7/21 Through the 1970s: Cobra ASG-MVP Cover; All-Timers; Lynch Ties Mark; Frankie HoF; Little Poison Streak; Game Tales; HBD Kimera, Young Cy & Dick

• 1877 - LHP Irv “Young Cy” Young was born in Columbia Falls, Maine. Irv worked on the railroad and played amateur ball; he didn’t join a pro team until he was 27 and was good enough to be in the majors the following year. He was a star pitcher for a terrible team, the Boston Beaneaters, and the Pirates had interest in him even then; they offered to buy him in September of his 1905 rookie campaign for $7,500 but were turned down. They persisted and in 1908 he was traded to the Pirates for pitchers Tom McCarthy and Harley Young. In 16 games for the Bucs, Young was 4-3-1/2.01. Sadly for Irv, the 1909 Bucs were loaded with pitchers - their top six starters were Vic Willis, Howie Camnitz, Nick Maddux, Lefty Leifield, Babe Adams & Deacon Phillippe - and despite Irv’s strong showing, he was on the outside looking in. Young Cy returned with the White Sox in 1910 and pitched well, but after the following season, his age 34 campaign, he was done. Fun fact: in 1905, Irv went 20-21 for the Boston Beaneaters to become one of two pitchers in modern (post–1900) era to win 20 games for a team that lost 100 games (51-103), and also had the most wins for a pitcher with an overall losing record. 

Irv "Young Cy" Young - 1908 Conlon Collection/Detroit Public Library

• 1927 - IF Dick Smith was born in Blandburg, Cambria County. The Bucs signed him out of Lock Haven, and from 1951-55 he yo-yoed back and forth between Pittsburgh and the minors. In 70 games over that span, he hit .134, never reaching the Mendoza Line in any of his five campaigns. But he was a decent minor league hitter, and his pro career spanned from 1949-60 with the last seven years spent mainly in the PCL before he retired at age 32. 
• 1932 - The Pirates tied the Chicago Cubs in the seventh on a Dave Barbee triple and Gus Suhr sac fly, then with the bases empty and two outs in the ninth, rallied for a 3-2 win at Forbes Field. Pie Traynor singled and came all the way around in the final frame when Lloyd Waner, who had entered the game in the eighth inning, doubled on the next pitch to plate Pie. Ray Kremer tossed a complete game seven-hitter for the win over Jumbo Elliott. Little Poison’s pinch knock kept alive a 22-game hitting streak, and gave him hits in 31-of-32 games. 
• 1942 - At Forbes Field, in front of 11,500 fans in a game under the new Forbes Field lights, KC Monarchs (and ex-Pittsburgh Crawfords) pitcher Satchel Paige intentionally walked Howard Easterling to put Grays on first and second and set up a battle with Homestead’s Josh Gibson. Years earlier, Paige had told Gibson that one day he would strike him out with the bases loaded, and the showman decided now was the time. Well, he didn't fan him, but Satch did coax a soft fly to left with the same run-stranding result. Still, the Grays rallied from a 4-0 deficit, tying the game with a four-spot in the eighth and winning it, 5-4, in 11 innings. Later that year, Paige got his revenge when he won three Negro League World Series games against Homestead to lead KC to the title. 
• 1947 - Frankie “The Fordham Flash” Frisch was enshrined in the Hall of Fame. He never played for the Bucs but managed the club from 1940-46. His teams were usually competitive (539-528/.505) but never serious contenders, and Frisch's years with the Pirates were remembered more for his on-field antics than victories. 

Roberto Clemente - 1956 Topps

• 1956 - All-Star RHP Brooks Lawrence took his 13-game winning streak into the ninth with a 3-1 lead over the Bucs, but his string was snapped by Roberto Clemente, who hit a three-run homer as the Pirates edged the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3, at Crosley Field. Lawrence gave up just six hits, but three of them were bunched up in the ninth. The first run was chased home by Frank Thomas, who had two hits. Elroy Face, who tossed two scoreless innings, won in relief of Bob Friend. 
• 1962 - Jim Marshall came off the bench in the 11th frame and delivered a bases-loaded single to vault the Pirates past his former club, the San Francisco Giants, by a 7-6 score at Forbes Field. Don Hoak led the attack with three hits, including a triple, and three RBI. Roberto Clemente ran his hitting streak to 18 games with two raps before the Giants shut him down the next day. Neither starter got through the third as Al McBean and San Fran’s Digger O’Dell were chased early. The teams combined to use nine pitchers, with ElRoy Face beating Don Larsen. 
• 1963 - Pinch hitter Jerry Lynch drilled a three-run home run off Chicago's Lindy McDaniel in the ninth inning to tie the Cubs, 5-5, at Forbes Field. Lynch’s homer was his 14th career round-tripper off the bench, tying the MLB mark set by former Cincinnati teammate, George Crowe. The Bucs eventually won the contest in 14 innings, 6-5, on Bill Virdon’s two-out infield single to salvage a doubleheader split. The Pirates had 22 hits during the game, but stranded 15 runners. Roberto Clemente hit into a 3-6 triple play in the second frame, lining out to first baseman Merritt Ranew, who stepped on first to force Manny Mota and then threw to second to retire Ducky Schofield, giving an early indication of what kind of day was on tap for the Bucs. 
• 1969 - The Baseball Writers Association selected an All-Time team that included old Pirates Hans Wagner and Pie Traynor. Local legend Stan Musial from Donora was chosen on the All-Time Living Players team. Joe DiMaggio was selected as the greatest living player and Babe Ruth as the greatest of all time. 

Kimera Bartee - 2019 Jacob Cruz/Twitter

• 1972 - Coach Kimera Bartee was born in Omaha. After a six-year pro career as an outfielder, mostly with Detroit, Bartee was hired as the Bucs’ roving minor league outfield & baserunning coordinator in 2008 with a 2011 stint as short-season State College’s skipper. In the 2016 offseason, he was promoted to the Pirates as the outfield/baserunning coach and then became the Tigers first base coach. Bartee passed away young, at age 49, from a brain tumor.  
• 1979 - Dave Parker was a cover boy of The Sporting News in the magazine’s All-Star issue along with George Brett, Fred Lynn & Pete Rose. The Cobra showcased his powerful arm by throwing out Jim Rice at third base and Brian Downing at home while adding an RBI on a sac fly and was named the game's MVP.