5/2 Through the 1940s: AA/MLB Opener; Prez Visits Forbes; Stretch Song; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Clay, George & Freddy

• 1877 - The Alleghenys beat the Boston Red Caps, the eventual International Association champs (the IA was arguably the first minor league ever formed), 1-0, behind do-it-all Pud Galvin. He tossed a one-hitter and bombed a homer thought to be the first ball to clear the fence at North Side’s Union Park. These Alleghenys, who began as a local independent nine, folded after the 1878 campaign, and were unrelated except by name to the 1882 club that eventually became the Pirates. 
• 1882 - The second coming of the Pittsburgh Alleghenys of the American Association played their first MLB game (The AA was an alternative major league in the early days; the club would join the NL five years later) against Cincinnati at the Bank Street Grounds. The Alleghenys whipped the eventual AA champ Red Stockings by a 10-9 count, led by Charlie Morton and Jim Keenan combining to bang out seven hits. The Alleghenys’ Jack Leary and Reds’ Will White both went the distance. For Leary, who was a jack-of-all-trades (he only pitched three times in his 60 games with the Alleghenys while batting .286), it was his sole Pittsburgh win (1-0/6.75) before he moved on to Baltimore later in the season. OF Ed Swartwood, for the record, was the first batter in Allie history. Many consider this the first MLB game in Pirates’ franchise history except for the Pirates, which officially date its beginning to the team’s 1887 entry into the National League. 
• 1887 - Fred Carroll of the Alleghenys hit the franchise’s first National League homer (it was their second Senior Circuit game) off Detroit Wolverine pitcher Lady Baldwin as part of his cycle at North Side’s Recreation Park in an 8-3 win. Motown had won 31 straight exhibition games and three regular season games, and rallied after the defeat to take the next two games from the Allies. 

Fred Carroll - 1887 Goodwin/Old  Judge

• 1902 - RHP Freddy Sale was born in Chester, South Carolina. His MLB career consisted of an inning’s work in 1924 for the Pirates, giving up two hits but putting a zero on the scoreboard. He was a star at South Carolina, but got on with his life’s work without much further delay, leaving the game at age 23 after spending 1925 with Wilson in the Class B Virginia League.
• 1908 - “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” was copyrighted/published by Von Tilzer’s York Music Company. Jack Norworth wrote the lyrics and Albert Von Tilzer composed the music. It took a while to catch on in ballyards, first gaining popularity as a Tin Pan Alley vaudeville tune. It’s thought that the first time it was played at a ballpark was in 1934, at a high-school game in Los Angeles, and then later that year during the fourth game of the 1934 World Series. Norworth's original lyrics, written on an envelope and covered with notes, are exhibited in Cooperstown. 
• 1909 - Talk about small ball! Honus Wagner stole second, third and home (it was said that he touched the plate before Cub pitcher Ed Reulbach even released the ball) while his teammates swiped three more bases, drew two walks, suffered a plunked batter, were gifted two errors, and actually banged two hits in a five-run first frame that sparked the Bucs' 6-0 victory in the opener of a twin bill. They also won the second game, 5-2, against the Cubs at the West Side Grounds. For the Flying Dutchman, the base-stealing triple-larceny was the fourth and final time he pulled off the feat; it still stands as the MLB record. He swiped 723 sacks during his career and led the league in that category five times. 
• 1909 - 1B George Giles was born in Junction City, Kansas. George was a well-traveled Negro League player who was considered an excellent fielder, fleet in the field and on the bases, and a solid contact hitter. He had a 1932 stint with the Homestead Grays (.338) and a 1938 stop with the Pittsburgh Crawfords (.302). GG retired and eventually ran a motel/bar in Manhattan, Kansas. His son George Jr. played in the minors and grandson Brian Giles was an infielder who played for the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox through the eighties. 

Taft's Visit Ends - 5/3/1910 Munson/Press

• 1910 - During a Pittsburgh visit, baseball fan President William Taft took time to attend the Pirates 5-2 win over the Cubs. The team set a then-attendance record of 20,265 at Forbes Field due mostly to the President's appearance, but the Pittsburgh Press headline was “Taft Was Cheered, But Thunderous Applause Met Honus Wagner.” Hans had just one hit though he did score twice. The victory went to Babe Adams, who was relieved by Lefty Leifield in the seventh inning. 
• 1925 - The Pirates scored seven times in the first frame and plated 14 runs through the third inning as they romped over the Cincinnati Reds, 18-3, at Forbes Field. Clyde Barnhart, Pie Traynor, and Earl Smith combined to drive in 10 runs while the top of the order (Max Carey, Kiki Cuyler, and Eddie Moore) scored nine times. Lee Meadows cruised, tossing a five-hitter for the victory.
• 1941 - RHP Clay “Hawk” Carroll was born in Clanton, Alabama. He ended his 15-year MLB career with two 1978 Pirates outings, giving up a run in four innings at age 37 after spending most of the season at AAA Columbus. He was released after the year and retired in 1979. His heyday was with the Cincinnati Reds, where he was named Fireman of the Year in 1972 with a couple of All-Star appearances. His nickname was a nod to his competitive nature on the field. 
• 1943 - Behind hurlers Wally Hebert and Bob Klinger, the Pirates claimed a twinbill from the Cubs, 3-0 and 1-0, at Forbes Field. Jim Russell was the hero of the opener; his triple drove in a run and he scored a batter later while Hebert’s six-hitter tamed the Bruins. In the second game‚ Cubs hurlers Dick Barrett and Lon Warneke combined on a one-hit loss: Vince DiMaggio's double in the fourth was the only Bucco knock. The Pirate run was unearned as Elbie Fletcher, who had walked, plated on the two-bagger when the relay to second went astray. Klinger twirled a four-hit gem of his own.