7/25 Through the 1950s: Kelly Claimed, Jake Swap; Arriba Winner, Elliott 6-Pack, Josh Debut, Kiki Circuit, Carey On, Game Tales HBD Jack, Marv & John

• 1863 - John Tener was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, and moved to the City as a babe. A pitcher for the Pittsburgh Burghers in 1890 (3-11/7.21), he wisely got into politics and served as Pennsylvania’s Governor from 1911 to 1914 after a term as a State House Member (1909-11) and then moved on to become the President of the National League from 1915 to 1918. 
• 1894 - The Chicago Colts pounded out 26 hits, 12 for extra bases, and laid a 24-6 beating on Pittsburgh at the West Side Grounds. Every Colt had at least a hit and a run, and Chicago batted around in four innings. It could have been worse; the game was called after seven innings so the Pirates could catch a train back home. The Pittsburgh Press noted that the game “...resulted in the most disastrous whipping recorded in the annals of the national league of baseball,” adding that “...the Pittsburg fielders were kept busy chasing savage drives...Pittsburg’s weakness in the (pitching) box was apparent,” as it was in the 18-11 loss suffered the day before. Still, the club did finish the year at 65-65, albeit with a 5.62 team ERA, 10th ranked in the 13 team MLB. 
• 1896 - The Pirates traded 1B Jake Beckley to the New York Giants for 1B Harry Davis and $1,000. Beckley was a local favorite who would eventually enter the Hall of Fame, and the deal didn’t sit very well with the fans; Jake was in his eighth Bucco campaign and had a batting average of .300 during that time; he also posted a .323 BA as a Player’s League Pgh. Burgher in 1890. Both teams got a good year, bad year out of the players, who then went on to star for different clubs. Beckley spent seven years with Cincinnati and hit .325 for them, cementing his HoF path, while Davis spent 16 of his last 17 seasons (he played 22 years) hitting .279 for the Philadelphia Athletics. 
• 1908 - Before an SRO crowd of 30,000+ at the Polo Grounds, the Pirates' Lefty Leifield topped the New York Giants and Christy Mathewson, 7-2. Two errors in the seventh opened the door for five Pirate runs to break up what had been a pretty solid pitching duel. Pittsburgh was led by Honus Wagner, who went 5-for-5 to take over the batting lead from Mike Donlin of the Giants. After each hit, Wagner held up a finger to show the number of safeties he had to RF Donlin, according to the BR Bullpen entry. It was an interesting game - it was delayed by rain, and even though police surrounded the field during play, there was a half-hour stoppage when the yard was rushed by fans that were led by, per the Pittsburgh Press, “thick heads in the 25 cent section...,” eventually requiring the Giant players to jump in and help the gendarmes control the crowd. 

Hans - 1908 Rose Co. Post Card

• 1912 - The Pirates blew an early lead against Brooklyn, but rallied to tie the score in the eighth and then rode Howie Camnitz’s arm to a 14-inning, 8-7, win over the Superbas at Forbes Field. Camnitz gave up just two hits in six innings, and got the win when Dots Miller’s sac fly brought home Chief Wilson, who had singled and moved to third on a Honus Wagner double. 
• 1913 - Max Carey scored five runs against the Phillies without a hit, reaching first via an error and four walks, as the Bucs won, 12-2, at Forbes Field. He also stole four bases and advanced twice on wild pitches to disrupt Philly and help Claude Hendrix to the win. The Pittsburgh Press griped that “The battle was a long, drawn out affair that required two hours and 10 minutes.” 
• 1917 - 1B George “Highpockets” Kelly was claimed off waivers from the New York Giants. He got in eight games, and after the injured player he replaced (43-year-old Honus Wagner) came back, he was waived back to the Giants. Bad move; Hans retired after the season, leaving a huge hole at 1B while Kelly became a Hall-of-Fame player for NY, hitting .297 over 16 seasons. 
• 1921 - CF Marv Rackley was born in Seneca, South Carolina. Marv was bungee Bucco - the Brooklyn Dodgers sent him to Pittsburgh in 1949 for 1B Johnny Hopp. He got into 11 games and hit .314, but he complained that he was trying to play through a bum arm dating back to Dodger days, although the injury was a surprise to the Dodgers and thought to be a ploy by Rackley to get back to Brooklyn. Regardless of whether it was a bad wing or bad faith, the deal was voided and he went back to da Bums, who sold him to the Reds in the off season. He played five games for them before being sent down, and he finished his career in the upper minors, retiring after the 1955 campaign. 
• 1921 - CF Max Carey earned his pay this day. He corralled 11 flies, tying the record (it was broken in 1929) during the Pirates' 6-3 win over New York at Forbes Field. He also scored three times, going 3-for-4 with two doubles. Rabbit Maranville, batting behind him, drove home three teammates to support Babe Adams, who went the distance against the Giants for the win. 

Kiki Cuyler - 1925 Best Sports Photos

• 1925 - In a ho-hum 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Forbes Field, Kiki Cuyler became the last Bucco basepath larcenist to steal second, third and home in a game. He was the fourth Buc to complete the circuit, joining Hans Wagner (3 times), Max Carey (twice) and Bobby Byrne. 
• 1930 - The Homestead Grays rode a five-run second frame and Vic Harris’ ninth-inning, two-out walk-off dinger to a 6-5 win over the KC Monarchs at Forbes Field. Harris' homer rolled under a tarp and allowed him plenty of time to circle the bases. It was one of three hits for him; Georges Scales added three more knocks as Lefty Williams went the distance for the win over Chet Brewer, who later was a Pirates scout. It marked the catching debut of 18-year-old Josh Gibson, who took over behind the plate after C Buck Ewing was hurt, but didn’t get a chance to bat. 
• 1931 - Larry French went the distance at Forbes Field during a 14-inning, 3-2 win against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the longest NL contest of the season. It wasn’t exactly a gem, as he gave up 15 hits, but it was enough to outduel Fred Heimach, who also went gate-to-gate. Pie Traynor had three hits (two 3Bs, 2B), two runs and an RBI. It was the second game of a twin bill; the Bucs took the opener, 5-2. Spades Wood not only tossed a three-hitter, but drove in a pair of runs. Traynor had two hits in that match, including a double, and scored twice. 
• 1932 - LHP Jack McMahan was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Pirates drafted him after the 1955 campaign from the New York Yankees as a Rule 5 pick, called him in from the pen 11 times (0-0/6.08) in 1956 and then shipped him, along with Curt Roberts, to Kansas City for Spook Jacobs in June. The Athletics used him as a starter and sent him back to the NYY after the campaign as part of a huge, 13-man trade. It was the only MLB season for McMahan; he spent three more years in the minors and retired, returning to Hot Springs. He kept his hand in baseball as a side gig, scouting for the Cardinals and coaching the local American Legion nine. Jack passed away in 2020. 

Max Butcher - 1942 Play Ball

• 1944 - Max Butcher tossed a six-hit goose egg at the Polo Grounds as the Bucs blasted the NY Giants‚ 15-0. Pittsburgh banged out 20 hits and posted a nine-run second inning. Bob Elliott homered and chased home six runs while Pete Coscarart and Jim Russell each added four knocks. 
• 1951 - The Pirates overcame a 4-0 deficit by scoring four times in the seventh and once again in the eighth to rally past the NY Giants, 5-4, at Forbes Field. Joe Garagiola’s homer in the seventh was the big blow, with the game winner being a bases-loaded sac fly delivered by George Strickland an inning later. Ted Wilks won after two innings of clean relief work with three whiffs. 
• 1952 - Manager Billy Meyer held a clubhouse meeting after the Bucs had dropped six games in a row (per the Pittsburgh Press, Billy told them “...to look respectable”) and apparently the low-key boot in the pants worked as Pittsburgh beat the Boston Braves, 3-2, at Forbes Field. Clem Koshorek doubled home a pair of runs and the game-winner was Jack Merson’s fourth-inning single, scoring Ralph Kiner. Murry Dickson made it hold up while scattering nine hits. It was his seventh win of the campaign - three were versus Boston and three more against the New York Giants. The pep talk afterglow didn’t have very strong legs - after the Pirates won the next day, they proceeded to lose six of the next seven on their way to a last-place, 42-win season. 
• 1956 - The Bucs blew a four-run lead by giving up eight tallies to the Cubs in the last two innings, but the Pirates answered at Forbes Field. Roberto Clemente ripped an inside-the-park, ninth-inning, walk-off grand slam to rally the Bucs to a 9-8 win. His gapper ricocheted off the base of the left field light standard and then rolled along the warning track toward center field. Clemente ran through 3B coach Bobby Bragan’s stop sign (there were no outs) and as Ernie Bank’s relay reached home "He slid, missed the plate, then reached back to rest his hand on the rubber...as the crowd of 12,431 went goofy with excitement" per sportswriter Jack Hernon of the Post Gazette. It was the only walk-off, inside-the-park grand slam posted in MLB history. In the same game, Dale Long hit his 20th homer, then a club record for lefties, to break Arky Vaughan’s 1935 mark.