8/27 Through the 1950s: Tiny's Last Start; Handy Man Higbe; Braves Shoot Blanks; NLASG; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Mike, Cholly, Eddie & David

• 1875 - RHP David Wright was born in Dennison, Ohio. He had a slim MLB resume, working one game for the Bucs in 1895 and giving up six runs in two innings featuring a pair of wild pitches, then tossing a barely more successful outing for the Chicago Colts two years later. 
• 1887 - The Alleghenys gave up the most runs in club history when they were bombed by the Boston Beaneaters 28-14 at North Side's Recreation Park. It was the sixth season of the franchise and its first in the NL, with the Alleghenys finishing sixth with a record of 55–69. 
• 1894 - IF Eddie Mulligan was born in St. Louis. Mulligan had a long minor league career with short MLB interludes. He made his big league debut with the 1915-16 Chicago Cubs, then returned to the minors. In 1921, he joined the Chicago White Sox after the Black Sox scandal and after two seasons there, he went back to the minors with the San Francisco Seals. Five years later in 1928, Mulligan spent his final season in the majors as a utility infielder for the Pirates, batting .233. Eddie returned to the Pacific Coast League for another decade. Overall, he spent 17 years in the PCL for eight teams, banging out 2,574 hits. He was elected to the PCL Hall of Fame and was later recognized when honored with the King of Baseball award given by Minor League Baseball.
  
•  1903 - IF Charlie “Cholly” Engle was born in New York City. Cholly had a couple of cups of coffee in the show, then got his only real taste of the bigs with Pittsburgh in 1930 when he got into 67 games, playing 2B, SS & 3B while hitting .264. Cholly played in the minors for eight years after that, then managed on the farm through the 1950 season. Engle went on to run a bar/restaurant in San Antonio for 25 years after his baseball days. 

Max Carey - 1916 TSN

• 1917 - In the fourth inning in New York at the Polo Grounds, Max Carey beat out a bunt and moved to second on a single by Tony Boeckel. Both runners stole on the next pitch from Rube Benton and when Boekel and the Giants 2B Buck Herzog got jumbled up at second, Carey steamed home before they could untangle themselves. Wilbur Cooper made that one run stand up to top Benton and the G-Men, 1-0. It was Carey’s 13th swipe of home; he would set the National League standard of 33 steals of home during his career. The loss didn’t slow down the Gotham nine, which won the NL title with 98 victories. The Pirates went the opposite way, winning just 51 times and finishing in the cellar. 
• 1925 - The Bucs tossed their second straight shutout against Boston at Braves Field, winning 1-0. The Pirates Vic Aldridge and Boston’s Larry Benton traded four-hitters; Pie Traynor drove in Eddie Moore with the game’s only run with a bases-loaded walk. The day before, Lee Meadows threw a nine-hit, 2-0, whitewash of the Braves, and did it without striking out a soul. 
• 1936 - The Pirates beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 6-3, at Forbes Field. The highlight came after the game, when losing pitcher Van Lingle Mungo, in a snit because of the four errors the Dodgers made that led to four unearned runs, left the team and returned to Brooklyn (he got over it and tossed through 1941 for the Dodgers). The righty would later become famous for another 15 minutes when the 1969 song "Van Lingle Mungo" by Dave Frishberg hit the charts. 
• 1939 - Game Two of the Negro League East-West All-Star game was held at Yankee Stadium. The East won, 10-2, behind Homestead Gray C Josh Gibson’s four RBI. Teammate Buck Leonard also started. Held in addition to the All Star Game played in Chicago each year, the second ASG gave fans an added opportunity to eyeball the action in the pre-TV days. 

Josh Gibson - Helmar Big League Brew

• 1948 - The Phillies lost on a walkoff homer by Bucco pitcher Kirby Higbe. Kirby went long in the ninth frame at Forbes Field to carry himself and the club on his back to earn a 4-3 win after working a scoreless inning of relief behind Elmer Riddle. It was the last of three career homers for Higbe. 
• 1949 - Pitcher Ernie “Tiny” Bonham won his last MLB start by an 8-2 count over Philadelphia. The ten year vet had complained of stomach problems, and died September 15th at the age of 36 after surgery performed the week before at Presbyterian Hospital uncovered intestinal cancer. His wife Ruth was the first baseball widow to collect a death benefit under the new player pension plan, receiving $90 a month for the next 10 years. 
• 1952 - IF Mike Edwards was born in Fort Lewis, Washington. Mike was drafted four times, finally signing with the Bucs in 1974 as a seventh-round selection from UCLA. He got his first taste of the bigs with Pittsburgh briefly in 1977 before he was shipped to the Oakland A’s as part of the Manny Sanguillen trade. He had a good year in ‘78, but 1980 would be his last MLB campaign. Edwards closed out his career in 1984, playing in Mexico and Japan.