2/6 Through the 1980s: DD 3-Way; Jose Replaces Maz; RIP Rosey; HBD Pedro, Richie, T-Bone, Smoky, Dale & Buckshot

• 1901 - SS Glenn “Buckshot” Wright was born in Archie, Missouri. He played five years (1924-28) for Pittsburgh, hitting .294, and was considered one of the league’s elite shortstops until he suffered a shoulder injury in 1929. Wright was a member of the 1925 and 1927 World Series clubs and was named to The Sporting News All-Star team in ‘25 while finishing fourth in the NL-MVP vote. He got his nickname due to his strong but sometimes scattered tosses. 

Buckshot Wright - 1924 Art Photo

• 1926 - 1B Dale Long was born in Springfield, Missouri. Long played four seasons for the Pirates (1951, 1955-57), hitting 27 homers in 1956 during an All-Star season. He put his name in the record books that year by hitting eight home runs in eight straight games between May 19th-28th, still the MLB standard, tied but never topped (Ken Griffey Jr & Don Mattingly co-share the mark). In 1958, Long became the last lefty to catch (though not much, just two games for 1-2/3 innings, and with a first baseman’s mitt) in the majors until Benny DiStefano backstopped in 1989. The big guy had a choice of careers; he turned down an audition with the Green Bay Packers as an 18-year-old to focus on baseball. 
• 1927 - C Smoky Burgess was born in Caroleen, NC. He spent six years (1959-64) as a Pirates platoon catcher, hitting .296 as a Buc, and was a key part of the 1960 World Series club. People sometimes forget what a strong player Smoky was. Burgess was a six-time All-Star who led NL catchers in fielding percentage three times, while his MLB record of 145 career pinch hits (a late career specialty) wasn’t broken until 1979 by Manny Mota. Smoky also called every pitch during Harvey Haddix’s legendary 12-inning perfecto against the Milwaukee Braves in 1959. 
• 1932 - RHP Bill “T-Bone” Koski was born in Modesto, California. The Bucs signed him as a 19-year-old fastballer out of high school and he debuted that year, going 0-1/6.67, with a remarkably consistent line: 27 IP, 23 R (20 ER), 26 hits and 28 walks, lagging only in strikeouts with six. The Pirates still thought highly of him, but Uncle Sam moved first. Bill was drafted into the Army during the Korean War and after his 1954 return, he never got above Class B ball. Jeff Jardine of the Modesto Bee explained his nickname: while on a train trip with the Pirates, the teenaged Koski ate a T-bone steak for dinner. Later that night, he got hungry and ate another. A sports writer on the trip dared him to eat a third steak. He did, and that night his teammates dubbed the growing youngster “T-Bone.” 

Bill Koski - custom Autograph card

• 1949 - LF Richie Zisk was born in Brooklyn. A third round pick in the 1966 draft, he spent six years in Pittsburgh (1971-76), hitting .299 as a Buc before being traded to the Chicago White Sox in the Goose Gossage deal. He made post-season appearances with the 1974-75 Pirates, batting .400 in the playoffs, and hit for the cycle against the Giants in 1974. Since his playing days, Zisk has managed, coached and scouted for the Cubs organization. 
• 1955 - While in the midst of preparing to go to Florida with the team, announcer Rosey Rowswell was struck with uremic poisoning and passed away in Pittsburgh at the age of 71. He was the Pirates announcer from 1936 until his death, beginning back when the road games were recreated from telegraphed wire reports. Rosey was a mentor to his booth partner, Bob Prince, and came up with plenty of unique phraseology - “Open the window, aunt Minnie” for homers, the “doozie marooney” for an extra base hit, the “old dipsy doodle” for a curveball, and even coined the phrase “Buccos” among his thesaurus of colorfully fractured English. Rowswell was also an author who wrote four books of humor and poetry. 
• 1972 - The Dapper Dans couldn’t make up their mind, so the annual Man of the Year honor was split three ways, with Danny Murtaugh, Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente sharing in the glory at the annual awards dinner. And just to make sure there were no hard feelings, six other Buccos received recognition for their contributions during the season - Manny Sanguillen, Richie Hebner, Al Oliver, Bob Robertson, Nellie Briles and Steve Blass. The night's emcee was, of course, the Gunner, Bob Prince, and the dinner’s chairman was retired Bucco hurler and current Allegheny County Controller Bob Friend. 
• 1974 - Recently retired Pirate vet Jose Pagan replaced Bill Mazeroski as coach after Maz resigned from Danny Murtaugh’s staff a day earlier. Bill cited a preference to playing over mentoring and the desire to spend the summer with his family; the media also speculated the difference in pay and the loss of Maz’s long-time Bucco bud, Bill Virdon (he was fired and replaced by Murtaugh), may have also played into the decision. Jose ended up staying on for five years as a Bucco assistant before jumping ship to coach in the minors and Puerto Rico. 

Petey - 2010 Topps Pro Debut

• 1987 - 3B Pedro Alvarez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. El Toro, who played at Vanderbilt, was drafted in the first round (second overall) of the 2008 MLB draft. A last minute signing, complicated by some posturing by both the FO and Scott Boras along with a suit filed by the MLBPA, was accomplished and he joined the club, ultimately receiving a $6.4M bonus. Pedro took his big league bow in 2010 and tied for the National League lead in homers in 2013 with 36 while netting an All-Star berth, but spent 2014 with a bad case of the yips at the hot corner that triggered a switch to first base in 2015. The corner flip didn’t work out, and he was non-tendered in the off season. El Toro played with the O’s for three years, then went briefly to the Miami organization, where was released during the 2019 camp. He retired and took a player development position with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022 while completing his Vandy BA.