7/2 Through the 1970s: Kelley Joins; Thomas POTM; Scoring Streak; 1st Fireworks; In The Pinch; Game Tales; HBD The Mayor, Tony, Fred & Ed

• 1859 - OF Ed Beecher was born in Guilford, Connecticut. Ed began his short but active MLB career with the Alleghenys in 1887, batting .210. He played for four years with five teams - Pittsburgh, the Washington Nationals, Buffalo Bisons, Philadelphia Athletics and Washington Statesmen - in three different major leagues, the American Association, National League, and the Players Association. He got into 283 games as a career reserve with a lifetime .269 BA. 
• 1864 - C and utilityman Fred Carroll was born in Sacramento, California. In his seven years (1885-91) with Pittsburgh teams, he played for the Alleghenys, the outlaw Burghers and the Pirates, hitting .284 over his career. Fred set a major league record with nine hits in a doubleheader on July 5th, 1886, against the Baltimore Orioles and was the first Pittsburgh player to hit for the cycle on May 2nd, 1887, versus the Detroit Wolverines. A bit quirky, at the beginning of the 1887 season Carroll buried his pet monkey, which had served as an unofficial team mascot for the squad, under home plate at Recreation Park in a pre-game ceremony per local Bucco lore. 
• 1889 - The Pittsburgh Press front page headline poked some fun at the “Poor Phillies” as Pittsburgh took their fifth straight win from their cross-state rivals by a 10-5 score. The Alleghenys scored nine times in the last two innings on six hits (five singles and a double), abetted by two walks, two “muffs” and two “wild throws,” per the Press. Fred Carroll and Jocko Fields had three hits each and Harry Staley got the win in front of 1,500 fans at Exposition Park. 

Joe Kelley - 1980 Perez/Steele Hall of Fame Collection

• 1892 - The Pirates bought the contract of minor league OF Joe Kelley from Omaha. Joe was a 20-year-old who had a cup of coffee with the Boston Beaneaters (Braves) in 1891. Kelley hit a lackluster .239 and in early September was traded, with cash, to the Baltimore Orioles for OF George Van Haltren. Kelley ended up in the Hall of Fame after 17 campaigns with a .317 BA while Van Haltren, another excellent player, stayed through 1893, hitting .338, and then was sold to the New York Giants where GVH played for a decade and hit .321. 
• 1925 - The Bucs edged the Cards, 2-1, at Forbes Field as Tom Sheehan outpitched Dolf Luque. Kiki Cuyler tripled home Max Carey and then was plated by Clyde Barnhart in the sixth inning for the Pirates scores. It marked the last stand of a NL record 150-game scoring streak by the Buccos that began on July 4th, 1924 when the Reds shut them out the next day, 8-0. 
• 1927 - Pittsburgh scored twice in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings to beat the Reds, 7-6, at Forbes Field after trailing 6-1 after six frames. The clinching blow was Clyde Barnhart’s two-run, walkoff homer to left field in the ninth inning off Art Nehf. Mike Cvengros, the Pirates third twirler of the day, tossed six shutout innings of relief and was rewarded with the win. 
• 1949 - The Chicago Cubs and particularly Andy Pafko had a bad day at Wrigley Field, losing, 8-3, to the Pirates. Pafko hit into a Rube Goldberg bases-loaded triple play in the third inning. He was called out in the dugout after Pete Castiglione at third knocked down his liner (actually, it popped out of his mitt), tagged the runner at third, then stepped on the base for the force. In the confusion, he then threw the ball to home, and the catcher went to first for the force on Pafko, who thought his drive had been caught cleanly and was wandering to the bench. After the umpires had a confab (“A crazy quilt affair that had to be unraveled by Umpire-in-Chief Lou Jorda,” per the Pittsburgh Press), the calls stood. Ralph Kiner hit his 20th homer as Tiny Bonham picked up the win. 

Tony Armas - 1977 Topps Rookies

• 1953 - OF Tony Armas was born in Puerto Piritu, Venezuela. The Pirates signed Armas in 1971 just before his 18th birthday and he spent six seasons in the minors before he got a September call-up in 1976, appearing in four games and going 2-for-6. He was traded in the off-season as part of the Phil Garner deal and developed into one of the AL’s top sluggers, leading the league in HRs twice and RBIs once playing for Oakland, Boston and California. He played for 13 seasons in the junior circuit, hitting 22+ dingers for six straight years and earning two All-Star slots. Tony then continued his career in Venezuela and continued to rake; he now coaches in the Venezuelan League. Tony is a member of the Venezuelan and Caribbean Baseball Halls of Fame. His son, Tony Armas Jr., pitched for 10 years in the majors, making a Bucco stop in 2007. 
• 1958 - 3B Frank Thomas was named the National League Player of the Month for June. The 29-year-old had been named to his third All-Star team and hit .275 with seven homers and 29 RBI during June. This was the first year for the award; Willie Mays had won the initial honor in April and Stan Musial was next in May. Both cooled off as neither one got a POTM vote in June. 
• 1961 - In the eighth inning, pinch hitters Johnny Logan, Rocky Nelson and Smoky Burgess banged out consecutive hits, a Pirate record, to prime a four-run rally that led to a 7-6 win over the SF Giants at Forbes Field in the opener of a twin bill. Hal Smith led the way with three RBI. The Bucs swept easily, rolling, 9-0, in the nitecap behind Bobby Shantz’s five-hitter and three RBI each from Roberto Clemente and The Tiger, Don Hoak. The Pirates overcame a pair of pretty fair pitchers, beating Mike McCormack and Juan Marichal. 

Al McBean - 1968 Topps

• 1968 - The Mets scored a first-inning run off Al McBean, and that would be it as the Bucs eked out a 2-1 decision at Shea Stadium. Pittsburgh knotted the score in the sixth frame when Willie Stargell opened with a double off Dick Selma and came around on a Billy Maz knock. The game-winner was thanks to a ninth-inning Met miscue. With two outs and Donn Clendenon on second base, Manny Mota rolled one to short; Bud Harrelson booted the ball and Clendenon came home. ElRoy Face came in to work a 1-2-3 ninth frame to save the Pirates’ win, the Bucs fifth straight. McBean earned the victory, tossing five-hit ball with seven strikeouts. 
• 1974 - 1B Sean Casey was born in Willingboro Township, New Jersey and raised in Upper St. Clair. Casey played 12 years in the show and made a stop in Pittsburgh in 2006, batting .296, lasting until the deadline when the Pirate wheelers-and-dealers moved him to the Tigers. Sean is known as “The Mayor” because of his affability - no foe nor fan he’s run across has ever been given the silent treatment by Casey - and the time he’s dedicated to community causes. He now is with the MLB Network and is busy on the speaker’s circuit. 
• 1976 - Bill Robinson’s pinch-hit homer game in the 10th inning gave the Pirates a 10-9 win over Philadelphia, fittingly on the first ever Fireworks Night at TRS. The Zambelli’s didn’t provide the only boomers. Robinson’s blast was one of three home runs for the Bucs as Willie Stargell connected in the first inning and Richie Hebner went deep in the eighth. The Bucs almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, blowing an early 6-0 lead before long-balling to the win.