9/24 Through 1974: Pops Tops, Alley Cat, Steve Zippo, Game Tales, SI Irishman, Roberto Day @ Shea, Grays Win NL-WS; HBD John, Jim, Dixie, Paddy & Doc

• 1881 - RHP Bob “Doc” Vail was born in Linneus, Maine. He started in the New England League in 1906 and then spent the remainder of his pro career in the Virginia League from 1907-12. His big-league career was a four-game stop in Pittsburgh in 1908 where he went 1-2/6.00 with a couple of good and a couple of not-so-good appearances. He was cut from camp in 1909 with a sore arm and spent the rest of his career as a minor leaguer, pitching through the 1912. 
• 1891 - 2B Peter “Paddy” Siglin was born in Aurelia, Iowa. Paddy was hitting .320 for Waterloo in 1914 when he was purchased by the Pirates. He was mostly stashed in the minors by the Bucs, but appeared in 23 MLB games from 1914-16, going 9-for-56 (.180) at the plate. In 1917 he took his services to the Pacific Coast League where he spent the next decade on five different squads before hanging up the spikes in 1926. Paddy did set a benchmark - in his debut on September 12th, 1914, in a doubleheader sweep of the Cubs, he became the first Bucco to have two hits and a stolen base in his first outing; three other Pirates (Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata & Austin Meadows) have since matched the feat. 
• 1910 - OF Fred (“Dixie”/“The People's Cherce”) Walker was born in Villa Rica, Georgia. He’s often remembered as the guy who fought Jackie Robinson’s arrival in Brooklyn, though he eventually accepted him both as a ballplayer and person. However, his initial negativity was said to be part of the impetus for the Dodgers to deal him to Pittsburgh in 1948 (Brooklyn got Preacher Roe back, another pretty fair reason). He played two seasons, batting .316 in his first campaign, then posting a .282 BA with 13 pinch hits in 1949 as a bench piece. After the ‘49 season, he hung ‘em up and went on to a long career in scouting and coaching. Fred came by the “Dixie” moniker honestly, as a Georgia boy whose father Ewart was also known as Dixie. (His dad had pitched for the Senators, and his brother Harry “The Hat” Walker managed the Pirates from 1965-67.) His popularity with the Ebbets Field fans in the forties earned him the other nickname "The People's Cherce," as spelled (or at least pronounced) in Brooklynese.

Dixie Walker - 1948 Blue Tint

• 1929 - C Jim Mangan was born in San Francisco. He graduated from the U of San Francisco and the Pirates signed him in 1949. Jim played briefly for the Bucs in 1952 and 1954, batting .179. Reports are that he got into a spat with Branch Rickey in 1955, and was sent down to Hollywood before being optioned to El Paso. From there he was sold off waivers to the Giants in 1956, where he got his final MLB licks (he feuded there with manager Bill Rigney, and guys that hit under the Mendoza Line don’t win many debates with their field bosses). Following his petulant baseball career, Mangan became a high school teacher, golf coach and small business owner in San Jose. 
• 1944 - The Pirates outlasted the Giants, 6-4, at the Polo Grounds in 13 sloppy innings. Max Butcher had a 4-0 lead for the Buccos, but gave up a pair in the seventh before three errors and a walk tied it in the eighth. The Pirates put their first two runners on in the 13th but were almost stymied by a pair of nice defensive plays by the G-Men. A two-out walk loaded the bases - can’t defend against that - and pinch hitter Tommy O’Brien singled on the next pitch to plate a pair. Art Cuccurullo tossed a quiet closing frame and Rip Sewell picked up his 20th win in relief. The Pirates left 19 runners aboard and the Giants 15 as the game featured 25 hits, 19 walks (Butcher issued seven himself) and five errors. 
• 1944 - The Homestead/Washington Grays, playing in their fifth Negro World Series game and fourth city of the championship (Birmingham, New Orleans and Pittsburgh hosted the prior matches) closed it out against the Birmingham Barons, 4-2, to defend their title at Griffith Stadium, four-games-to-one. Lefty Roy “Snookie” Welmaker, who had already won Game #1, went the distance, giving up eight hits while fanning six. The top three Grays in the lineup - Cool Papa Bell, Jerry Benjamin and Sam Bankhead - each had a pair of hits while Jud Wilson’s two-out, two-run single gave Homestead a 3-0 first inning lead they never relinquished. 
• 1956 - The Pirates temporarily derailed the Brooklyn Dodgers pennant express with a 6-5 win at Forbes Field after losing a suspended game earlier in the day (they had to play the ninth, and the Bucs were already down, 8-3, the ultimate final). After a wild first inning, with both clubs scoring three times, Bob Friend settled in and the Bucs took a 5-3 lead. The Bums tied it in the eighth, but Frank Thomas came back with the game winner in the Bucco half, a two-out single that scored Bill Virdon, to cap a four-hit, three-RBI contest that included a homer. Friend went the distance to win his 17th game, dropping Brooklyn 1/2-game behind the Braves after losing three-of-four to the seventh place Buccos. But they eventually prevailed, winning the NL by a game over Milwaukee before going on to lose their second straight Subway Series to the Yankees. 

Frank Thomas - 1956 Topps

• 1957 - Bucco 1B Dee Fondy grounded out to end the game to become the last MLB player to swing a bat at Ebbets Field. Da’ Bums Danny McDevitt blanked the Bucs, 2-0, on five hits with nine whiffs in the final major league game played in Brooklyn before the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles, defeating Benny Daniels, who was making his MLB debut. The organist played “Until We Meet Again” and “Auld Lang Syne” as the teams left the field. Ebbets Field had been the Dodgers home ballyard for 45 years but only 6,702 fans showed up to say goodbye. 
• 1966 - Roberto Clemente connected for a two-run, go-ahead homer to cap off a five-run seventh inning in Pittsburgh’s 8-6 win over the Braves at Atlanta Stadium. Bob Bailey had a two-run bomb and Gene Alley chased home two more with a double. Steve Blass worked two innings of relief (nine of his 34 appearances in ‘66 were in relief) for the win; Pete Mikkelsen got the save. The win moved them 1-1/2 games behind the Dodgers, but that’s as close as the Pirates would get, finishing three games off the pace after going 2-5 during the season’s last week. 
• 1968 - Steve Blass tossed his third consecutive shutout, defeating the Reds, 2-0, at Forbes Field. Steverino won his ninth straight victory and recorded a NL high seventh shutout on his way to an 18-6 season. The game against Gary Nolan was scoreless until the seventh when Willie Stargell led off with a homer. The Bucs added an insurance run in the eighth when Maury Wills singled, was bunted to second and came home on Matty Alou’s two-bagger.
• 1970 - Luke Walker spun a seven-hit shutout as his teammates made it easy for him with a 15-hit attack to drop the Mets, 8-0, at TRS. Gene Alley was the unlikely batting hero, with three hits including a triple and four RBI. Manny Sanguillen also had three knocks and scored twice. Matty Alou, Dave Cash, Richie Hebner and Bob Robertson each added a pair of hits. 

Luke Walker - 1970 Topps

• 1971 - Shea Stadium hosted a Roberto Clemente Day. Clemente was gifted with a Cadillac, which he accepted, and cash, which he directed to be sent to three children’s charities in Puerto Rico. The event was put together by New York City’s Puerto Rican community, and the gifts came via donations from the “small people.” The Bucs won the game, 3-2, on their way to a division title. The Great One celebrated the day with two hits and drove in a pair of runs. 
• 1973 - LF Willie Stargell robbed Ken Singleton of a homer in the fifth, went long himself in the sixth, and threw out Tony Scott at home in the seventh inning during a 3-0 defeat of the Expos at Jarry Park in the second half of a double dipper. Nellie Briles and Dave Giusti kept Montreal off the board, scattering eight hits for the shutout. The Bucs lost the opener 5-4 despite Willie’s 43rd dinger. Starg was a tired man after playing back-to-back twin bills - “I won’t be waking up too early tomorrow,” he told Pittsburgh Press writer Bob Smizik - but not too tired to lead the majors in homers (44), doubles (43), RBI (119) and slugging % (.646). 
• 1973 - Danny Murtaugh was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the story “Frenzy In the East.” The Pirates, winners of three consecutive titles, finished third behind the Mets, 2-1/2 games out. Five of the six National League East teams were separated by just five games. 
• 1974 - IF John McDonald was born in New London, Connecticut. The “Prime Minister of Defense” spent 16 years as a glove-first player, stopping in Pittsburgh for part of 2013. He came to the Pirates on a conditional deal from the D-Backs, hit .065 in 16 games, went on the DL and when he recovered was sent to the Indians on another conditional deal as John ended up on four different rosters that season. He retired before the 2015 campaign, then joined the Cleveland organization as a farm league coach and is now the Guardians minor league field coordinator.