5/25 Through the 1950s: Abrams-Littlefield; Brawl Ball; Dale Dingers; Kiner #300; Babe's Last Blast; Coo-Coo Casey; Game Tales; HBD Jim, Jimmie, Chet, Martin & John

• 1863 - RHP John Hofford was born in Philadelphia. His MLB career consisted of two short stays with the Alleghenys in 1885-86, posting a 3-9/4.16 line in 12 starts. Though he didn’t play the field, John was pretty handy with a stick, hitting .262 with five runs, five RBI, four extra-base hits and even stealing a couple of sacks in his dozen outings. Hofford was a minor league hotshot; the Alleghenys got him from the Southern League’s Augusta after the season ended in 1885 where he had slashed 38-13/0.59 with 389 strikeouts, and he tossed for several more seasons after leaving Pittsburgh for a smorgasbord of minor league clubs. 
• 1877 - The International Association Pittsburgh Allegheny hosted the League Alliance Athletics of Philadelphia in a minor league match at Union (later Recreation) Park in Allegheny City. It was an exciting contest for the 700 fans, with the local nine scoring twice in the final frame to claim a 9-8 win, but a thing of beauty it wasn’t. Banging out 24 hits wasn’t enough; the two teams combined to commit 29 errors (13 by the Alleghenys), and as the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette wrote “The spectators at Union Park certainly got a very strong dose of poor playing yesterday afternoon...It was an exhibition of miserable muffing by both sides.” 

Lefty's luck ran out - 1896 team photo snip

• 1897 - The police had to escort umpire Tim Hurst to his hotel after a missed call cost the Alleghenys a 6-2 loss at Recreation Park to the Baltimore Orioles. Mugsy McGraw, the Birds third baseman, was clearly thrown out at second, but in the days of one ump, Hurst missed the call and the O’s went on to score five two-out runs off Lefty Killen to claim the game. 500 fans waited for Hurst to come out of the locker room (tempers were high as the Baltimore and Pittsburgh were 1-2 in the standings) and a melee ensued when he did; his bacon was saved when the Allegheny players managed to get him into the dugout and safety. It took a 10-man police posse to get Hurst back to his hotel in one piece. 
• 1906 - Martin Dihigo was born in Matanzas, Cuba. Best known for his play in the Mexican League, he spent time in the Negro Leagues and in 1927-28, he played with the Homestead Grays. Dihigo was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977. The multi-talented Dihigo played all nine positions as a pro, usually as a pitcher or second baseman. He’s the only player ever to be inducted to the American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican and Venezuelan Halls of Fame. 
• 1906 - IF Chester “Chet” Williams was born in Beaumont, Texas. Chester’s beginnings are misty; he also has Lake Charles, New Orleans and rural Mississippi cited as birthplaces. But his Negro League career is certain when the infielder played from 1931-39 for the Pittsburgh Crawfords. It was tough at first to make a name for himself (and that was literally true - when he joined the team, other infielders on the roster were Bobby Williams, Harry Williams and Bucky Williams! He, Harry and Buck stayed together throughout his Crawford years.) He overcame that, earning several All-Star spots with the Crawfords and was a starter for the 1935 championship club, considered by many to be the best Negro League team ever assembled. Chet turned down an offer to skip to the Dominican in 1937 (though many of his teammates did take the money), but he did jump ship in 1940 to play in the Cuban League. He returned locally in 1941-42 to play for the Homestead Grays and retired after the 1943 campaign. Known as a free spirit, he opened a Lake Charles night spot after he hung up the spikes. Tragically, on Christmas Day, 1952, he was shot to death in the club. 

Chet Williams photo via Seamheads

• 1910 - OF Jimmie Crutchfield was born in Ardmore, Missouri. He played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1931-36 (with a brief stop with the Homestead Grays in 1932), jumping when the Crawfords offered him $150 per month, after he was pulling down just $90 per month with the Indianapolis ABCs. The lil’ guy (he was 5’7”) combined speed, defense and clubhouse leadership, and according to the StateMaster Encyclopedia “Teamed with Ted Strong and Cool Papa Bell, they formed what is considered the best outfield in the Negro Leagues. During this time, his performance earned him three appearances in the East-West All-Star game.” He played until he was 45 before retiring and taking a job with the Post Office. 
• 1919 - Casey Stengel, who had been traded to Pittsburgh by the Brooklyn Dodgers, returned to Ebbets Field and his old fans gave him the raspberries for sporting a different uniform. Bowing to the grandstand in a seventh-inning at bat, he doffed his cap to the 18,000 present, and out flew a sparrow (described as "irate but much relieved") that he had somehow corralled. That prank lightened the crowd, and was the highlight of Stengel’s day as he went 0-for-4 against Sherry Smith in a 5-0 loss. 
• 1931 - 1B Jim Marshall was born in Danville, Illinois. Jim spent five years in MLB as a bench 1B/OF, closing out his career in 1962 as a Pirate with a .220 BA. He played in Japan for three years before returning stateside to manage farm clubs for the Cubs, Expos, A’s, Yankees and White Sox. He also grabbed the brass ring by earning a couple of big league managing gigs with the Cubs (1974-76) and Oakland (1979) in between minor league jobs. He’s now a senior advisor for the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Pgh Press front page 5/26/1935

• 1935 - Babe Ruth hit his 714th and final home run off Guy Bush at Forbes Field in an 11-7 Boston Braves loss to the Pirates, a career record that would stand for almost 40 years before Hammerin' Hank claimed the crown. The Bambino went 4-for-4, hitting three home runs (the first off Red Lucas, the next off Bush) and driving in six runs. The final drive, launched in the seventh inning, cleared the right field roof, the first time that feat was ever done. Per local lore, the Babe’s ball landed on Joncaire Street and from there, its fate is debated although it did eventually make its way to the Hall of Fame for display. But the Bambino couldn’t outpace Tommy Thevenow and Pep Young, who combined to chase eight runs home. 
• 1940 - The Bucs broke an 18-for-21 losing spell with a 12-7 win over the Cubs at Forbes Field. Arky Vaughan had a homer, triple, four runs scored and three RBI to lead the Pirate charge, and although roughed up, Joe Bowman went the distance for the win. Despite the dismal streak, the Pirates did end up with a 79-74 record at season’s end. 
• 1947 - Pittsburgh got two very different pitching performances in splitting a twin bill against St Louis at Sportsman Park. Hank Behrman, who the Bucs had recently obtained from Brooklyn, gave up two homers in a 10-5 loss, making it five gopher balls surrendered in the 12-1/3 IP as a Pirate. He gave up one more in his next 12-1/3 frames, and was returned to Brooklyn with a 0-2/9.12 line. The Pirates then snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 win in the nightcap as 39-year-old lefty Fritz Ostermueller fired a three-hitter, backed by an Eddie Basinski homer and Frankie Gustine RBI knock. 
• 1953 - Ralph Kiner became the 12th MLB player to hit 300 HRs with a three-run, fifth-inning blast off the NY Giants Al Corwin in a 6-3 loss at Forbes Field. The Hall of Famer would swat 369 long balls in an injury-shortened 10-year career. 

Ralph's #300 - Topps 2021 Turn Back the Clock

• 1954 - Pittsburgh traded 30-year-old outfielder Cal Abrams to the Baltimore Orioles for LHP Dick Littlefield. Abrams was a good-hitting ball chaser, batting .273 for Pittsburgh in a year and some change; he hit .272 in his two-season stay with the Birds before hanging up the spikes a year later. In two years with Pittsburgh, Littlefield went 15-23/4.26 before becoming a piece of the Bill Virdon deal in 1956. 
• 1956 - Dale Long tied the longest HR streak in MLB history at six games by homering, going 3-for-5 and driving in three runs in an 8-5 win over the Phils at Connie Mack Stadium. His fourth-inning blast helped make a winner of Nellie King, with George Munger closing it out. He wasn’t done; he would go on to set the record at eight straight games. 
• 1958 - One of the largest bench clearing brawls in Bucco history erupted when manager Danny Murtaugh charged after Giants hurler Ruben Gomez, who was the flash point of a 15-minute brawl after he beaned Maz earlier. Gomez grabbed a bat, but coach Herman Franks stepped in. Then Orlando Cepeda, the Baby Bull, joined the melee, also waving a bat, before he was tackled by teammate Willie Mays, helping to quiet the war drums. Murtaugh was ejected and Mays got an ovation. The bad blood started the year before when Gomez drilled Vern Law, rupturing his eardrum, and the animosity carried over, most recently during a Candlestick Park up-and-in duel between pitchers Curt Raydon and Marv Grissom. It apparently fired up the G-Men more than Pirates as they swept the doubleheader at Forbes Field, 5-2 and 6-1.