6/17: Walk, Candy Win 100; Walker Signs; Petey Sixer; Hero Hebner; Cutch Homer #1; Donora's Debut; Pick-Up At Expo; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Bennie, Joe, Zeb, Bob & Pete

• 1861 - OF Pete Browning was born in Louisville. One of the great hitters (and terrible fielders - he was known as “The Gladiator” because of his fights with fly balls and also for his tussles with league suits and the media) of early baseball, he played 50 games for 1891 for Pittsburgh, batting .291. He wasn’t here long, but he had an influential 13-year major league career. Per Wikipedia: One of the ballers to jump to the outlaw Players League (he actually helped create it), Browning's decision to sign with Pittsburgh in 1891 helped cement the team's new nickname of "Pirates." When the PL collapsed, its members were supposed to return to their original franchises. Pittsburgh, though, signed several players who were theoretically under the control of other clubs, starting with second baseman Lou Bierbauer. Other franchises decried these acts of "piracy", and the name stuck. Browning is also remembered as the inspiration behind Hillerich & Bradsby's iconic "Louisville Slugger" (another of his nicknames) bats. He was the first player to buy bats from the company and they used the name a few years later to both recognize its roots and cash in on Pete’s fame. The Gladiator retired with a .341 lifetime BA, leading SABR to name him as an overlooked but deserving 19th Century Hall of Fame player. The fact he was an early union agitator and helped form the Players League along with his later bouts of alcoholism, all of which made his relations with the media contentious, hurt his cause. 
• 1887 - OF Bob Coulson was born in Courtney, in New Eagle Township in Washington County, and raised in Donora. That Mon Valley community raised stars like Stan the Man Musial and Ken Griffey Sr (Junior was born there), but Bob was the first player the town contributed to the majors. He played three years for three big league teams (Cincy, Brooklyn & Pittsburgh), finishing his career at home by playing 18 games for the Federal League Rebels in 1914, hitting .203. The Penn State product spent two more seasons in the bushes with stints in Newark, Kansas City and Portland before retiring to Washington County where he became the Register of Wills, Department of Labor inspector and Assessment Officer. He passed away in 1953 and is buried in Beallsville Cemetery.  

Bob Coulson w/Brooklyn - 1912 T207

• 1890 - The Alleghenys were booked to play the Cleveland Spiders at Recreation Park, but a train accident delayed the Cleves, leaving some 200 fans at the park without a game. So the team split up, drafted some local players, got a gent named Howell to umpire (by the newspaper accounts, a 300-pound guy, bulk probably being a pretty good attribute for an old-timey arbiter) and played on for the cranks. It was a 2-1 finale, with Charlie Gray tossing a three-hitter to top Will Gumbert, who surrendered just five knocks. It was a slick PR move by a team that ended the year with just 23 wins and moved some home games to the road because they couldn’t draw after deep raids by the upstart Players League had decimated its roster. 
• 1891 - SS Zeb Terry was born in Denison, Texas. He was raised in California and attended Long Beach Poly HS, which has produced 19 MLB players including Tony Gwynn, Milton Bradley, Rocky Bridges and Chase Utley, before going to Stanford and then the majors. Zebelon played seven years in the show, spending the 1919 season with the Pirates. He batted .227, then spent three more pretty solid campaigns with the Chicago Cubs (.280 BA). Zeb and his wife grew tired of the travel and in 1922, Terry retired to the life of a real estate developer in Los Angeles. In 1955, he was part of Stanford’s first Sports Hall of Fame class along with guys like Ernie Nevers, Frankie Albert, Bob Mathias and Hank Luisetti. 
• 1910 - RHP Joe Bowman was born in Kansas City. He tossed for the Bucs from 1937-41, splitting time between starting and the pen, and posting a record of 33-38-6/4.35. Joe knew his way around a batter’s box, too, hitting .281 with 38 RBI as a Pirate and used as a pinch hitter. Bowman became the Scouting Director for Charlie Finley's Kansas City A's from 1960 to 1968. When the A's moved to Oakland in 1968, Bowman became a regional bird dog for the Atlanta Braves for a short time before spending two decades scouting for the Baltimore Orioles. 

Bennie Daniels - 1959 Topps Rookie Stars

• 1932 - RHP Bennie Daniels was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He underperformed in his Pittsburgh years, going 8-16-1 with a 5.84 ERA, though his FIP was a more solid 3.98. He was traded to the Washington Senators, where he put up workmanlike numbers for five more seasons. Bennie bounced around after baseball and even served time for embezzlement, but then flew straight, working as a clerk in the VA system and moonlighting on the autograph session circuit. 
• 1969 - Richie Hebner was the man in a twinbill sweep at Forbes Field against the first place Chicago Cubs, driving in the game’s only run in a 1-0 victory in the opener and then plating a walk-off RBI in a 4-3 nightcap win. Bob Veale won the lidlifter with a save by Bruce Dal Canton. Steve Blass won the second game in relief, and helped himself by scoring the winning run. 
• 1983 - The Candy Man won his 100th MLB game by a 2-1 count over the Phils at TRS. He went seven innings, giving up an unearned run on four hits with a walk and eight whiffs before his arm stiffened; Manny Sarmiento and Kent Tekulve covered the last two frames. Marvell Wynne, Mike Easler and Dave Parker each had a pair of hits, with the Cobra’s fourth inning triple being the pivot point, driving in a run and then scoring the game winner. The Pirates made it interesting, losing two guys on steal attempts with another thrown out on the bases. Candelaria’s dad came in from Puerto Rico to see the game; it was only the second time he saw his son toss in the MLB, the first being during the ‘79 World Series. Candy won 177 games over 19 seasons for eight teams; 124 victories were for Pittsburgh. 
• 1993 - Bob Walk tamed the Mets and Doc Gooden, 6-2, at TRS to notch his 100th win (77 were as a Bucco). Walkie gave up six hits and went the distance for his milestone victory. The Pirates broke out of a slump to chase Gooden after three frames with the attack led by Jeff King, who had three hits and drove four runners home. It was Walkie’s last big league campaign; he ended up with a career slash of 105-81-5/4.03 after 14 seasons. 

A-Ram 2001 Fleer

• 2001 - The Pirates scored at the eleventh hour with two outs and the bases empty in the ninth inning when Brian Giles singled and came around on Aramis Ramirez’s double to claim a 1-0 win for Todd Ritchie against the Cleveland Indians at PNC Park in front of 36,694 fans. Ritchie went the distance, giving up just four hits to the Tribe; the Pirates had just three knocks. 
• 2004 - Tike Redman broke up a pitching duel between Kris Benson and Bartolo Colon by banging homers in the seventh and eighth innings to lead the Pirates to a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Angels at PNC Park. Jack Wilson also went long between Tike’s bombs and his solo shot was the game winner. Bell, Daryl Ward and Rob Mackowiak each collected two hits. 
• 2004 - C Neil Walker of Pine-Richland HS signed with the Bucs for an estimated $2M. The Pirates first pick (#11 overall), he was the top rated prep catcher in the draft after hitting .657 with 13 home runs during his senior campaign. Walker inked his deal, took in the game after his presser, even getting in some batting practice swings, and the next day flew to Bradenton to begin pro play with GCL Pirates. He caught before converting to 3rd in the minors, and debuted with the Buccos in 2008. The next year he was flipped again, this time to second base, and owned the position for the next half-dozen years in Pittsburgh, batting .272 with 93 HR. 
• 2007 - Nate McLouth doubled twice to drive in four runs and Jack Wilson scored three times as the Bucs held off the Chicago White Sox, 8-7, at PNC Park. Jose Bautista and Xavier Nady each had two hits and two RBI. Matt Capps yielded two runs in the ninth to keep it close but hung on to save Shawn Chacon’s win.

Nate McLouth - 2007 Upper Deck

• 2009 - Andrew McCutchen hit his first MLB homer off future teammate Francisco Liriano of the Minnesota Twins at the Mall of America Field during an 8-2 Buc win. He added another knock to record his sixth multi-hit game in 13 starts. Andy and Adam LaRoche both went yard, the first brother combo to homer in the same game for Pittsburgh since the Waners circled the bases in 1938. Ian Snell won the contest with help from John Grabow and Steven Jackson. 
• 2012 - Pedro Alvarez had a big day at Progressive Field, driving in six runs in a 9-5 win over the Cleveland Indians. El Toro homered twice and doubled, banging his first bomb off future teammate Jeanmar Gomez. Alex Presley also went long in a game won by Tony Watson, the second of five Pirates pitchers. It was Petey’s breakout power year as he homered 30 times.