4/14 Through the 1970s: Bunning Milestones; Abba Dabba Joins; Rooks Rostered; Pgh Feds; WGN Debut; Openers & Game Tales; HBD Kyle, Wild Bill & George

• 1880 - OF George Merritt was born in Paterson, NJ. He spent from 1901-03 with the Pirates as an outfielder and part-time hurler (he played 15 games in three years, with four off the hill), slashing 3-0/4.50 from the hill and hitting .213 as a bench stick. That was the extent of his MLB days. During his 1903 campaign, he left Pittsburgh and joined the hometown Jersey City Skeeters, playing with them until 1910 before finally hanging up the glove in 1915. 
• 1884 - RHP Wild Bill Luhrsen was born in Buckley, Illinois. His MLB career consisted of five games (three starts) for the 1913 Pirates when the 29-year-old rookie went 3-1/2.48, with his only loss to Christy Mathewson. The Pirates bought his rights from Albany of the Sally League during the season after a rash of injuries chewed up the staff and then was sent to Columbus after the pitching returned. Wild Bill retired  in 1916 and worked the semi-pro and indie circuits. 
• 1914 - The Pittsburgh Feds and the Brooklyn Tip-Tops played the first game of the short-lived Federal League. The contest was front page news in the papers, a band led a parade from town to Exposition Park, and Mayor William Magee tossed out the first pitch. Tom Seaton of the Tip Tops outdid Carrick native Elmer Knetzer of the Feds, 1-0, in 10 innings. The game was played in front of an estimated 10,000 fans. The team became the Pittsburgh Rebels after Rebel Oakes took over the hot seat from Doc Gessler early in the year, and like their National League counterparts, they came in seventh with a 64-86 finish. Alpha/Omega: Knetzer tossed out not only the opening pitch of the club, but also of the Federal League itself. He also delivered the last ball of the Rebel franchise/FL on October 2nd, 1915, in a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Whales, a game that gave Chi-town first place over the Rebels. The Fed folded after the season. 

Elmer Knetzer - 1914 Cracker Jack

• 1920 - The Pirates opened the season on a winning note with help from the Cards, who committed four errors leading to three unearned runs and a 5-4 Pittsburgh win in 10 innings at Robison Field. For all the miscues, the Redbirds made a thriller out of it, scoring with two outs in the ninth and putting runners at second and third before Babe Adams could coax the final out. The Bucs bounced back with a two-out run in the 10th frame when pinch hitter Fred Nicholson singled home George Cutshaw; the tally was again unearned, set up when St. Louis hurler Marv Goodwin threw away a bunt. Pittsburgh managed just seven hits, with Carson Bigbee (single, double) and Charlie Grimm (single, triple) each with a pair. Earl Hamilton saved the victory for Adams. 
• 1925 - Chicago’s WGN Radio broadcast its first ever regular season Cubs’ baseball game (Quin Ryan announced the contest from the grandstand roof) as Chicago’s Grover Alexander defeated the Pirates and Emil Yde on Opening Day, 8-2. Six of the runs against Yde were unearned thanks to three Bucco boots. Old Pete not only won, but helped himself with a single, double, and home run. 
• 1937 - The Bucs bought RHP Jim “Abba Dabba” Tobin from the Yankees, who had him stashed on the Pacific Coast League Oakland Oaks roster. Tobin tossed three seasons for Pittsburgh, going 29-24-1/3.71 before being sent to Boston. He pitched in MLB through 1945 and tossed a no-hitter for Beantown in 1944. He was also a good stick; he hit .230 during his career, .275 during his Pirates stay, and was called on regularly as a pinch hitter. Abba Dabba is the only modern-era pitcher to hit three homers in one game, as he did for the Braves in 1942 (Guy Hecker, who would later manage the Alleghenys, was the only other pitcher to equal him, back in 1886). Tobin called it a day as an MLB player after the 1950 campaign. As for his nickname, the Detroit Athletic Company explained “Tobin liked to do imitations of a vaudeville magician. As part of the act, Tobin would pause in the middle of a magic trick and declare, ‘Abba Dabba, are you ready?’” 

Jim Tobin - 1939 Play Ball

• 1952 - In a sure sign that the Pirates expected a long year, the team brought seven rookies north with them: IF Dick Hall, OF Bobby Del Greco, P Ronnie Kline, P Jim Waugh, OF Brandy Davis, P Ed Wolfe and OF Lee Walls. IF Tony Bartirome was called up a couple of days later, and the youthfulness of the club became apparent as the year went on - the Bucs finished last with 42 wins. 
• 1960 - The Pirates showed that they would be a NL force to reckon with during their Home Opener by pounding the Reds, 13-0, in front of 34,064 fans. Vern Law pitched the complete game, seven-hit shutout while Roberto Clemente and Billy Maz combined to chase home nine runs. One of the Great One’s RBI was a 445’ sac fly that Vada Pinson corralled just short of the batting cage parked in center field. Fun fact from This Date In Baseball: Bill Mazeroski hit the first homer of the season at Forbes Field to open the floodgates today. He also hit the last long ball of the ballyard’s year when he went deep to beat the Yankees in Game Seven of the World Series on October 13th. 
• 1963 - Al McBean tossed Pittsburgh to a 1-0 victory over the Reds at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field on Easter for their fourth straight victory. The Bucs pushed their only run across in the fourth when Bill Virdon beat out a two-out bleeder to second that scored Bob Skinner, set up thanks to a walk and pair of infield singles off Joey Jay, with only one other runner reaching third. Cincy had 10 hits, with a walk and error thrown in by the Pirates, but stranded 12 runners, twice leaving the bases loaded and three times leaving runners at second and third. But Alvin buckled down at the end, retiring the final seven batters without a ball leaving the infield to ice the win. 

Jim Bunning - 1968 Sports Service photo

• 1968 - Jim Bunning earned his first win with Pittsburgh, 3-0, at Los Angeles. It was his 40th career shutout and included his 1‚000th NL strikeout‚ making him the first pitcher since Cy Young with 1‚000 punch outs in each league. His bacon was saved when Roberto Clemente brought back a potential two-run homer to right by Ron Fairly, leaping above the wall to snag the ball. 
• 1976 - RHP Kyle Farnsworth was born in Wichita, Kansas. Kyle spent 16 years and tossed 893 games in the MLB; a few weeks and nine outings were on the Pirates dime in 2013. The veteran was picked up off waivers from Tampa Bay and the 38-year-old did his job, giving up one run in 8-1/3 IP during their playoff run. Kyle’s last year in the show was 2014; he tossed in Mexico for a couple of years afterward while multitasking by playing semi-pro football in Florida.