8/24 Through the 1970s: Silver Fox Sold; HoF Duel; 12-Hit Shutout; Middle Muscle; Meltdown Begins; Game Tales; HBD Al, Matty, Jewels & Billy

• 1881 - C George “Billy” (it was his middle name) Kelsey was born in Covington, Ohio. His MLB credentials consist of two games played for the Pirates in 1907 as a 25-year-old, going 2-for-5. He did toil for nine seasons with various farm clubs and later managed in the Texas League (player/manager for Oklahoma City) and the Western Association (Tulsa).

Jewel Ens - undated photo Mears Collection/TSN

• 1889 - IF Jewel Ens was born in St. Louis. He was with the Pirates from 1922-25, hitting .290 as a seldom used bench player/coach. Jewel then coached the Bucs from 1926-29 and 1935-39, managing the club in between from 1929-31, putting up an overall 176-167 slate while finishing second once. He also coached for the Detroit Tigers (1932), Cincinnati Reds (1933; 1941) & Boston Braves (1934), then spent eight seasons (1942–49) as manager of the Syracuse Chiefs, then the Reds' top farm club. He was elected to the International League Hall of Fame in 1950, the year of his death. Jewel, btw, isn't a moniker - it was his given first name. 
• 1890 - OF Ralph “Matty” Mattis was born in Roxborough, Pennsylvania. Matty spent seven years in the minors as a pretty good batter with a lifetime .303 BA, but his only major league shot was in 1914 with the Federal League Pittsburgh Rebels where he hit .247 in 36 games. The pasture was a crowded place to elbow into that season; the Rebels carried, at one time or another, eight OF’ers including player/manager Rebel Oakes, the team’s namesake. 
• 1897 - C Al Bool was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. He played three years of big league ball, with his busiest year being in 1930 with the Pirates. He got into 78 games and hit .259, then moved to Boston in the off-season. He played one more year and retired to become a Nebraska farmer. 
• 1921 - The Pirates, in front by 7-1/2 games with 35 to go, dropped a double dipper to the Giants at the Polo Grounds before 35,000. Art Nehf won the lid lifter, 10-2, to hand Babe Adams his first loss in 10 games while Phil Douglas took the nightcap, 7-0. Manager George Gibson called a team meeting after the losses, per the Pittsburgh Press, and “...club matters were discussed, but they were discussed in a way that hurt. Errors of omission and commission were probed down to the raw flesh…” It didn’t rally the boys; they would end up blowing the title to the Giants by four games, going 14-21 over their final 35 contests. 

George Grantham - 1928 Strip Card

• 1928 - The Pirates romped over the NY Giants, 16-5, at Forbes Field. The middle of the Pittsburgh order - Paul Waner, George Grantham and Pie Traynor - pounded out seven hits, including a homer and three triples, drove in 11 runs and scored six more to rev the engine. Every Pirates position player had at least two hits as the Bucs banged out 19 knocks. 
• 1930 - The Pirates sold LHP Jesse Petty to the Cubs. He was part of the return for SS Glenn Wright (Buc manager Donie Bush was a Petty fan, having coached him in the minors), and The Silver Fox (he had prematurely graying hair) was solid in his first season, with 11 wins and a 3.77 ERA for 1929. He got off to a rough start for the Bucs in 1930 and was shipped to Chicago. He pitched a little better though not very often in the Windy City, and it ended up his last MLB campaign. Petty then pitched and managed through the mid-30s in the minors. 
• 1956 - The Cards defeated the Pirates, 6-2, at Busch Stadium in a game notable for its batting order. Manager Bobby Bragan batted the pitcher seventh, Maz eighth and Hank Foiles ninth. Mazeroski went 1-for-3 while Foiles homered. The pitcher, Fred Waters, went 0-for-3. Bragan used the ploy next season, too, and then it wouldn’t be repeated in Pittsburgh again until 2008 when John Russell penciled in Paul Maholm to bat eighth, ahead of Jack Wilson. 
• 1959 - Bob Friend gave up 12 hits, but went the distance to shut out SF‚ 6-0. He struck out eight and stranded a dozen G-Men at Forbes Field, backed by a pair of Rocky Nelson homers. Nelson had three hits, three RBI and three runs scored; Dick Groat also posted a trio of raps. 

Bert Blyleven - 1978 Hostess

• 1978 - The Pirates won their 10th game in a row by dropping the Braves, 5-1, at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in a matchup of future Hall-of-Famers Bert Blyleven and Phil Niekro. Bert not only pitched his way to victory, but his two-out, bases-loaded double in the seventh cleared the sacks to break a 0-0 tie. Pittsburgh dropped the next two games, then started a fresh 11-game winning streak. But in the end, the Pirates couldn’t catch up to the Phils, who won the division by 1-1/2 games over the 88-73 Buccos. The race went to the wire, with Philly clinching the crown with a 10-8 win over Pittsburgh in the campaign’s next-to-last game.