9/29 Through 1964: Howie Gem, Game Tales, Rosey Day, NY Finale, KC Tops Grays, Spy Eye; HBD Ken, Paul, Hunky, Gus & Cannonball

• 1862 - LHP Ed “Cannonball” Morris was born in Brooklyn. Morris was considered by many to be the first great lefty to pitch in the majors. In 1884, Cannonball tossed a no-hitter against Pittsburgh for Columbus, and was purchased by the impressed Alleghenys five months later. The lefty pitched for the Allies from 1885-89 with a 171-122/2.84 line, winning 80 games from 1885-86. He struck out over 300 batters twice with 298 another year, and threw over 550 innings in two different seasons. He also worked a year with the Pittsburgh Burghers of the Players League in 1890, his last season in the majors. Afterward, he ran a hotel/saloon on Pittsburgh’s North Side and was a deputy warden at Western Penitentiary. He remained a fan, rarely missing a Pirates game, and in 1934 he was tapped by the team to pitch an inning during the Silver Anniversary of Forbes Field. As you may have guessed, he was nicknamed "Cannonball" for his velocity.
• 1866 - RHP “Rubber-Winged Gus” Weyhing was born in Louisville, Kentucky. In a 14-year career spanning over 500 appearances, he tossed one game for the Pirates in 1895. He won it before joining his hometown Louisville Colonels, his third team of the season (he tossed for nine clubs). Gus was a strong pitcher, winning 25+ games six straight seasons, but he was one of the old-timey pitchers that didn’t cope very well when the mound was moved back ten feet to 60’6” in 1893, though he did manage to hang around until 1901. He was also a colorful character - he jumped leagues twice and was an early wild child; he still leads the majors with 277 hit batsmen during his career. 
• 1884 - 3B/OF Royal “Hunky” Shaw was born in Yakima, Washington. The Washington U alum was claimed as a Rule 5 player from St. Paul of the American Association and posted one MLB at-bat (he whiffed) in 1908 as a Pirate. He played pro ball until 1924, mostly in the Northwest and Nebraska Leagues. Shaw retired and opened a sporting goods store, then became a club exec for the minor league Yakima Pippins; those gigs sure beat his former offseason job as an undertaker. 
• 1900 - Busted! Per the Pittsburgh Press after a 4-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds “...the disgrace of being beaten...was not the most humiliating experience the Pirates had at Exposition Park, and until they clear themselves of the charge of attempting the dishonorable Philadelphia trick of tipping off the signals (ie, stealing signs) of opposing clubs, they will get little sympathy from Pittsburg’s patrons of the national game.” Reds’ shortstop Tommy Corcoran pointed out to the ump an advertising sign in center field that could potentially be a roost for a hidden Bucco with binoculars to steal the catcher’s signals. Corcoran had a nose for opposing tricksters; he also uncovered the ploy in Philadelphia that involved a vibrating electronic gizmo buried in the third base box. The Reds filed cheating charges, and though we never found a formal resolution of the matter, it appears the Pirates defense of “how could we have cheated if we lost” carried the day. 

Howie Camnitz - 1908 Pgh Press

• 1908 - Pittsburgh blanked the Cardinals, 7-0, at Forbes Field behind Howie Camnitz in the first game of a doubleheader sweep. Camnitz had a no-hitter until the ninth when Claude Osteen singled as the last-place Redbirds were blanked for a record 33rd time. The Cards broke out the lumber in the nitecap, but still lost, 6-5, when Roy Thomas’ grounder brought home George Gibson in the ninth to give Vic Willis the win. The Bucs remained 1/2 game up with the brooming and were in the midst of a 13-of-15 streak to close the year, but still fell short to the Cubs by a game, losing the winner-take-all showdown at the West Side Grounds. 
• 1909 - RHP Harry Camnitz mopped up in the Pirates 6-1 loss to the New York Giants at Forbes Field. It was his only outing of the year (he had been purchased from the minor league McKeesport Tubers in July), but it made him part of the first brother act for the Pittsburgh Pirates to appear during the same season; he was the little bro of the team’s ace, Howie Camnitz. The Bucs added him to the roster after he picked up 27 wins with the Tube City nine. 
• 1932 - RHP Paul Giel was born in Winona, Minnesota. Paul was a two-sport star at the U of Minnesota and picked baseball over football (he was a highly touted QB) when he graduated. He spent parts of six seasons in the big leagues and made 20 appearances with the Pirates in 1959-60, going 2-0/7.30. He retired from baseball in 1961 and embarked on a journey through the Minnesota sports scene. Giel went to work for the Vikings briefly, spent a longer stretch with local sports broadcasting and then became the Athletic Director at his alma mater. 
• 1935 - In his only major league game, C Aubrey Epps went 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBI in the Bucs' 9-6 loss at Cincinnati, giving the Pirates a doubleheader split on the season’s last day. The touted 23-year old catcher ended up with identical career batting and fielding averages (.750) as he committed two errors in eight chances; we’d guess that’s why it was his only game. Aubrey caught pneumonia after the season, and although he did recover in time to report to 1936 camp, he couldn’t win a roster spot and spent the next six seasons in the minors. He was nicknamed “YoYo” for his proficiency with the toy, per Diamonds in the Dusk. 

Audrey Epps image - via Diamonds in the Dusk

• 1942 - Satchel Paige of the KC Monarchs tossed 5-2/3 innings of hitless relief against the Homestead Grays (although by that time, they split dates between Pittsburgh & Washington), winning, 9-5, at Shibe Park in Philadelphia to cap a four-game sweep of the 1942 Negro League World Series. The series featured seven future members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, three from the Monarchs (Satchel Paige, Hilton Smith, and Willard Brown) and four from the Grays (Josh Gibson, Jud Wilson, Ray Brown, and Buck Leonard). Paige had actually been slated to start but showed up late at the ballpark, claiming he was tardy because of a speeding ticket he picked up on the way to the park. 
• 1950 - IF Ken Macha was born in Monroeville. The Gateway HS & Pitt grad, a sixth round draft pick in 1972, played briefly for the Bucs (1974, 1977-78), hitting .263 as a corner utilityman. He made his name as a MLB coach/manager of the Oakland Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers. Ken is retired and now lives in Latrobe after a stint as a pre-game analyst for Root Sports. 
• 1957 - The New York Giants played their final game at the Polo Grounds before pulling up their stakes and heading west, losing to the Pirates, 9-1. Bob Friend got the farewell victory; Johnny Antonelli took the loss. Roberto Clemente, Johnny Powers and Friend each had three hits; rookie Powers hit the last homer and tallied the final RBI ever at the yard. After the game, 11‚606 fans swarmed for ballyard keepsakes as both teams retreated to the center field clubhouses for safety. Pittsburgh was the final home opponent of both Brooklyn and New York before the Big Apple nines jumped to the coast. 
• 1960 - Mayor Joe Barr declared it “Rosey Rowswell Day” at his memorial dinner at the Penn Sheraton Hotel. Governor Davey Lawrence was the main speaker, and the newly-crowned National League champs, the Pirates, led by Danny Murtaugh, Bob Friend, Roy Face, Bob Skinner and others, were in attendance. Though Rosey had passed on in 1955, the dinner tradition was continued as a fundraiser for his favorite charity, the Ward Home for Children in Mt. Lebanon.