- 1882 - 2B George Strief hit a solo homer to lead off the top of the third inning against the Red Stockings during a 7-3 loss at the Bank Street Grounds in Cincinnati. It was the Alleghenys second game as a member of the then-major league American Association and Strief’s homer was the first in franchise history (caveat: the Pirates don’t officially begin its history until 1887 when the Alleghenys joined the National League, putting the club’s first five years in baseball limbo). Strief would hit five long balls, two while with Pittsburgh, in his five-year, seven-team career (he played for four different squads in 1884 in three different big leagues - the AA, Union Association and NL).
- 1899 - OF Jack McCarthy hit a ball that went through an open gate in the Exposition Park outfield wall, and a hometown fan shut it before Louisville’s fielder could get there to give McCarthy a gift three-run homer in Pittsburgh’s 7-6 win against the Louisville Colonels. The league frowned on the helping hand and ordered a replay of the game, though it was never made up - both clubs were middle-of-the-pack finishers and the game had no influence on the standings.
- 1903 - Longtime Pirate co-owner and big league crooner Harry “Bing” Crosby was born in Tacoma, Washington. He became a minority owner during the John Galbreath era; he and Galbreath knew one another from the horsey circuit. Crosby, who held his stake from 1946-77, taped the Pirates 1960 Game Seven win against the Yankees off TV for the only nine-inning video of the classic (he was too nervous to watch in person) and also helped in the signing of Bucco great Vern Law out of high school. Bing had a long-time love of baseball, playing in high school and for a year at Gonzaga University before show biz beckoned.
- 1909 - The Bucs whipped Chicago‚ 9-2, at the West Side Grounds. Honus Wagner went 5-for-6 during the game, scoring three times and stealing three bases to help earn Vic Willis the victory. He was repeating what he did the day before, also going 5-for-6 in a 6-0 victory over the Cubs. The Pittsburgh Press wrote “Hans Wagner was the shining star of the game. The other Pirates followed and the slaughtery of the Cubs is something awful to record.” Chicago was strong, winning 104 games and finishing second in the National League, 6-1/2 games off the Pirate pace.
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| Honus Wagner - 1909 Pittsburgh Press image |
- 1923 - Scout Elmer “Dutch” Gray was born in Dormont. He attended South Hills HS and after an Army stint played five years of minor league ball. Gray then went into scouting, first with the St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles and then with the Cincinnati Reds (1967-1984). He inked Ken Griffey Sr., giving Griffey's brother $25 for equipment for Ken; Griffey would later say he signed for $15, as his brother made off with a ten spot. Elmer then joined the Pirates as scouting director, a role he held from 1984-1989 when he became director of operations. He remained with the Pirates in different roles through 2012. As scouting director for Pittsburgh, he helped draft Barry Bonds, Tim Wakefield, Jeff King, Moises Alou, Orlando Merced and Stan Belinda per BR Bullpen.
- 1927 - Paul Waner went 3-for-4 with a triple, walk, three runs scored and four RBI as the Pirates outlasted the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-10, at Forbes Field. Earl Smith had three hits, including two homers, to add three RBI to the pot and Glenn Wright also had three knocks and plated three times to give Ray Kremer, the Pirates fourth pitcher, the win. After the game, the festivities continued with a testimonial dinner for manager Bill McKechnie at the William Penn Hotel. The speakers for the event ran the gamut: John K. Tener (Governor of Pennsylvania and former NL president), Branch Rickey (then a Redbirds exec), and Samuel E. Watters (secretary of the Pirates) were at the head table.
- 1928 - Ray Kremer lost his first home start of the season to the Boston Braves at Forbes Field, 5-4, in 11 innings. The loss ended the MLB record streak of 22 straight home victories by the righty dating back to 1926. Kremer played for the Pirates for a decade, winning 143 games with a 3.76 ERA for two World Series clubs and claiming 15 victories or more for eight straight seasons
- 1938 - C Chris Cannizzaro was born in Oakland, California. The good glove reserve backstop played 13 years in the majors, including a 1968 stop in Pittsburgh after a trade with Detroit. He started 18 games here and hit .241 before he was sent to SD in the off season with Tommie Sisk for Ron Davis and Bobby Klaus. In 1975, he served as player-coach for the Hawaii Islanders and a year later hung up his mitt as he was hired as the bullpen coach by the Braves, lasting until October, 1978. Cannizzaro then signed with the California Angels as a coach and for three seasons, he managed in the California League before retiring to his San Diego home in 1981. From there, he was active in local charity events and helped coach at the high school/college level.
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| Al Gionfriddo - undated photo Main Line Autographs |
- 1947 - The Pirates traded OF Al Gionfriddo plus $100,000 to Dodgers for pitchers Kirby Higbe, Cal McLish, Hank Behrman, Dixie Howell and IF Gene Mauch. Gionfriddo was best remembered for his 1947 World Series grab of a Joe DiMaggio blast for Brooklyn and Red Barber’s call that he was going “back back back back back” for the catch, which Chris Berman of ESPN later adopted as his home run call. Some analysts believe that Branch Rickey, then the Dodgers’ GM, made the deal to send a message to the Brooklyn players about his support for Jackie Robinson by shipping some gripers to Pittsburgh, though he may have also just been housecleaning. Whatever the thinking, none of the players other than Higbe had much impact with the Pirates.
- 1952 - The Pirates sent LHP Bill Werle to St. Louis for three-time All Star RHP Red Munger. At 33, Munger was nearing the end of the road after nine seasons. He went 0-3/7.18 in four starts (five outings), was sent to the minors for three seasons, and in 1956 returned for a last hurrah, going 3-4-1/4.04 out of the pen and as a spot starter. Werle became a full-time reliever and made 38 appearances for the Cards and BoSox, ending his big league days after the 1954 campaign. But it didn’t end his pitching career - he spent 1955-63 earning a paycheck in the PCL.
- 1953 - Johnny Lindell, a pitcher turned outfielder turned pitcher, earned the Pirates fifth straight win by beating the Cards, 6-2. Lindell notched his first victory since 1942 when he was a Yankee reliever before he converted to the OF in 1943. In 1950, he became a bush league knuckleballer and returned to the majors in 1953 at the age of 36 as a pitcher. His knuckler was a wild child, and he led the NL in walks and wild pitches that season. Although used mainly by the Bucs as a pitcher (Lindell worked 175 IP), he also batted .286 and pinch hit 34 times, once tying a game with a three-run, ninth-inning homer.
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| John Lindell - 1953 Topps |
- 1959 - The Pirates split a twinbill with the Cardinals at Forbes Field in front of 20,860 fans. The Bucs won the opener, 4-3, in 10 innings behind ElRoy Face and a little help from Redbird outfielder Gino Cimoli, who let Bill Mazeroski’s soft liner drop with the bases loaded and two outs, when, as Pittsburgh Press beat man Les Biederman wrote, he “did everything but catch it.” The nightcap featured an unassisted DP by catcher Hank Foiles - he caught a strikeout and tried to throw out a Cardinal runner on the move, but batter Bill White double swung the bat and his recoil hit the ball he missed the first time, earning an interference call as well. The real action began when player/manager Solly Hemus, who had been nicked by Pittsburgh pitcher Bennie Daniels in the first and then exchanged some words, was brushed back again in the sixth. He and Daniels charged each other and several tussles broke out - Danny Murtaugh v Hemus and Redbird pitcher Larry Jackson v Buc coach Len Levy were the main bouts during the shoving match royale. It also rained during the second game, causing a suspension in the seventh with the score knotted at 1-1. The Cards took over during the June 2nd completion, winning 3-1, and then claiming the regular match, 3-0.
- 1959 - Pirates coach Jimmy Dykes, who joined Danny Murtaugh’s staff at the start of the season, had a short stay; he was hired away on this day to become the manager of the Detroit Tigers. Jimmy had been a skipper before and would be a skipper again after Motown - in 21 seasons, he guided six MLB teams to 1,406 victories, although like Gene Mauch, he never did win a flag.
- 1964 - Bob Veale was chased after getting just four outs and falling behind the Cards at Busch Stadium by a 6-1 count. But the top five of the Bucco order - Gene Alley, Dick Schofield, Bill Virdon, Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell - went 9-for-19 with nine runs scored and seven RBI (five from Pops; he and Alley homered) to power the club to a 12-8 win. Not to be outdone, the bottom of the lineup, Billy Mazeroski and Jim Pagliaroni, added five hits and chased home four runs. Don Schwall staggered through 4-2/3 innings, allowing 10 runners but only two runs, for the win before ElRoy Face served three zeroes for the save.
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