- 1866 - C John “Peach Pie”/“Rowdy Jack” O’Connor was born in St. Louis. He served as a backstop for the Bucs from 1900-02, hitting .239 as a Bucco, but could plug in anywhere, spending considerable time in the OF and 1B during his 21-year career. He skipped to the AL’s NY Highlanders after the ‘02 season. He may be best known as the St. Louis Brown manager in 1910 who tried to steer the batting title to Nap Lajoie through a couple of different underhanded ploys, and was blackballed from MLB for his efforts. According to Charles Faber’s “Baseball Prodigies,” Jack became Peach Pie because as a teen, he played for a local semi-pro club called the Peach Pies. The “Rowdy” nickname was thanks to his aggressive, spikes-up style of play.
- 1869 - C/IF Tom Leahy was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Tom spent four part-time years in the show, starting with a dozen games for the Pirates in 1897, where he hit .269 splitting time between catching and third base. He caught at Holy Cross in his college days, but David Nemac, compiler of the book “Major League Ballplayers Profiles 1871-1900,” suggested that because of his average arm, he may have had more longevity if he came up as a second baseman, a better fit for his skill set. His last MLB game was in 1905 after he had gone through five teams, and he then caught on at Yale, serving as their athletic trainer for 32 years.
- 1890 - The Pittsburgh Alleghenys committed 14 errors in a 14-1 loss to Chicago Colts at home. The Pittsburgh Press wrote of the match that “The people who witnessed the National League game at Recreation Park...left disgusted and many of them promising not to return...Indeed, there are several amateur clubs about the city that may be relied on to play better ball…” That Pittsburgh ball club finished 28-113, 66-1/2 games behind the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and 23 games behind the Cleveland Spiders, the team closest to them in the standings.
- 1903 - The Pirates tossed their first of an MLB record six straight shutouts as Deacon Phillippe blanked the NY Giants, 7-0. Per the Pittsburgh Press “Phillippe had speed, curves and control and he made eight of the Husky McGrawites fan the elusive atmosphere...” Hans Wagner had three hits; four other Buccos added a pair. The Buc staff threw 51 straight scoreless innings during the six-game streak, a record that still stands today. The win launched Pittsburgh on a 15-game winning streak; the Pirates won the National League with 91 victories.
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| Gene Michael - 1966 East Hills SC promo |
- 1938 - IF Gene Michael was born in Kent, Ohio. Signed by the Bucs as an amateur, ”Stick” (he was 6’2” and on the underfed side) played his 1966 rookie campaign in Pittsburgh, hitting .152 in 30 games. The Pirates sent him to the Dodgers as part of the Maury Wills deal after the season, then LA sold him to the Yankees, where he spent seven of his 10 MLB seasons, five as NY’s starting shortstop. After his playing days, he coached, managed and was an exec for the Bronx Bombers except for a two-year interlude (1986-87) when he was the Cubs skipper. He was still a member of NY’s front office when he passed away in 2017.
- 1943 - Pittsburgh scored three times in the ninth to send the Boston Braves to a 3-2 loss at Forbes Field. A walk, an Elbie Fletcher homer and Al Lopez triple set the stage for Frank Coleman’s flare single to become the game-winner. Wally Hebert pitched seven strong innings, giving up his two runs in the second when a pair of bunts were misplayed and a bases-loaded free pass resulted in two Brave runs. Xavier Rescigno picked up the win in relief.
- 1945 - The Pirates hung on to defeat the Phils, 6-5, at Forbes Field; the main storyline was that the Bucs turned five DPs while Philly committed five errors. Pittsburgh scored four times in the first - only one run was earned - but quickly fell behind; they took the lead for good in the fourth, scoring twice with two outs thanks to a pair of Philadelphia boots. The bullpens took command and put up zeroes after that, with Max Butcher notching the win.
- 1948 - The Bucs pulled off the first triple play of the season when 1B Ed Stevens caught a shoe-top liner, stepped on first base for the second out and flipped the ball to second to trap a third Boston runner at Forbes Field. Alas, it was in vain as the Braves won handily, 5-1, behind Johnny Sain’s three-hitter. Ralph Kiner’s homer was the only rain on Sain’s parade.
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| Ed Stevens - 1948 Leaf |
- 1955 - The Pirates defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 12-3, at Forbes Field. Dale Long went 3-for-5 and had five RBI with a home run, a two-run shot during a five-run third inning. Frank Thomas also went deep while the Buccos banged out a season-high 17 hits. Roberto Clemente chipped in three knocks while five other Bucs posted a pair of raps in support of Max Surkont, who went the distance to top future Pirate Harvey Haddix.
- 1961 - OF Jeff Schulz was born in Evansville, Indiana. The Pirates picked him up for the 1992 campaign after he had been released by the KC Royals. He spent most of the year at AA Buffalo with a brief midsummer call up by the Bucs; he went 0-for-3 with two whiffs as a pinch hitter. His last hurrah was in 1995 when he won the right field job at KC as a replacement player, but the strike ended before the season started and so did his MLB career. The then-33-year-old returned to his day job as a real estate agent. Trivia: In 1990, Schulz ended Cal Ripken Jr.'s 95-game errorless streak at shortstop for the O’s when Cal bobbled his grounder.
- 1962 - Roberto Clemente just missed becoming the first right handed batter to hit a ball on Forbes Field’s right field roof, bouncing a shot off the facing a foot shy of the top. The blast was off Houston’s Turk Farrell during a 9-2 Bucco laugher over the Colt .45s. Roberto had three RBI, Dick Stuart homered, driving home a pair, and Don Hoak scored twice after hitting two triples to support the Deacon, Vern Law. For Pittsburgh, it was their seventh straight victory and 10th win in 11 games, but after the contest, they entered a tailspin that saw them lose 7-of-8.
- 1962 - OF Darnell Coles was born in San Bernardino, California. He arrived here in August, 1987, as part of the Jim Morrison deal with the Tigers and left in late July of the next season, traded to the Seattle Mariners for Glenn Wilson. Darnell played outfield and some corner infield for the Bucs and hit .230 during his stay, with a highlight three-homer day against the Cubs in 1987. He carved out a 14-year MLB career with eight different clubs. Coles played in Japan for a couple of seasons and since has been the hitting coach for the Tigers and Brewers.
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| Darnell Coles - 1988 Topps |
- 1966 - Vern Law tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout over the Mets at Shea Stadium in a 5-0 victory. It was The Deacon’s 150th Pirates win (he would finish his career with 162, sixth-most in franchise history) and he became the last Buc hurler to reach that landmark. It was also the fourth straight shutout he spun v NY. The Deac helped himself; he had two hits, including a solo homer, and scored twice. Donn Clendenon also went long.
- 1967 - Maury Wills paid his first visit to Dodger Stadium since being dealt to the Pirates and made himself at home, collecting two hits, scoring twice and driving in the go-ahead run in the Bucs 5-3 victory. Roberto Clemente also had a pair of knocks and two RBI to give Steve Blass, who worked an inning in relief of Tommie Sisk, the win although the heavy lifting was done by ElRoy Face, who worked the final three frames scorelessly while fanning four.
- 1968 - Willie Stargell homered in both ends of a doubleheader, collecting six hits and driving in six runs in the two contests. He pushed his batting average to .300 for the first time in his career and capped a four-game home run streak. The one-man show wasn’t quite enough, though, as the Pirates split the twinbill with the Atlanta Braves at Forbes Field, winning the opener, 8-4, but losing the nightcap, 10-5. Matty Alou collected two hits in each game as Ronnie Kline won the opener while Bob Moose dropped the nightcap.
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