8/26 Through the 1950s: Mollwitz-Sanders; Wally Ball; Piece of Pie; Six & Seven For Waner; Trip Trips; Out To Pasture; HBD Sparky & Frank

• 1888 - LHP Frank Allen was born in Newbern, Alabama. Allen spent six years twirling big league ball; the Federal League Pittsburgh Rebels picked him up at the end of the 1914 campaign from the Brooklyn Robins, then rode him the following year when he slashed 23-13/2.51 after 37 starts and 283-1/3 IP. Allen authored the FL’s first no-hitter as a Reb against the St. Louis Terriers in 1915. He tossed for two more MLB seasons with the NL Boston Braves. Allen started out in 1909 for Mobile of the Southern Association as a 20-year old and hung ‘em up after tossing for Gadsen of the Georgia-Alabama League in 1928 as a 39-year old. 

Mike Smith - photo via Uniondale Cemetery

• 1892 - The Bucs mauled the Philadelphia Phils, 11-3, at Exposition Park. Elmer “Mike” Smith, Doggie Miller and Jake Beckley led the way with a pair of hits each. Smith, usually an OF’er, was the pitcher (he appeared in 17 games, starting 13), and per the Pittsburgh Press, the “(Phils Ed) Delahanty found a package of lard in centerfield and the Phillies tried to work up a story that the ball had been greased...” The Pirates pleaded innocent, and the victory stood. 
• 1894 - 2B Earl “Sparky” Adams was born in Zerbe, Pennsylvania. He played in Pittsburgh in 1928-29, filling in around the infield as needed and even taking some outfield innings while hitting .272 in 209 games. He was well thought of; he came from the Cubs in a trade for Kiki Cuyler. His Pirates time was in the middle of his 13-year career; he went on to have several good campaigns with the Gashouse Gang in St. Louis until a bad knee forced his retirement after the 1934 season. He got his nickname because he was a little bundle (5’4-1/2”) of energy on the field. 
• 1910 - It was a day for outfielders to work on their tans at Forbes Field. Babe Adams, who took the hill in spite of a stomach bug, tossed a six-hitter to top Carrick native Elmer Knetzer (who came home in 1914-15 to pitch for the Pittsburgh Rebels) and Brooklyn 4-2. The Dodger and Pirate outfielders combined for one putout and one assist all afternoon (Pittsburgh’s Chief Wilson gloved a fly to right and the Dodgers’ LF Zack Wheat threw out Bobby Byrnes trying to stretch a double into a triple) to set the MLB record for the least pasture action for two teams in a game. 
• 1912 - In a doubleheader split against the Boston Braves at Forbes Field, Chief Wilson whacked three triples during the two contests, and would bang another three-bagger the next day. Chief had a three-game triple streak earlier in the year and a five-game string that he put together in mid-June. He finished the year with 36 triples, which is still the league high water mark. Chief caught lightning in a jar during this campaign, as he never hit more than 14 three-baggers in any other season. Pittsburgh won the opener, 5-4, and dropped the evening game, 8-4. 

Fritz Mollwitz - 1917 photo Charles Conlon

• 1917 - Kansas City of the American Association sent Fritz Mollwitz to the Bucs in a deal that would stretch into the next year. In February, Pittsburgh received RHP Roy Sanders as a PTBNL and sent the Blues IFs Alex McCarthy & Ike McAuley, along with 1B Ray Miller. Fritz gave the Bucs two decent years, batting .266, faded in 1919 and was sent to St. Louis for his final MLB campaign. Sanders gave Pittsburgh a solid year, going 7-9/2.60 in his final big league season. McCarthy and Miller never played in the show again, while McAuley got a final MLB hurrah in 1925 with the Cubs. 
• 1926 - Rookie Paul Waner went 6-for-6 with two doubles and a triple as the Pirates beat the New York Giants, 15-7, at Forbes Field. Pie Traynor and George Grantham each had three hits; Traynor and Johnny Rawlings added three RBI apiece. Big Poison used six different bats to collect his hits. Per Dom Forker’s “Baseball Brain Teasers,” that was because Waner had been moved up to the second spot in the lineup rather than his customary three-hole slot. Apparently he didn’t check the scorecard and was caught by surprise when he was called to the plate, so he grabbed the first stick he could reach from the bat rack. He banged out a hit, so he went with random bats the rest of the game, each producing a knock. He tried it again in the following contest, went 1-for-3, and returned to his regular twig for the rest of the season, finishing with a .336 BA. 
• 1927 - Boston defeated the Pirates, 6-4, at Braves Field. Paul Waner, who went 4-for-4 the day before, added three more consecutive raps off two Beaneater pitchers before his hitting streak was stopped at seven. He may have taken a breath between knocks after that stretch, but they did keep coming - Big Poison won the NL batting title with a .380 average and was the MVP. 
• 1934 - Chester Williams of the Pittsburgh Crawfords led the East with three hits in the East-West Negro League All-Star game at Comiskey Park. The East won 1-0 in front of 30,000 fans when Jud Wilson drove in Cool Papa Bell in the eighth inning, giving Satchel Paige the win. 
• 1935 - Player-manager Pie Traynor blasted a grand slam and ended the day with five hits and six RBI as the Bucs battered the NY Giants, 10-2, at the Polo Grounds. Woody Jensen and Tom Padden also homered to plow the road for Ralph Birkofer’s sixth win, evening his record. 

Wally Westlake - 1947 Exhibits

• 1947 - The Pirates scored four times each in the first and second innings and added seven more in the fifth (as Les Biederman of the Pittsburgh Press noted “The Bucs simply had their hitting clothes on...”) as they rolled over the Brooklyn Dodgers, 16-3, at Ebbets Field. Wally Westlake homered, doubled, and drove home five runs as Billy Cox and Cutley Rikard added long balls. Ralph Kiner went 5-for-5 with a walk and Frank Gustine added four hits to help Fritz Ostermueller cruise to victory. Brooklyn’s Dan Bankhead, via the Negro League Memphis Red Sox, became the first black pitcher to work an MLB game when he came on in relief of Hal Gregg. The Bucs gave him a rude welcome on the slab, scoring eight runs in his 3-1/3 frames, though he did swat a two-run homer in his first big league at-bat to help even out his rough debut. 
• 1951 - It was a down-to-the-wire twin bill: The Pirates scored eight runs in the seventh frame to overcome a 9-2 fifth inning deficit and rally past the Dodgers, 12-11, at Ebbets Field in the opener of a twin set. Brooklyn loaded the bases with an out in the ninth, but Murry Dickson weathered the storm to save the win for Vernon Law. Pete Castiglione and Bill Howerton had three RBI each to lead the comeback; Pete homered twice and Bill once. The club dropped the nitecap 4-3 in 10 innings with Preacher Roe topping Ted Wilks, pitching in relief of Bob Friend. 
• 1956 - Bob Friend was dealing today; he tossed a four-hit shutout to top the Cubs, 2-0, in the first game of a twin bill at Wrigley, sparked by Roberto Clemente, who chased home the first run with a two-out double and then scored the second in the eighth inning. Fresh off the complete game victory, Friend then came on to get the last four outs to save Ronnie Kline’s victory in the nightcap, a 2-1 win, to finish the Chicago sweep. Bob Skinner doubled in the first tally in the third frame and came around with the game winner when a Cubbie pickoff throw missed the mark.