8/30 Through the 1960s: 5-For-Pie; 200 For Coop; Robertson Cycle; Game Tales; RIP Arky; HBD Johnny, Kiki, Charlie & Will

• 1870 - RHP Will Thompson (he also played 1B and the OF) was born in Pittsburgh. He made one MLB appearance, working three frames for the 1892 Pirates. He gave up a run and took the loss. After playing at Penn, he spent time in the local minors in the New York State League at Elmira, the Pennsylvania State League at Johnstown and the Iron & Oil League for New Castle. He later served in the 1898 Spanish–American War, and lived to be 91 before passing away in his hometown. 
• 1878 - IF Charlie Starr was born in Pike County, Ohio. Charlie played three years in the show, joining the Bucs in the middle in 1908 after a couple of years at Youngstown and batted .186 in 20 games. He played for two more clubs after that in 1909, then joined Buffalo for a couple of seasons before heading south, suiting up for New Orleans, Mobile, Chattanooga and Little Rock before his last pro at-bat in 1916. He retired and became a metal worker in construction. 

Kiki Cuyler - artwork Dick Perez

• 1898 - OF Hazen Shirley “Kiki” Cuyler was born in Harrisville, Michigan. The Hall-of-Famer spent his first seven seasons (1921-27) as a Pirate, hitting .336 with a .399 OBP. The end of his Pittsburgh era was rocky. In 1927, Cuyler was benched for nearly half the season because of a dispute with rookie manager Donie Bush. The Pirates went to the World Series, but Cuyler was on the pine, and that November, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs. He played 11 more seasons and ended his career with a .321 BA. Per SABR, two explanations have been given for his nickname "Kiki." In one version, the players called him "Cuy" in the minors at Nashville, so when a fly ball was hit to Hazen, the shortstop would call out "Cuy" as would the second baseman, and the echoed “Cuy-Cuy” caught on with the fans. A variant says that "Kiki Cuyler" was caused by his stuttering problem and was the way Cuyler's name came out when he pronounced it. Either way, the nickname’s popularization is credited to Vol’s announcer Bob Murray. 
• 1916 - RHP Johnny Lindell was born in Greeley, Colorado. Johnny started as a pitcher in 1942 and ended as one in 1953, spending the eight years in between as an outfielder. After hitting below the Mendoza line in 1950, he was sent to the Hollywood Stars in the PCL where manager Fred Haney turned him into a knuckleballer. Lindell returned to the majors in 1953 at the age of 36 with the Pirates, who had Haney at their helm. His knuckleball was tough to hit but tougher to control, and Johnny led the league in walks and wild pitches with a line of 5-16/4.71. His stick recovered as he batted .286 in 91 appearances, but it was the end of his road. He was sold to Philly in late August of 1953, finished out the season there, then got five at-bats the following campaign before leaving the show after putting in 12 campaigns for four teams. 
• 1921 - Dave Robertson hit for the cycle to lead the Bucs to an 8-2 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. He scored twice and drove in three runs. George Cutshaw and Clyde Barnhart added three knocks each as Whitey Glazner scattered seven hits for the complete game win. 

Dave Robertson - 1921 photo Bain/Library of Congress

• 1924 - Wilbur Cooper, who is the Pirates all-time pitching leader with 202 victories and 236 complete games, won his 200th career contest (he finished his MLB tour of duty with 216 wins/2.86 ERA and 3,480 innings tossed) in a 12-3, complete game decision over Cincinnati at Forbes Field. It would be Wilbur’s last Pirates campaign, finishing the year slashing 20-14/3.28 before becoming part of a six-man deal with the Cubs after the season. The 32-year-old lefty had started out with Pittsburgh in 1912 when he was just 20. Wilbur won double-digit games 10 times in that time, including four seasons with 20 or more wins and two more at 19. 
• 1929 - Pie Traynor went 5-for-5 to lead a 21-hit attack in an easy 15-0 win over Chicago at Forbes Field. Heinie Meine tossed a three-hitter as Pittsburgh dominated the Cubbies on this day. It was the Pirates' fourth win over the Cubs in three days, with the Windy City snapping their losing streak by eking out a 7-6 win on the following day. 
• 1930 - The Pirates swept a twinbill from Cincinnati, 5-0 and 3-2, to win their 12th game in 14 outings. The Waner brothers, Paul and Lloyd, scored all five runs in the opener with George Grantham driving them in three times. Spades Wood tossed a six-hitter for the win. Grantham was big in the second game too, with three hits, two runs and an RBI as Larry French took the win. 
• 1951 - The Pirates rallied from an 8-1 deficit to take a 10-9 victory from the Giants at the Polo Grounds. Frank Thomas hit his first MLB homer and Ralph Kiner won it with a long ball in the ninth while Gus Bell and Pete Castiglione also went deep for the Bucs. Pittsburgh climbed back to take the lead in the eighth, only to have the Giants tie it, but the G-Men were trumped by Kiner. Murry Dickson blew the save but ultimately got the win, one of 20 he earned during the campaign. 

Frank Thomas - 1952 Topps

• 1952 - Arky Vaughan, 40, and his friend Bill Wimer drowned in California’s Lost Lake. While the two were fishing, their rowboat overturned. Wimer couldn’t swim, and both men went under when Vaughan tried to save his bud. Vaughan retired with 1,173 runs scored, 926 RBI, 118 steals, a .318 BA and .406 OBP. His .385 batting average, .491 OBP, and 1.098 OPS in 1935 are Pirate team records, and the batting average is a 20th century record for NL shortstops. Arky was a Hall-of-Famer who was included in the Ritter/Honig book “The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time” and cited by Bill James as the second greatest SS in history, behind only Honus Wagner. 
• 1953 - The Milwaukee Braves flexed their muscles and set some records against hapless Bucco hurling in a doubleheader at Forbes Field, sweeping Pittsburgh by 19-4 and 11-5 scores. The Bravos blasted eight homers in the opener, breaking the NL one-game record of seven held by three teams, including the Pirates. They added four more in the nightcap, breaking the NL back-to-back games mark of 10 held by the 1925 Bucs. Eddie Mathews and Jim Pendleton led the onslaught with three homers each while Johnny Logan added a pair as the Post Gazette topped the day’s box scores with the headline “Cheaper By the Dozen.” 
• 1959 - ElRoy Face notched his 17th straight victory of the year, earning a 10-inning win against Philadelphia, 7-6, at Forbes Field after Dick Stuart’s two-run double in overtime. The Bucs rallied from a five-run deficit on the strength of Danny Kravitz and Stuart homers to sweep the doubleheader. They took the opener, 2-1, behind Harvey Haddix’s arm and Bob Skinner’s two-out, ninth-inning knock that scored Dick Hoak to climb to four games from the top. Maybe they listened to NBC broadcaster Leo Durocher, who regaled some of the Buccos before the game with tales of his ‘51 Giants winning the pennant although 12-1/2 games back at one point. Face had also won the last five decisions of 1958, giving him a 22-game winning streak. He finished the year 18-1, and his 18 relief wins remains the major league record. The Baron went a month (6/11-7/12) without giving up a run, and his 22 straight wins is second only to Carl Hubbell’s 24-game streak. 

The Baron of the Bullpen - 1959 Topps

• 1960 - The Pirates defeated Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers, 5-2, at the LA Memorial Coliseum. Bob Friend picked up the win with help from ElRoy Face, supported by long balls from Dick Groat and Roberto Clemente. Arriba was the only right-handed hitter beside Frank Howard to homer the opposite way in the Coliseum during the season, swatting a Koufax heater 400’.