3/20: Roberto Hall of Famer; SI Clint; Pena Hurt; Max Released; Grays Add Josh & Judy; RIP Jughandle Johnny; HBD Blas, Rick, Walter, Tom & Pete

• 1864 - 3B Pete McShannic was born in Pittsburgh. Fittingly, he played his only MLB season for the hometown Pittsburgh Alleghenys in 1888, batting .194 before closing out his career in 1890 in the minors. During his career and into retirement, McShannic was also a portrait and scenic artist. When his paintings failed to pay the rent (“starving artist” syndrome existed even in those days), he began working in a factory but continued painting throughout his life. 
• 1882 - IF Tom Stankard was born in Waltham, Massachusetts. He played college football and baseball at Holy Cross, compiling a .412 BA for the baseball team while also a gridiron captain who was named to Walter Camp’s All-America Team, the first A-A in Crusader history. In July of 1904, he appeared in two games with the Pirates, going 0-for-2. It was his only MLB action, though he spent 11 seasons in the minors, almost all in eastern leagues, before hanging up his mitt. 
• 1887 - C Walter Schmidt was born in London, Arizona. He donned the tools of ignorance for Pittsburgh from 1916-24, hitting .257. In 1921 Walter led all NL catchers in fielding percentage with a .986 average in 111 games behind the plate. Schmidt went through the unusual transaction of buying his own release from the San Francisco Seals after the 1915 season for $3K and then negotiated a deal with the Bucs. He took that road because he suspected that the Seals had turned down previous offers made by MLB clubs and didn't want to miss the boat to the show. His older brother, Charles “Boss” Schmidt, was also a big league catcher for the Detroit Tigers from 1906-11. 

Walter Schmidt - 1922 Pgh Press image

• 1937 - The Homestead Grays added future Hall of Famers Josh Gibson and Judy Johnson to its roster for $2,500 in cash and a pair of journeymen after Pittsburgh Crawfords owner Gus Greenlee was forced to unload his stars as salary dumps. While the amount seems paltry now, the deal was thought to be the largest cash transaction in the history of the Negro Leagues. It wasn’t enough to save Gus. By the end of 1938, the Crawford’s Greenlee field was razed to give way to the Bedford Dwellings housing project, and Greenlee sold the Crawfords to Toledo businessmen (the team folded after two more seasons), leaving the Grays as the only pro black team in town. 
• 1946 - The Pirates released 35-year-old RHP Max Butcher. After a so-so five-year career with Brooklyn and Philly, the Pirates got him during the 1939 campaign for Gus Suhr. Max gave them seven pretty good years, slashing 67-60-5/3.34. But age and the end of the war, which freed up a mob of ballplayers from the service, did him in. He finished the year in the minors and his pro career came to an end. 
• 1952 - RHP Rick Langford was born in Farmville, Virginia. Signed by the Pirates in 1973 out of Florida State, he worked briefly for the club in 1976, getting in 12 games with an 0-1/6.26 line before being shipped to the A’s as part of the Phil Garner trade in early 1977 (it was big - the Pirates traded Langford, Tony Armas, Doug Bair, Dave Giusti, Doc Medich and Mitchell Page to the Athletics for Phil Garner, Chris Batton, and Tommy Helms). He went on to have a solid 10-year career with Oakland, once winning 19 games and leading the AL in complete games in back-to-back seasons while tossing over 200 frames four times. In 1980, he threw 22 consecutive complete games while piling up over 290 innings, but an elbow injury in 1983 caused by a liner through the box ended his effective pitching days. He retired in 1988 and has been a pitching coach of varying titles with the Blues Jays since 1996, serving at the MLB level a couple of times. 

Blas Minor - 1994 Ultra (reverse)

• 1966 - RHP Blas Minor was born in Merced, California. Working out of the Buc bullpen from 1992-94, he had an 8-7-3 record for Pittsburgh with a 4.76 ERA. Minor also pitched for the Houston Astros, New York Mets & Seattle Mariners, and got to live out every boy’s childhood fantasy - after being a major league ballplayer, he retired to become a fireman. 
• 1966 - “Jughandle Johnny” Morrison passed away at age 80. Morrison picked up his nickname because it was said that his curveball hooked like a jug handle. He spent from 1920-27 with the Bucs and was a member of two World Series squads, the victorious 1925 nine (no decisions w/2.89 ERA in three outings) and runner up 1927 club (he said he was hurt in mid-season, left the team and got suspended for the year in July, effectively ending his Pirates career). Jughandle led the National League in shutouts twice as a Bucco, in 1921-22. He slashed 89-71-14/3.52 as a Bucco before closing out his career in Brooklyn in 1930. 
• 1973 - In a special election held by the BBWAA, Roberto Clemente was overwhelmingly voted into the Hall of Fame. The Board of Directors had waived the five year eligibility period and he was inducted on August 6th as the first Hispanic player to enter Cooperstown, having posted a .317 lifetime BA and earned 12 All-Star nods. Roberto was a trailblazer as the first Latin American/Caribbean player to win a World Series as a starting player (1960), to receive an NL MVP Award (1966), and to earn a World Series MVP Award (1971). 
• 1978 - The KC Royals Clint Hurdle made the cover of Sports Illustrated as the poster boy for the article "This Year's Phenom." He did well enough in ‘78, hitting .264 w/seven long balls and a 108 OPS+. The corner IF/OF utility guy cobbled together a four-team, 10-year career with a .259 BA/106 OPS+ before leaving MLB as a player following the 1987 campaign and eventually going on to manage in Colorado and Pittsburgh. He now works in Colorado’s front office. 

Alejandro Pena - 1995 Pacific

• 1993 - After signing a $1.35M contract in December, 33-year-old RHP Alejandro Pena ended up with surgery due to a torn ligament in his elbow, although his arm had passed an earlier physical by Doc James Andrews after a bout of tendonitis. Pena made things right by restructuring his deal over two years, reducing the guaranteed money and loading up on incentives, both for undisclosed amounts. He never recovered his mojo with Pittsburgh, missing ‘93 and working just a couple of dozen games in ‘94, going 3-2-7/5.02. Pena was released in June, but had a last hurrah with Atlanta in 1995, going 2-1 in eight outings and giving up one run in seven frames during the postseason. Alejandro retired after a final sip of coffee with Florida in 1996 to close a 15-year career. 
• 2013 - The Pirates got sweet-fielding vet IF John McDonald, 38, from Arizona on a conditional deal. The Bucs got off easy if the condition had anything to do with his hitting; he went 2-for-31 in Pittsburgh. Mac was shipped to Cleveland in June, then Philly and finally to Boston, all by August 31st. He finished out his 16-year career the next season with the Angels of Anaheim.