7/10 Through the 1960s: George 2+5; Eastern Division Formed; Roberto, Ralph & ASGs; Game Tales; HBD Gene & Link

• 1865 - IF Bobby “Link” Lowe was born in Pittsburgh and raised in the New Castle area. He played in the show for 18 years with a .273 lifetime BA and was the first to hit four homers in a game, but Link was barely a blip on the home team’s radar - he got into one game as a pinch hitter and K’ed in 1904 before being sold to Detroit. The 38-year-old Link was near the end by that time, and although he played through 1907 with the Tigers, he only managed a .206 average during that span. He retired to coach in the minors and college ranks, later adding scouting to his resume. His nickname was a nod to the Great Emancipator; Lowe was born a few weeks after president Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and was given the middle name Lincoln in Abe’s honor. 
• 1901 - The Boston Beaneaters collected 15 hits in 12 innings against Pittsburgh, but failed to score in a 1-0 loss at Exposition Field, setting a record for most hits with no runs. The Pirates got four hits off Bill Dineen, who lost to Jack Chesbro to cap a four-game sweep of the Bostonians. Pittsburgh won thanks to a couple of Beaneater boo-boos. Honus Wagner reached second on an error, went to third on a bunt single and scored when Dineen’s pickoff toss to first went awry. 
• 1908 - At Exposition Park, the Bucs overcame a 4-0 New York Giants lead to win, 7-6, on Tommy Leach’s ninth-inning, walkoff homer to center. Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke and Chief Wilson had triples for the Pirates while Sam Leever picked up a save of Lefty Leifield’s victory. 

Tommy Leach - Helmar Cabinet

• 1929 - The Pirates mashed the Philadelphia Phillies, 15-9, at the Baker Bowl. Pittsburgh hit five homers and the Phils banged four. The teams flexed their muscles with regularity; there were homers hit in eight of the nine innings. George Grantham had a pair of long balls and drove in five runs for the Bucs, with Pie Traynor, Lloyd Waner and pitcher Fred Fussell adding solo shots 
• 1934 - 3B Pie Traynor, SS Arky Vaughan and RF Paul “Big Poison” Waner represented the Bucs in the second All-Star game held at the Polo Grounds. Traynor went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, an RBI and stolen base (he became the first and only player to swipe home in an ASG), while Waner and Vaughan both went 0-for-2 in the National League’s 9-7 victory. The contest is remembered best for Carl Hubbard’s mound mastery - he struck out five future Hall of Famers in a row, sitting down Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons & Joe Cronin. 
• 1936 - The Bucs dropped a 10-inning, 9-6, decision to the Phils at Forbes Field thanks to OF Chuck Klein. The Hoosier Hammer banged four homers, two of which landed on the right field roof, off three different Pirate pitchers and drove in six runs to almost single-handedly beat the Buccos. His three-run homer in the 10th off Bill Swift sealed the deal for Philadelphia. Paul Waner had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run while Gus Suhr added two more knocks, good for a pair of RBI to lead the Pirates. The Bucs remembered - Klein played for Pittsburgh in 1939. 
• 1940 - SS Gene Alley was born in Richmond, Virginia. He played his entire 11-year career (1963–73) with the Pirates. A modest hitter - his BA was .254 - he won a pair of Gold Gloves, was twice selected an All-Star, and set the MLB DP record for middle infielders with Bill Mazeroski in 1966 with 161. Shoulder and knee problems slowed and ultimately ended his career. 

Gene Alley - 1971 Pirates Picture Pack

• 1943 - Pittsburgh surrendered a franchise record for most runs given up in the modern era when the Brooklyn Dodgers spanked them 23-6 at Forbes Field. As for motivation, the Dodgers only had two players willing to suit up before the game after Leo Durocher suspended pitcher Bobo Newsome. Da Bums, led by ex-Buc Arky Vaughan, were ready to walk out in support of Newsome until GM Branch Rickey stepped in and calmed the seas, leaving Brooklyn to take out its frustrations on the Buccos. Vaughan despised Leo The Lip so much that he sat out the next three seasons at his ranch and didn’t return to Brooklyn until Durocher left. 
• 1943 - Homestead Grays co-owner (and numbers king) Rufus "Sonnyman" Jackson was briefly jailed after a confrontation at Forbes Field with a Mexican baseball agent - actually, the Mexican diplomatic consul AJ Guina - trying to raid his roster. As quoted by Mark Ribowsky in "A Complete History of the Negro Leagues," Jackson said “I don’t care if they send Pancho Villa, they’re not getting my ballplayers.” Sonnyman eventually fended off the overtures and kept his players. He ran the team himself after team co-owner Cum Posey's death in 1946, winning the last pennant in Negro National League history in 1948. 
• 1951 - Exploding for a record four homers, the National League trounced the American League, 8-3, at the All-Star Game at Detroit’s Briggs Stadium. Pirate OF Ralph Kiner lived up to his “Mr. Swat” image, connecting on a long ball for the third year in a row, a MLB All Star record. 
• 1956 - RHP Bob Friend and 1B Dale Long were the Pirate All-Stars at Griffith Stadium for the National League’s 7-3 victory. Starter Friend got the win thanks to triple threes - 3 IP, 3 hits, 3 K (Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Harry “Suitcase” Simpson) - and without much help from Long, who struck out twice in two at-bats. The first-time All Star Friend (he ended up in three ASGs) spent the last six innings on the bench as a fanboy, shooting a home movie of the day. 

Roberto Clemente - 1962 Topps

• 1962 - Led by OF Roberto Clemente’s three hits, the National League beat the American League, 3-1, in the first of season’s two All-Star games, this one held at Washington’s DC Stadium. SS Dick Groat went 1-for-3, scored and turned a DP while 2B Bill Mazeroski was 0-for-2. 
• 1968 - The NL announced that it would split into two divisions next season. The Eastern Division would consist of Chicago, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. It was the beginning of the Divisional Era, where the winners of each division would compete against each other in a League Championship Series to determine the World Series opponents.