7/10 Through the 1950s: Gray's Raid; Basebombs; 15-Hit Shutout; Friend Wins, 3 In-A-Row For Ralph, Pie Swipes Home & ASGs; Game Tales; HBD Gene & Link

• 1865 - IF Bobby “Link” Lowe was born in Pittsburgh and raised in the New Castle area. He played in the show for 18 years with a .273 lifetime BA and was the first to hit four homers in a game, but was barely a blip on the home team’s radar - he got into one game as a pinch hitter and K’ed  in 1904 before being sold to Detroit. The 38-year-old Link was near the end , and although he played through 1907 with the Tigers, he only managed a .206 average during that span. He retired to coach in the minors and college ranks, adding scouting to his resume later. His nickname was a nod to the Great Emancipator; he was born a few weeks after Lincoln was assassinated and was given the middle name Lincoln. 

Jack Chesbro - 1977 Exhibits Baseball's Great HOF

• 1901 - The Boston Beaneaters collected 15 hits in 12 innings against Pittsburgh, but failed to score in a 1-0 loss at Exposition Field, setting a record for most hits with no runs. It was part of a four-game sweep by the Bucs. The Pirates got four hits off Bill Dineen, who lost to Jack Chesbro. Pittsburgh won when Honus Wagner reached second on an error, went to third on a bunt single and scored when Dineen’s pickoff toss to first went awry. 
• 1908 - At Exposition Park, the Bucs overcame a 4-0 NY Giants lead to win, 7-6, on Tommy Leach’s ninth-inning, walk-off homer to center. Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke and Chief Wilson had triples for the Pirates. Sam Leever got the save of Lefty Leifield’s victory. 
• 1929 - The Pirates mashed the Phillies, 15-9, at the Baker Bowl. Pittsburgh hit five homers and the Phils banged four. The teams showed off their muscles with regularity; there were homers hit in eight of the nine innings, with only the sixth frame dinger-free. George Grantham had a pair of long balls for the Bucs, with Pie Traynor, Lloyd Waner and pitcher Fred Fussell also banging out solo shots during the slugfest. 
• 1934 - 3B Pie Traynor, SS Arky Vaughan and RF Paul “Big Poison” Waner represented the Bucs in the second All-Star game held at the Polo Grounds. Traynor went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, an RBI and stolen base (he became the first and only player to swipe home in an ASG), while Waner and Vaughan both went 0-for-2 in the NL’s 9-7 victory. It’s known best for Carl Hubbard’s feat - he struck out five future Hall of Famers in a row, fanning Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons & Joe Cronin. 

Paul Waner - 2001 SP Legendary Cuts

• 1936 - The Bucs dropped a 10-inning, 9-6, decision to the Phils at Forbes Field thanks to OF Chuck Klein. The Hoosier Hammer banged four homers, two of which landed on the right field roof, off three different Pirate pitchers and drove in six runs to almost single-handedly beat the Buccos. His three-run homer in the tenth off Bill Swift sealed the deal for Philadelphia. Paul Waner had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run while Gus Suhr added two more knocks, good for a pair of RBI to lead the Pirates. The Bucs remembered Klein; the Hall of Famer played for Pittsburgh later when he joined the club in 1939. 
• 1940 - SS Gene Alley was born in Richmond, Virginia. He played his entire 11-year career (1963–73) with the Pirates. A modest hitter - his BA was .254 - he won a pair of Gold Gloves, was twice selected an All-Star, and set the MLB DP record for middle infielders with Bill Mazeroski in 1966 with 161. Shoulder and knee problems slowed and ultimately ended his career. 
• 1943 - Pittsburgh surrendered a franchise record for most runs given up in the modern era when the Brooklyn Dodgers spanked them 23-6 at Forbes Field. As motivation, the Dodgers only had two players willing to suit up before the game after Leo Durocher suspended pitcher Bobo Newsome. Da Bums, led by ex-Buc Arky Vaughan, were ready to walk out in support of Newsome until GM Branch Rickey stepped in and calmed the seas, leaving Brooklyn to take out its frustrations on the Buccos. Vaughan despised Leo The Lip so much that he sat out the following three seasons at his ranch and didn’t return to Brooklyn until Durocher left. 
• 1943 - Homestead Grays co-owner (and numbers king) Rufus "Sonnyman" Jackson was briefly jailed after a confrontation at Forbes Field with a Mexican baseball agent - actually, the Mexican diplomatic consul AJ Guina - trying to raid his roster. As quoted by Mark Ribowsky in A Complete History of the Negro Leagues, Jackson said “I don’t care if they send Pancho Villa, they’re not getting my ballplayers.” Sonnyman eventually fended off the overtures and kept his players. He ran the team himself after team co-owner Cum Posey's death in 1946, winning the last pennant in Negro National League history in 1948. 

Ralph Kiner - 1974 Laughlin All Star Games

• 1951 - Exploding for a record four homers, the NL trounced the AL, 8-3, at the All-Star Game at Detroit’s Briggs Stadium. Pirate OF Ralph Kiner connected on a long ball for the third year in a row, a MLB All Star record. 
• 1956 - RHP Bob Friend and 1B Dale Long were the Pirate All-Stars at Griffith Stadium for the NL’s 7-3 victory. Friend got the win thanks to triple threes - 3 IP, 3 hits, 3 K (Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Harry “Suitcase” Simpson) - and without much help from Long, who struck out twice in two at-bats. The first-time All Star Friend (he ended up in three ASGs) spent the last six innings on the bench shooting a home movie of the day.