mayor Joe Barr & Prothonotary Dave Roberts were at the yard. The game was pretty good too as the Bucs and Braves traded ninth inning runs with the Pirates rallying for a 3-2 walk off win in front of 29,615 Forbes Field faithful. With two down in the ninth, Pittsburgh got back-to-back-to-back hits from Bill Virdon, Bob Bailey and pinch-hitter Ted Savage to win the game for ElRoy Face, who had worked out a two-on, no-out pickle in the Milwaukee ninth. The first two Pittsburgh scores came on solo shots by old dawg Smokey Burgess and frisky pup Bailey. 
• 1973 - Bob Prince and Nellie Briles (who sang a solo piece during the program) organized a benefit youth concert to help fund Roberto Clemente’s “Youth City” complex dream. It featured the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra and was broadcast live from Heinz Hall by WIIC-Channel 11 while being recorded for a record album sold to support the cause. 
• 1983 - It was tough to toss the ball much better than Larry McWilliams did at the Astrodome, pitching the Bucs to a 1-0 win against Houston. McWilliams gave up two hits, never allowed a runner to reach second, struck out seven without a walk and retired the last 22 Astros to face him. And he needed to be on top of his game; Joe Niekro pitched a three-hit gem of his own, with the only run coming in the first when Lee Lacy tortured Houston catcher Luis Pujols. Lee walked, stole second and went to third on a bad throw by Pujols, then scored on a passed ball. 
• 1990 - The Bucs turned Doc Gooden every which way but loose as they won, 12-3, at Shea Stadium behind Doug Drabek’s arm and long balls by Andy Van Slyke (2 HR, 2B) and Bobby Bo. That pair plus Jay Bell and Jose Lind collected three hits each. At 0-1, Gooden had a losing record for the first time in nine seasons. It was also the first time in 21 years that the Mets lost a home opener. 

Jerry Don Gleaton - 1992 photo via The Trail

• 1992 - The Bucs signed LHP Jerry Don Gleaton, 34, after he was released by the Royals. He went 1-0/4.26, almost exactly his career ERA, in 23 outings, but the Pirates let him go in late July. The 12-year vet caught on with the Giants and then the Marlins as minor league insurance, but his Pirates stint would be his last MLB work stop. At last check, Jerry Don was coaching DIII baseball at Howard Payne University and active with the Pro Athletes Outreach ministry. 
• 1999 - Rookie RHP Kris Benson beat the Cubs, 2-1, in his first MLB start. He became the second #1 draft pick to win his debut, following Texas’ David Clyde (1973). Benson went six innings, giving up a run on two hits with three walks and three K, before Chris Peters and Mike Williams finished it up. Kevin Young doubled home the first run and Warren Morris’ homer was the game winner. 
• 2001 - PNC Park, the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1887, opened for business along the North Shore of the Allegheny River when its first regular season game was held just hours after Pirate icon Willie Stargell passed away. Local boy Sean Casey had four hits and five RBI to lead the Reds to an 8-2 win in the park’s debut match against Todd Ritchie. The game was played in summerlike 77-degree weather and 36,954 came out to catch the action. Team owner Kevin McClatchy threw out the first pitch. PNC Trivia: Casey homered, the first regular season blast at PNC Park, three days after he banged the first longball at Miller Park. They were both off the same bat, which was sent to the Hall of Fame. 
• 2001 - Willie Stargell, who suffered from a host of medical conditions, passed away at the age of 61. Cap’n Willie spent his career (1962–1982) as a Pirate. Over his 21 years, he batted .282 with 2,232 hits, 423 doubles, 475 home runs and 1,540 RBI, helping his team to six NL East division titles, two pennants and two World Series titles (1971, 1979). Pops is the all-time Pirate career leader in home runs, RBIs, extra-base hits and was the oldest player at age 39 to win a MVP award. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988 while the team honored him with a statue and retiring his #8. 

Russ Martin - 2014 Topps Heritage

• 2014 - The Pirates hit five home runs at Wrigley Field but lost the game, 7-5, to the Chicago Cubs. Pedro Alvarez and Russ Martin each drilled a pair of long balls while Travis Snider added a dinger. It was the first time since 2004 that two Bucs had multi-homer games during the same contest. But it was a case of all or nothing for Pittsburgh - the Bucs had only one other hit and never had a runner in scoring position. Starter Wandy Rodriguez took the loss.
• 2017 - The Bucs swept the Braves at PNC Park, but the final win was a struggle. Down 4-2 after seven, the Pirates tallied in the eighth and ninth to tie the game only to see the Bravos score in the 10th to regain the lead. But the Pirates rolled up their sleeves and two batters later sent Jose Ramirez and Atlanta to defeat when Adam Frazier led off with a double and Starling Marte smacked a first-pitch, walk off dinger to ice the series, nine days before he was spanked with an 80 game PED suspension. It was, if you’re keeping count, the 100th walk-off in PNC Park history. Felipe Rivero, who was in line for the loss, instead picked up the win.