10/11: WS Matches & Hans Thievery, Playoff Contests; Cannonball's 41st; Clark Deal Nixed; Lynch, Grimes Go; Tracy Hired; Prices Pop; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Shane, Ty, Wayne & Buttercup

• 1885 - OF Lew “Buttercup” Pessano Dickerson was born in Tyaskin, Maryland, and made a brief stop in the City. Dickerson hit .249 while playing five different positions for the Alleghenys in 1883, and during his career played in three different major leagues (The American Association, the National League and the Union Association.) His nickname "Buttercup" was given to him by his Cincinnati Reds teammates during the 1879 season, after the "Little Buttercup" character in Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta H.M.S Pinafore. No, we don’t why; Buttercup in the musical is described as a “bumboat woman.” On the other hand, Dickerson was known as a lush, league-jumper and street hustler, so maybe he was a “bumboat” ballplayer. Also, he’s sometimes referenced as the first Italian ballplayer (he’s a member of the Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame, a gang that apparently doesn’t check ID very well), but it ends up the “Pessano” name associated with Dickerson is actually his given middle name, bestowed to honor Doc Pessano, who delivered him, as was a custom of the era. Ed Abbaticchio is generally recognized as the first paesano in baseball - pro football, too; he was an all-around athlete - who played for the Pirates from 1907-10. 
• 1886 - Lefty Ed “Cannonball” Morris claimed his 41st win of the year by a 4-1 score against the New York Metropolitans at Recreation Park, three days after he had shut them out to open the series. His 41 wins set an Alleghenys/Pirates record and led the American Association that season (Pittsburgh joined the NL the following year), as did his 12 shutouts and 1.032 WHIP. Cannonball also worked 555-⅓ IP in 64 appearances (63 starts and one save) while posting a 2.45 ERA. 

Cannonball Morris - 1886 Allegheny program

• 1900 - Rube Waddell punched out a National League season-high of 12 batters in a 2-1 win over the Chicago Orphans at Exposition Park. He led the senior circuit with a 2.37 ERA and was second with 130 strikeouts in 208-1/3 IP, even though his record was just 8-13. He led the league with fewest hits allowed per nine (7.5), most strikeouts per nine (5.6; no other twirler averaged four) and WHIP (1.107). Rube only pitched twice more for Pittsburgh in 1901 before being sold to the same Chicago Orphans and embarking on a Hall-of-Fame career, mostly based on stints with the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns. 
• 1905 - With the season over, Hans Wagner took his barnstorming team of Buccos through a week-long schedule of local challengers both as a final bow after the campaign and a chance to earn a little beer money before heading home to help carry the troops through the offseason. Other players on the touring team were Claude Ritchey, Tommy Leach, Otis Clymer, Heinie Peitz, George Gibson, Deacon Phillippe, Patsy Flaherty, Otto Knabe and one or two other Pirates tagalongs. This date opened the postseason tour with a game in Homestead. 
• 1909 - Honus Wagner became the first player to steal three bases in a World Series contest as Pittsburgh beat Detroit at Bennett Park, 8-6, in Game Three of the Fall Classic to go up two games to one. The next player to swipe three sacks was the LA Dodgers Willie Davis, who matched the feat in 1965 (the Cards’ Lou Brock in 1967 and the Rays’ BJ Upton in 2008 also scored the hat trick). Nick Maddox struggled on the hill but went the distance for the win, buttressed by a five-run first inning outburst by the Bucs against Ed Summers; all the opening runs were unearned as Motown made three errors in the inning. It was a sloppy affair as 11 of the 14 runs were unearned; Motown had five boots and the Bucs committed a pair. Honus Wagner had three hits with three RBI, and Bobby Byrne, Tommy Leach and Bill Abstein each added two more knocks. 

Hans - 2017 Topps Archive

• 1912 - RHP Wayne Osborne was born in Watsonville, California. Osborne made seven MLB mound appearances; two of them were with the Bucs in 1935, giving up a run in an inning and two-thirds while also getting a call to pinch-run once. He did have a long professional career, starting right out of high school in 1931 as a teen and tossing until he was 30 with 13 campaigns in the Pacific Coast League spent with Hollywood, Mission and Portland to his credit. Old age didn’t catch up to him; his ball playing days ended when he was drafted in 1943. It was a surprise call to arms by Uncle Sam - Osborne was missing a finger on his pitching hand, which he used to his advantage in mastering the curveball per Donald Wells in “Baseball’s Western Front.” 
• 1925 - The Big Train, Walter Johnson, shut out the Pirates, 4-0, on six hits at Griffith Stadium to give the Senators a three games to one lead in the World Series. Washington scored all four runs in the second inning off Emil Yde, the big blow being a three-run homer by Goose Goslin, with Joe Harris adding another long ball. Johnson was in complete control; only one Pirate runner reached second all day as the Sens moved within a victory of defending their World Championship. 
• 1934 - It was the end of an era as the Pirates released 40-year-old RHP Burleigh Grimes, who was in the third Bucco stint of his 19-year MLB journey, slashing 48-42-5/3.26 in his five Pirates seasons The Hall of Famer was the last player to legally toss a spitter, one of 17 hurlers exempted when the pitch was outlawed in 1921. He went on to a long career as a coach, manager and scout. 
• 1966 - The Pirates released one of baseball’s elite pinch hitters, Jerry Lynch, ending a 13-year MLB career that was spent evenly split between the Bucs and Cincinnati (he started and ended in Pittsburgh). He had 116 pinch hits during his tenure (.263 BA), which ranks him 10th all-time, and is third on the all-time pinch hit home run list (he was first when he retired) with 18. 

Richie Hebner - 1971 Arco promo

• 1971 - In a game that was delayed a day by rain, Brooks Robinson set a World Series record by reaching base five consecutive times (three hits, two walks) against the Pirates as Baltimore won Game 2 by an 11-3 count. Bob Johnson and Bob Moose were hit hard at Memorial Stadium - the Orioles scored nine times in the fourth and fifth frames and belted three homers during the laugher. The Bucco runs came in the eighth on one swing, Richie Hebner’s three-run shot. 
• 1972 - Bob Moose's wild pitch in the ninth inning allowed George Foster to score the winning run with two outs as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Bucs, 4-3, at Riverfront Stadium to capture the NLCS. The Pirates had entered the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead but couldn’t hold on. Johnny Bench's lead-off solo homer against Dave Giusti tied the game before Foster’s scamper won it. Cincy pitching was the difference. Pittsburgh led the NL with a .274 team BA, but hit just .190 during the NLCS, scoring only 10 runs in the final four games. The Reds lost the World Series to the Oakland A’s in seven games. It was also the last game ever played by Roberto Clemente, who went 1-for-3. 
• 1977 - IF Ty Wigginton was born in San Diego. He came over from the Mets as part of the Kris Benson deal and played for the Pirates from 2004-05, primarily at third, but hit just .237 and was fairly immobile at the hot corner. Wiggy played 12 seasons before his last game in 2013, making stops at eight different cities. Ty’s now a high school coach, following in his dad’s footsteps. 
• 1979 - Pittsburgh pushed a run across in the ninth to knot the World Series with Baltimore at a game apiece, taking a 3-2 win at Memorial Stadium. Bill Madlock and Ed Ott drove in second inning runs while Eddie Murray homered and doubled to plate a pair. Jim Palmer and Bert Blyleven started the game and left it to the bullpens to decide. Both teams left the bases loaded in the seventh. Bill Robinson singled to start the ninth against Tippy Martinez, and Matt Alexander came in to run, only to be caught stealing. With Don Stanhouse on the mound, Bill Madlock drove one deep to center, but it was a loud out. The Bucs kept on, though, as Ed Ott hit a ground ball single, Phil Garner drew a four pitch walk, and pinch hitter Manny Sanguillen singled to right for the lead. Don Robinson got the win and Kent Tekulve the save, striking out a pair of O’s in the ninth. 

Shane Youman - 2007 Fleer Rookie

• 1979 - LHP Shane Youman was born in New Iberia, Louisiana. Shane made 23 appearances (11 starts) in 2006-07 for Pittsburgh with a line of 3-7/5.13, and that was the only action of his MLB career. He spent the next four years pitching in the indie leagues, then another four campaigns on the mound in Korea, while spending some winters tossing for Latin clubs. He returned to pitch in Korea in 2018 at age 37, and now coaches high school players in Texas. 
• 1983 - Pirates beatman Charley Feeney of the Post Gazette wrote that the Bucs and Giants had submitted a big late-August trade proposal for league approval, but were denied by National League President Chub Feeney because of a rules violation. Per the article, the Buccos were going to send 1B Jason Thompson, 2B Johnnie Ray, LHP Rod Scurry and OF Lee Lacy to the Bay for OF Jack Clark and lefty reliever Gary LaVelle. GM Pete Peterson was looking for a power bat to replace OF Dave Parker, who was in the walk year of his contract (The Cobra signed with the Reds after the season). The catch? The Pirates wanted two unspecified players to stay with the team until the end of the season as the Bucs were in a pennant race at the time (they ended up in second place after the smoke cleared), but that ran counter to a reg that forbid a club from keeping players on their original team after they were announced as part of a deal. The talks had begun back in June, with San Francisco seeking 2B Denny Gonzalez and C Tony Pena as part of the original package. 
• 1992 - The Pirates kept their season alive against the Atlanta Braves at Three Rivers Stadium, scoring four times in the first inning to chase Steve Avery and then coasting behind a three-hitter by Bob Walk to a 7-1 win. Lloyd McClendon and Jeff King each had three knocks while the Bucs drilled five doubles among their 13 hits. The Pirates returned to Atlanta down three games to two in the NLCS. Deion Sanders flew to Pittsburgh for the game after playing for the Miami Dolphins that afternoon, looking to become the first player to take part in two pro games in different sports on the same day, but even in a blowout loss, Neon Deion didn’t get into the lineup for the Bravos. It was also Barry Bonds' last home game as a Pittsburgh Pirate. He went 2-for-5, doubled, stole a base, scored twice and drove in a run after a first-inning ovation from the 52,929 fans. It was also the last playoff game in Pittsburgh for 21 years until the 2013 NLDS against the Cards at PNC. 

Bob Walk - 1992 Donruss

• 2000 - As expected, ticket prices for the new PNC Park went up from the TRS days. The majority of $20 TRS seats jumped to $23-$25 and overall prices ranged from $9-$35, with most fees going up $2-$5. The Pirates prices were still lower than most of the new parks, and the FO cited a view closer to the action and more comfortable seating as the reason for the hike. 
• 2005 - The Pirates hired Jim Tracy as manager, signing him to a three-year deal a week after he left the Dodgers top job after a four-year run. It was the first time in two decades that Pittsburgh went outside the organization to select its field boss, since the hiring of Jim Leyland from the White Sox. Tracy lasted two years in Pittsburgh (135-189) before being axed, then signed on as a bench coach at Colorado and replaced Clint Hurdle as skipper of the Rox in 2009. Clint returned the favor by becoming the Pirates manager in 2011. May the circle be unbroken...