9/22: Cito Joins; One's Enough, Duelin', Three Flags Claimed, Hal's Bow, Game Tales, 11 Straight, Kevin Rebids, Bucs Swing & Miss, Red At Work, Wheeling Down; HBD Hunter Wally, Harry & Ira

• 1890 - The Pittsburgh Alleghenys moved their home game with the New York Giants to Wheeling, West Virginia, due to attendance issues at home (they couldn’t draw flies; they went 23-113). The game at Island Grounds, home of the Wheeling Nailers, drew 1,500 fans and it remains the only major league game ever played in the state of West Virginia. According to the Wheeling Daily Register, “The game was played under some slight disadvantages, as the outfield was unkempt and unshaven, the grass being so tall that the ball, and almost the players, frequently got lost. (The Giants Mike) Tiernan knocked one into the tall grass, and while some seven or eight players were still on the hunt, he modestly crossed the home plate...” for a ninth-inning inside-the-park homer. The Alleghenys lost, 8-3, and the Pittsburgh Press wrote “to be sure, the local team lost to be in keeping with its record and (team owner) Mr. McNeill may rest assured that his team will establish a world record in time (for losing).” The paper was right; they were baseball’s worst until the Cleveland Spiders of 1899 finished 20-134, bumping the Alleghenys to runner-up. It would also be the last regularly scheduled Pittsburgh home game moved to a neutral site until 2017 when the Pirates played St. Louis in Williamsport during the MLB's celebration of youth baseball. 
• 1893 - OF Ira Flagstead was born in Montague, Michigan. Ira closed out his 13-year career in Pittsburgh from 1929-30, a journey that had begun with the Detroit Tigers and blossomed with the Boston Red Sox where he was a top shelf CF’er with a good stick and rifle arm. He signed with the Pirates on July 8th, 1929, fostered by both his acquaintance with Pittsburgh manager Donie Bush, whom Ira played with in Detroit, and the suspicion that Washington, which had signed him earlier, wanted to dump his contract. He hit .257 and was released in August, 1930. Ira closed out his pro ball in the Pacific Coast League in 1931. He retired to Olympia, where he grew up, and managed the local semi-pro Timber League nine. “Flaggy” (he was also known as “Pete” from his teen days) was elected to both the Red Sox and Washington State Halls of Fame. 
• 1894 - After tossing 12 innings in a tie contest, Phil “Red” Ehret threw a complete game four-hitter the next day to salvage a doubleheader split with the NY Giants by a 4-1 score at Exposition Park. His opponent was Les German, the same pitcher whom he had met in the draw in a redux matchup. Despite collecting nine hits, the Bucs and Tom Colcolough lost the twin bill’s opener, 6-2. 

Red Ehret - 1888 Goodwin/Old Judge

• 1903 - Pittsburgh's 16-game winner Ed Doheny, suffering from bouts of paranoia, was escorted home by his brother. After the World Series, Doheny was committed to the Danvers Insane Asylum and at the age of 26, his major league career was over. Not only was this a tragic turn of events for Doheny, but it cost the Bucs dearly in their World Series loss to the Boston Americans as they were short of pitching for the series. He, Deacon Phillippe and Sam Leever formed the Pirate rotation, and with Leever nursing an injury, Phillippe was forced to start five of the seven games, eventually wearing down. Poor Doheny, whose mental issues were said to be triggered after he developed that dead arm during the season, never returned to normalcy. He had some violent episodes at home and was committed full-time to the Danver asylum. He was later transferred to another institution but never recovered and passed away at 43-years-old. 
• 1908 - The Brooklyn Superbas cashed in a run in the ninth, scoring when no one covered first on a two-out grounder to the right side, but Pittsburgh and Nick Maddox prevailed, 3-2, in 11 innings at Washington Park. Alan Storke tripled home Hans Wagner with the go ahead run and scored himself on a wild throw home. Maddox gave up a homer in Brooklyn’s half, but hung on for the win as the Pirates stayed alive in their late drive for the flag, which fell a game short. 
• 1911 - Cy Young, pitching for the Boston Rustlers (no, they didn’t “rustle” players like the Pirates had “pirated” them; the moniker was a play on the name of team owner William Russell), earned his 511th and final career victory by defeating the Pirates, 1-0. Cy scattered nine hits and fanned three at Forbes Field to best Babe Adams. Although 20 games above .500 at the time, the Bucs were deep in third place, drawing just 1,208 fans. The Pirates feasted on Boston during the season: the Rustlers (they became the Braves in 1912) won only 3-of-22 against Pittsburgh, with two of the losses via shutouts thrown by the 44-year-old Cyclone. 
• 1929 - Utilityman Harry Bright was born in Kansas City. He played for eight seasons, with the first three (1958-60) in Pittsburgh. Bright hit .237 and was traded to the expansion Washington Senators after the ‘60 season as part of the Bobby Shantz package. Harry had a long pro career, playing 20 years and in nearly 2,000 games between the show and the farm. Bright managed the PCL’s Sacramento club and in the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers & Atlanta Braves organizations, then scouted for the Montreal Expos. 

Harry Bright - 1959 Topps

• 1931 - The Phillies overcame a 2-0 ninth-inning deficit to send the game to overtime, but the Pirates pushed home a run in the 13th to claim a 3-2 win at Forbes Field. Heinie Meine went the distance for the victory, tossing a four-hitter. It was his 19th win, which led all NL pitchers that season. The Bucs left 20 men on base as Philadelphia pitchers allowed 10 hits and 13 walks. Workhorse Meine logged 284 IP in 35 starts by season’s end, the top numbers in the NL. 
• 1932 - Rookie Hal Smith recorded a six-hit shutout in his first MLB start in a 7-0 win at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. The Bucs got all the runs they would need by scoring five times in the third inning. Arky Vaughan and Adam Comorosky led the way with two RBI apiece while Paul Waner banged out three hits and scored twice. Former (and future) Pirate pitcher Burleigh Grimes took the loss. 
• 1938 - Pittsburgh swept a twinbill from the Brooklyn Robins by 6-0 and 11-6 scores at Ebbets Field to take a 3-1/2 game lead in the race for the pennant. Jim Tobin tossed a four-hitter in the opener. Arky Vaughan had four hits, with three doubles and three RBI to go with Pep Young’s four runs driven home to power the win in the nitecap. But the 1938 NL crown would go to Chicago, which won their last 10 games while the Bucs stumbled to a 3-7 finish in a September swoon. 
• 1949 - Danny Murtaugh had the game-winning knock to hand a walk-off defeat to Johnny Sain and the Boston Braves, 1-0, at Forbes Field. The Irishman’s two-out, ninth-inning rap brought home Wally Westlake, who had singled and then stole second. It was Murtaugh’s only at bat; he was subbed into the game after manager Billy Meyer burned through a pair of pinch hitters and a pinch runner trying to squeeze out a run in the seventh. Murray Dickson labored to go the distance for the victory, giving up seven hits and six walks but stranding 11 Braves. 
• 1958 - The Pirates set a pair of wrong way records during their 3-2 and 1-0 twinbill losses to the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium. Three Phil pitchers fanned a MLB record 21 Bucs in the opener, and Jack Sanford whiffed 10 in the nitecap for a big league record 31 Ks for the day. 

Wally Backman - 1990 Topps

• 1959 - Utilityman Wally Backman was born in Hillsboro, Oregon. He spent one season of his 14-year career in Pittsburgh in 1990, and it was more than solid as he got into 104 games and batted .297. He came to Pittsburgh as a free agent, inking a one-year/$400K deal, and left the same way, signing a two-year/$1.3M contract with the Phils. Thanks to some personal issues, Wally has had a bumpy road coaching/managing since retiring in 1993, and is now an indie league skipper after bench stints with the White Sox, D-Backs, Mets and in Mexico. 
• 1960 - Pittsburgh, finishing off a six-game winning streak, was an inch away from the flag as the Bucs swept a twin bill from the Cubs at Forbes Field by 3-2 and 6-1 scores. The victories, in front of 19,566 fans, extended their lead to 7-1/2 games with eight contests remaining, and they clinched later in the week. Gene Baker’s single plated Don Hoak in the 11th frame to walk off the opener, with ElRoy Face earning the win in relief of Vern Law. Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell went the distance in the nightcap. The Tiger pounced on the Cub, swinging a hot stick during the two games. He banged out four hits, including a double and triple, touched home three times and chased home three runs. 
• 1971 - Pittsburgh clinched the NL East with a 5-1 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium. Luke Walker and Dave Giusti teamed up to defeat ace Bob Gibson thanks to a big eighth inning. The floodgate opened when SS Ted Kubiak booted Vic Davalillo’s ball, and a walk, two hits and a sac fly later, the Bucs had turned a squeaky 2-1 lead over the Cards into a 5-1 edge. After the flag-raising victory, the Buccos eliminated the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS and dropped the Birds in seven games to claim the World Series crown. 
• 1975 - The Pirates clocked the second place Philadelphia Phillies, 11-3, at TRS in front of 13,176 on a Monday night to clinch the NL East title. Bruce Kison and Kent Tekulve did the pitching honors, while three Pirate hitters had three hits each to lead the attack - Willie Stargell (2B, two RBI, four runs, 2 walks), Dave Parker (HR, four RBI) and Richie Zisk (2B, four RBI). 

Dave Parker - 1975 SSPC

• 1978 - The Pirates purchased OF’er Cito Gaston from the Atlanta Braves. The 34-year-old went 1-for-2 in the last week of the season, his last MLB appearances in an 11-year MLB career before spending the next couple of campaigns in the Mexican League and later enjoying a long run as the Toronto Blue Jays manager that included a pair of World Series titles. 
• 1991 - The Bucs won consecutive NL East titles when they beat the Phillies, 2–1, at TRS. Doug Drabek gave up seven hits and went the distance to outlast five Philadelphia pitchers. Orlando Merced walked twice and scored twice. Pittsburgh only had three hits, but seven free passes and a botched double play provided just enough gift wrapping to edge out Philadelphia. With the victory, the Pirates became the first NL team to repeat as divisional champs in 13 years. 
• 1993 - 3B Stephen "Hunter" Owen was born in Evansville, Indiana. An Indiana State grad, he was drafted in the 25th round by the Pirates in 2016. He went through the minor league system as a guy who was versatile with a little pop, but in 2020 he didn’t land a spot on the alternate camp roster and worked at a golf course. Hunter was invited to spring training as a NRI, was assigned to Indy and got a callup in May when Gregory Polanco went down. He was DFA’ed back to Indy after going 0-for-4 in five games when Polanco returned to the lineup a week later. Owen became a Pro X tutor and is now the head coach of Carmel HS. 
• 1995 - Kevin McClatchy submitted his bid for the Bucs. He rounded up five investors (and kept five old ones) in a $40M deal to purchase the Pirates after his first bid had been rejected and John Rigas’ competing offer was considered too cash-poor. McClatchy had also put together a $50M credit line, and in February of 2006, the team was sold to him and remained here. 

Jay Bell - 1996 Circa (reverse)

• 1996 - Pittsburgh beat the Cubs at TRS, 11-3, for their 11th win in a row, posting the longest winning streak in the majors for the year. Jay Bell was the star with a homer and four RBI. Chicago stopped the streak the next day, eking out a 4-3 win. The Bucs still finished last with a 73-89 record, though the late season run did raise a fruitless “wait ‘til next year” hope among the faithful when Jim Leyland would hand off the club’s reins to Gene Lamont, the ex-White Sox skipper. 
• 2004 - Two 23-year-old pitchers put on a show at PNC Park, with Chicago’s Carlos Zambrano edging Ollie Perez, 1-0. It came down to a pair of bases loaded plays: in the fifth, with two away, Perez walked two guys around a single (and he was ahead 1-2 on both), then fell behind Zambrano 3-0. He came back to run the count full, but ultimately lost him. In the eighth, with two down, the Bucs had the bases loaded when Ty Wigginton hit a gapper off reliever Kent Merker, but Sammy Sosa, of all people, made a game-saving, diving catch in right center. Perez held the Cubbies to three hits over seven innings; Z was in more trouble during the night, but the Pirates let him off the hook by going 0-for-11 w/RISP.
• 2006 - Chris Young carried a no-hitter into the ninth against the Bucs, but lost his bid to become the first San Diego Padre to toss a no-no when Joe Randa smacked a two-run homer on a 3-1 pitch following a one-out walk to Jose Bautista. Young, who was drafted by the Pirates in 2000 before being traded for Matt Herges, still claimed an easy 6-2 win at Petco Park. 
• 2014 - The Pirates won back-to-back 1-0 games for the first time since 1976 when Francisco Liriano, with help from Jared Hughes, John Holdzkom and Mark Melancon, made Andrew McCutchen’s sixth-inning homer off Aaron Harang stand at Atlanta’s Turner Field. The third straight 1-0 game for the Bucs (they lost 1-0 on 9/20 to the Brewers and old matey Zach Duke) was the first time that trifecta hit since 1917 when Pittsburgh lost three consecutive 1-0 games to the Cardinals.