4/17 Through the 1950s: Roberto's Debut & Rumor Mill; Pelly Pirate; Hans, Russ Sign; Game Tales - Hank's 1st, Gems & Duels, Wrigley & Openers; HBD Bob

• 1902 - Tommy Leach scored the game’s only run in the third inning as Deacon Phillippe won a 1-0 duel against the Cards Stan Yerkes on Opening Day at Robison Field in front of 6,000 fans. Leach singled, went to third after a Redbirds boot and scored when St. Louis tried a tag ‘em out, throw ‘em out DP that was frustrated by the heady baserunning of Jack O’Connor, whose stop-and-go dance between bases eluded the tag. The Bucs were 103-36 that year and took the National League pennant, but there wasn’t a World Series until the following season because of bad blood between the leagues. 
• 1903 - RHP Bob (his first name was John, but he was called by his middle name of Bode) Osborn was born in San Diego, Texas. Osborn was sold by the Cubs to the Pirates after a hot start in late April of 1931 when the Bucs were short on the hill with pitchers Ervin Brame, Remy Kremer and Steve Swetonic out of action. Osborn was a swingman, and the Bucs used him mainly out of the pen. He appeared in 27 games (64-2/3 IP), starting twice and slashing 6-1/5.01. During the off season, Osborn was traded and never played in the majors again. 
• 1908 - Sam Leever tossed a three-hit, 3-0, shutout over the Cardinals at Robison Field to lead the Bucs to a series sweep. More importantly in the long run, though, was the signing of 34-year-old Honus Wagner, who had retired in March. Barney Dreyfuss made him the highest paid player in baseball (and the first to earn five figures) with a $10,000 deal after an initial $6K offer went nowhere, and The Flying Dutchman proved worth every penny. Bill James cited Wagner's 1908 campaign as the greatest single season ever for any player. Wagner hit .354 with 109 RBI in an era when half as many runs were scored as today. James wondered in his 2001 book Historical Baseball Abstract "if you had a Gold Glove shortstop like Wagner, who drove in 218 runs (109 x 2), what would he be worth?” Hans’ salary, btw, remained at $10K per year for the remainder of his career.

Elmer Ponder - photo via RMY Auctions

• 1920 - The Bucs’ Elmer Ponder and the Cards’ Jesse Haines carried a scoreless ballgame into the 13th inning at St. Louis’ Robison Park. The Pirates finally broke the ice with three runs in what proved to be a lucky 13th, driven in by Max Carey/Billy Southworth, and Ponder finished up with an eight-hit goose egg. It was his first full big league season as Ponder was an airman in WW1 who became an aerial ace; Elmer was wounded in action and received the French Croix de la Valeur Militaire (Cross of Military Valor). He’s thought to be the first ballplayer to be awarded with a combat medal in the war. 
• 1923 - The Cubs opened newly remodeled Wrigley Field in front of 33,000 faithful, but the Bucs took the honors, 3-2, on Charlie Grimm’s three-run, bases-loaded double in the fourth. The Pirates only had three hits, but Johnny Morrison made them stand up, working a complete game and giving up just one earned run; all three runs off his mound opponent, Tiny Osborne, were unearned. 
• 1939 - The Pirates trailed, 5-2, on Opening Day before scoring four times in the eighth inning and eventually taking a 7-5 decision from the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field. Gus Suhr led the way for the Pirates by collecting three RBI while Cy Blanton started and hung around long enough to earn the win, with the save by Mace Brown. Suhr and Pep Young each collected three hits. 
• 1940 - RHP Russ Bauers signed his contract on Opening Day for an undisclosed amount, with the papers guessing it was more than Pittsburgh’s original offer but less than his ‘39 salary. Even though he had turned down the Pirates opening bid, Russ was invited to camp, allowing the Pirates to see how he looked and pegging his value on how he performed after coming back from arm woes in 1939 and a winter car accident. His arm appeared OK and he got his deal, but Russ may have come back from his bout with injuries too soon. Bauers only worked 68 innings over the next two years with a 6.49 ERA and 43 walks, was sent to the minors in 1942 and then spent three years in the service. He pitched in the show just two more seasons, posting 43 innings of work in 1946 with the Cubs and a single two-inning outing for the Browns in 1950. 

Russ Bauers - 1940 Play Ball

• 1945 - The Bucs came out on the short end of the stick, losing, 7-6, in 11 innings on Opening Day to the Reds in a game filled with improbabilities. With the Bucs up 2-0 in the fifth and two runners aboard, baserunner Frankie Zak called time to tie his shoe, and got it from the ump. But Reds pitcher Bucky Walters had his back to the play and delivered a pitch to Jim Russell. He knocked out of the park, but it didn’t count. (He followed with an RBI knock and later scored, so no harm done). Next, Cincy’s Dain Clay drilled a grand slam that was his only HR of the year in 700 plate appearances. Finally, the win went to forty-six-year old Hod Lisenbee, who had been out of the majors for the past nine years, after he worked two innings of hitless relief to earn the last W of his career. The next day, Pittsburgh manager Frankie Frisch presented Zak with a pair of spikes that buckled rather than laced up to commemorate his ill-timed time out. The game featured three future Hall of Fame managers - Frisch for Pittsburgh, Bill McKechnie for Cincy and Pirates C Al Lopez, who went on to a 17-year career as skipper for Cleveland and the White Sox after his playing days ended. 
• 1947 - Hank Greenberg connected on his first Pirate homer as the Bucs whupped the Cubs, 7-1, at Wrigley Field. Pirate starter Preacher Roe was on cruise control and didn't allow a hit until the seventh inning. Chicago starter Hank Wyse was victimized by back-to-back boots by SS Lennie Merullo in the seventh inning, allowing the Pirates to plate six unearned runs; the Bucs only had seven hits. 
• 1951 - 25,894 hardy souls braved the snow to watch the Bucs win their Home Opener, 5-4, over the Cards at Forbes Field. Murry Dickson pitched six innings and homered in the win. Wally Westlake also went long while Bill Werle tossed three shutout innings for the save. It also marked the first shooting of live footage for the movie tentatively titled “Angels And The Pirates” (released as “Angels In the Outfield” in October), starring Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh. 
• 1953 - The Pirates claimed 35-year-old infielder Eddie Pellagrini off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds. For a giveaway, Eddie gave the Bucs a solid 1953, batting .253 in 78 games, but faded the following season when he hit .216 in his ninth and final MLB campaign. Pellagrini went on to become the baseball coach at Boston College from 1958 to 1990 and took the Eagles to three College World Series. 

Roberto Clemente - 1958 Topps Classic

• 1955 - Roberto Clemente, a 20-year-old rookie from Carolina, Puerto Rico, made his MLB debut in right field at Forbes Field during a double header (he patrolled center in the nightcap). In his first at bat, Clemente legged out an infield single off the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Johnny Podres, the first step on his journey to 3,000 career hits. Roberto collected two more knocks in the second game, including a double, but the Bucs lost both ends of the twinbill, 10-3 and 3-2. It was phase one of the Bucco rebuild, with guys like Roberto, Dick Groat, Bob Friend, Vern Law and ElRoy Face manning the roster, to be joined the following season by Bill Mazeroski, Bill Virdon and Bob Skinner. Roberto was wearing #13 to start the season; he didn’t get to claim his now-retired #21 until May after OF Earl Smith, who was originally issued the number, was sent to the minors. 
• 1958 - Les Biederman, the Pirates beat guy for the Pittsburgh Press, wrote that the Braves were renewing their push to pry Roberto Clemente away from the Bucs. They made an offer in the spring that GM Joe L. Brown thought was lowball, and the new lure of RHP Bob Buhl (an 18-game winner in 1957 who had several good seasons left), a reliever and a bench piece didn’t change Brown’s mind. As Biederman prophetically noted, “He’s (Clemente) on the doorstep of greatness now and there’s no telling how high he can go.” The Pirates did try the old switch-and-bait by dangling Roman Mejias instead of Roberto, but the Bravos didn't bite.