10/17: Postseason - '71 & '79 Champs Behind Blass & Pops; Al, Jim, Cam & Waners Sign, Banny Goes, Pud's Farewell Game; RIP Skeeter, HBD Chris, Mark, Ravelo, Pete, Mike, Red, Bert, Pop & Kid

• 1870 - LHP George “Kid” Nicol was born in Barry, Illinois. George was called up from the semi-pro ranks to pitch for St Louis (he was 19 years old at the time, hence “Kid”) of the American Association, and he began his career with a no-hitter (seven innings, nine walks) in his first outing and a one-hitter over five frames in the next. With the demise of the Player’s League that season, there were more players than roster spots around baseball so the Kid went to the minors despite his hot start. He got a couple of more shots in the majors, with Pittsburgh giving him the ball eight times (five starts) in 1894, but Nicol didn’t impress, going 3-4/6.50 and giving up 57 hits and 33 walks in 44-1/3 IP. Control issues bit him, as he issued eight free passes every nine innings. To boot, it was suspected that his performance with the Pirates was the opening round of arm problems; the Kid returned to the minors and converted to the outfield. He played on farm clubs until 1906, retiring to the life of a hubby, father and machinist in Milwaukee. 
• 1873 - 1B Frank “Pop” Dillon was born in Normal (now North Bloomington), Illinois. Pop spent the first two campaigns of his five-year MLB career in Pittsburgh (1899-1900) and he hit .237 as a bench guy. He lost out the following year after the franchise was reinforced when Barney Dreyfuss’ bought in the Louisville roster, but found a new home on the coast. He became a player and manager for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League from 1902-15, taking the LAA to PCL pennants four times. It was also there that he earned his nickname; after his decade plus of service with the Angels, his hair had gone gray and so he became “Pop.” He went on to work for the Association of Professional Ball Players of America (a charity that assisted pro ball players, including minor leaguers) after the Angels gig and was inducted into the PCL Hall of Fame. 
• 1886 - RHP James ”Bert” (his middle name was Albert) Maxwell was born in Texarkana, Texas. Bert worked 21 games over four MLB seasons, with his debut being one start for the Pirates in 1906. He gave up six runs (five earned) in eight innings. He spent seven years tossing baseballs, mostly in the Sally League, and went on to manage in the minors afterward. 

Pud Galvin - HoF Bio

• 1892 - After 35-year-old Pud Galvin retired following the ‘92 season, which was split between Pittsburgh and St. Louis after the Cards had traded for him in June, he returned home, and the Pittsburgh club and some local pro players got together for a benefit exhibition at Exposition Park to raise a few bucks for Galvin. Some of the Pirates and a squad called the “Picked Nine” of Pittsburgh-area players met, with the NL club taking a 7-6 decision in a mound battle between “Papa” (the newspaper’s nickname) Galvin and Ed “Cannonball” Morris, who had retired a couple of years earlier. The game drew about 1,200 fans who came to say goodbye to the popular Galvin and raised an estimated $3,000 as a going-away gift, a pretty hefty sum for back in the day. 
• 1892 - C Frank “Red” Madden was born in Pittsburgh. He got a sip of the bigs by getting into two games for the 1914 Pittsburgh Rebels of the Federal League, going one-for-two. Not much info on Mr. Madden; he was apparently brought in for depth from the Class D Ohio State League, where he played minor league ball, but there’s no baseball trail after his stint with the Rebels. Red passed away in the ‘Burgh in 1952 and was buried in Hazelwood’s Calvary Cemetery. 
• 1900 - Pittsburgh avoided being swept in the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup series by nickel-and-diming Brooklyn Superba hurler Harry Howell for 13 singles and a 10-0 victory. Tommy Leach reached base five times and scored four runs. Ginger Beaumont had three hits, and Claude Ritchey, Honus Wagner and Bones Ely added a pair. Deacon Phillippe threw a six-hit shutout for the win at Exposition Park, although the Pirates still trailed the best-of-five series two games to one. 
• 1915 - C Mike Sandlock was born in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. He played for parts of five years in the majors, with his last campaign as a Bucco in 1953, getting into 64 games with a .231 BA as a 37-year-old. He had a six-year hiatus between MLB gigs; the Pirates brought him up with knuckleballer Johnny Lindell from the PCL Hollywood Stars as Sandlock was used to catching the floater. Nevertheless, Mike allowed 15 passed balls and Lindell tossed 11 wild pitches, both league-leading numbers. Even more embarrassing, Johnny outhit Sandlock with a .286 BA. Mike finished his pro career in the Phils system after 16 years and retired. 

Pete Peterson - 1958 Topps

• 1929 - Pirate catcher and GM Harding “Pete” Peterson was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He appeared in 65 games over four seasons (1955; 1957–59) for Pittsburgh and batted .273 in limited service, due to a two-year stint in Korea. His playing career was effectively ended as the result of a broken arm suffered in a home plate collision at Wrigley Field in early 1959. Pete coached and headed the scouting department for the Bucs afterward, and took Joe L. Brown’s spot as GM in 1976. He fielded strong teams in the late seventies with a championship club in 1979. Peterson lasted until 1985 before he was done in by some poor veteran acquisitions, the cocaine trials and ownership churn. He then worked for the New York Yankees front office and served as the club's general manager in 1990. Pete was let go after that gig and spent the rest of his career as a consultant/major league scout for the Padres and Blue Jays before retiring in 1995. 
• 1929 - After being pre-season holdouts the year before, the Waner brothers were among the first to turn in signed contracts for the 1930 season per team Treasurer Sam Dreyfuss. Neither salary agreement was released, but Paul (who was rumored to be on the trade market) probably inked a deal in the ballpark of $13K while lil’ bro’ Lloyd likely settled for a grand less. 
• 1963 - LHP Ravelo Manzanillo was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. Ravello tossed for three years in the show, spending two campaigns with Pittsburgh (4-2-1/4.19 in 51 outings between 1994-95). He also tossed pro ball from 1981–2005, with stints in the minors, Korea, Taiwan, Mexico and indie baseball while also playing winter ball in the Venezuelan and Dominican Leagues. His younger brother, Josias, pitched for Pittsburgh, too, from 2000-02. 
• 1964 - OF Carson “Skeeter” Bigbee passed away in Portland, Oregon, dying in his sleep at the age of 69. He spent his 11-year MLB career entirely with the Bucs (1916-26), hitting .287 lifetime, with a personal best .350 BA in 1922 to finish fourth in the NL (Rogers Hornsby hit .401). He even got to play a year (1921) with his brother Lyle. Skeeter left the team after the “ABC” affair (he was the “B”) when he, Babe Adams and Max Carey staged a short-lived protest over management overkill. After a couple of seasons in the PCL, he worked as a salesman, farmer and shipyard worker, while squeezing in a couple of campaigns managing in the All-American Girls Pro League. 

Skeeter Bigbee - Helmar Oasis

• 1967 - 1B Mark Johnson was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Mark was a good glove, power-hitting guy who made his MLB debut at the advanced age of 27. His .239 BA in three years (1995-97) with the Pirates didn’t cut it as he lost his job to Kevin Young. Johnson was an effective pinch hitter and closed out his career with the New York Mets, playing until 2002. He did pretty well after baseball, using his Dartmouth degree to become a Wall Street trader. 
• 1969 - C Chris Tremie was born in Houston. Chris got four wham-bams in the majors; his stop in Pittsburgh was in 1999 when he got into nine games and went 1-for-14 in a year that the Pirates rostered six different catchers (Tremie, Jason Kendall, Keith Osik, Joe Oliver, Tim Laker and Yamid Haad). Baseball has been Chris’ career - he spent 14 seasons in the minors and was a manager in the Indians system before becoming the Reds Minor League Field Coordinator. He put together a pretty shiny resume for a kid who was drafted by the White Sox in the 39th round (#1,100 overall) in 1992. 
• 1971 - Steve Blass hurled a four-hitter and Roberto Clemente homered as the Pirates won Game Seven of the World Series, 2-1, at Baltimore, earning Pittsburgh its fourth World Championship. The winning run scored in the eighth inning, when Jose Pagan doubled home Willie Stargell. Clemente hit safely in all seven games of the series, a feat he also accomplished in 1960 against the Yankees, extending his consecutive Fall Classic hitting streak to 14 contests. He also became the first Latino player to earn World Series MVP honors after batting .414. It wasn’t the day’s only big event: Bruce Kison and his best man Bob Moose were taken from Memorial Stadium by helicopter to a waiting Lear Jet to get to his wedding at Pittsburgh’s Churchill Valley CC (even so, the groom arrived 33 minutes late). And though it was a bright moment for the club, it wasn’t for some rowdy partiers. After the game, 40‚000 people ran wild in downtown Pittsburgh; many were arrested and at least 100 were injured in one of the City’s not-so-shining moments. 
• 1979 - In Game Seven at Baltimore, President Jimmy Carter opened the game with a ceremonial pitch (his only opening pitch while prez) and Willie Stargell finished it by going 3-for-4 with his third World Series homer, lifting the Pirates to a 4-1 win and their fifth World Championship. Captain Willie gave the Bucs a 2-1 lead in the sixth with his two-run blast. Kent Tekulve worked out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth and Pittsburgh tacked on a pair of ninth inning insurance runs to take a 4-1 victory, with Grant Jackson earning the win. Pops was named Series MVP after the Pirates erased a three-games-to-one deficit to rally past the Orioles. 60,000 fans greeted the team at the airport when they arrived home at 3AM, with thousands more lining the parkway. Baltimore, which planned a victory parade two games prior, still held one the next day and drew 125,000 for their beloved but bedraggled Birds. The game attracted an estimated 80 million people, then the largest TV audience in the history of the World Series, to tune in. 

• 1991 - In Game Seven of the NLCS, the Bravos jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning off John Smiley, keyed by Brian Hunter's two-run shot, and it was all John Smoltz needed as he tossed a 4-0, six-hit whitewash against the Bucs at Three Rivers Stadium. Atlanta won their first National League pennant since their move from Milwaukee in 1966 as the Pirates failed to score in the last 22 innings of the series. The Braves lost the World Series to the Minnesota Twins four games to three in one of the most dramatic championships in the MLB annals, with four games going into extra innings. The Fall Classic was a match up of two teams that had finished last in their respective divisions the season before, proving the “wait til next year” theory carried some weight. 
• 1995 - The Pirates signed manager Jim Leyland and GM Cam Bonifay to contract extensions. Leyland’s deal was for five years/$5M, running through 2000, while Bonifay’s was a two-year/$600K agreement carrying him through 1998. Leyland bailed out after the 1996 season, unwilling to go through another rebuild, and jumped to the Florida Marlins, with Gene Lamont taking over as the Bucs’ field general. Bonifay won the Executive of the Year Award in 1997 and kept his position until 2001 when team owner Kevin McClatchy let him go. He was replaced in the front office by Dave Littlefield. 
• 1996 - OF Al Martin signed a two-year extension valued at $5.3M per Baseball Reference to carry him through the 1999 season with performance bonuses to sweeten his $2.4M salary in 1997. He hit .260 with 36 HR in those two years before being traded to the San Diego Padres as a part of the John Vander Wal deal. Al played through the 2003 campaign. 
• 2014 - After a 29-year affiliation with the Pirates, starting as a player and spending the last five as the Bucs bench coach, Jeff “Banny” Banister left the organization to become the 18th manager of the Texas Rangers. It was, in a way, a delayed PTBNL deal involving coaches turned skippers; the Pirates took their manager, Clint Hurdle, from Texas in 2011. The Rangers won the AL West title during Banny’s first two seasons but lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS both times. His next two campaigns finished south of .500 and he was let go with a year remaining on his contract, returning to Pittsburgh as a special assistant. The job didn’t last very long; he was released in June, 2020, as part of a FO staff reduction. He’s now the Arizona D-Backs bench coach.

10/16: Cutch RoY, Mad Dog Signs, Berardino Deal; Postseason - Candy Squares O's Series, Babe Wins Game 7 v Motown; HBD Edegar, Matt, Josias, Billy, Brian, Lenny, Ed, Boom-Boom, Bill, Mike, Tomatoes, Red & George

• 1856 - 2B/OF George Strief was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Strief played in the majors for five years with a stop with the American Association Alleghenys in 1882; he batted .199 and moved along. George, who walloped five homers during his career, posted his claim to fame when he became the first Pittsburgh major league batter to go deep when he went yard against Will White of the Cincinnati Red Stockings on May 3rd, 1882, during a 7-3 loss at Exposition Park. 
• 1866 - C Fred “The Baseball Tourist” Lake was born in Cornwallis Township, Nova Scotia. Fred spent bits and pieces of time in MLB for five seasons, playing for the Pirates in 1898 and going 1-for-13. He also put in 13 minor-league years with 15 teams, hence his nickname. Lake managed the Boston Beaneaters and Doves, scouted for St. Louis and managed several farm teams and college nines. 
• 1888 - C Jake “Tomatoes” Kafora was born in Chicago. Tomatoes tore up the minors but in a two-year stint with the Pirates, he batted .125 in 22 games and discovered he couldn’t hit the curve. Jake went back to Chicago after spending a couple of years in the minors and became a local star in bowling circles, a sport he excelled at during the offseason doldrums. His nickname dates back to his youth when he would get behind the plate, give a target and exhort his pitchers to “put the ol’ tomato in the big mitt.” Jake passed away in Chicago at age 28. 
• 1894 - OF “Leaping Mike” Menosky was born in Glen Campbell in Indiana County and attended State Normal College (now IUP). He started his career in the Federal League for the Pittsburgh Rebels from 1914-15, hitting .242, and went on to play for the Washington Senators and Boston Red Sox until 1930 with a .280 BA in the American League. Leaping Mike is famous as the guy who replaced Babe Ruth in left field after the Bambino was sold to the New York Yankees. His nickname was bestowed because of his speed and acrobatic catches in the pasture. 
• 1895 - OF Bill Skiff was born in New Rochelle, New York. Skiff only played two MLB seasons - he hit .289 in 16 games with the Pirates in 1921 and sipped a cup of coffee with the Yankees five years later - but he was a baseball lifer. Skiff served 19 seasons as a player or player/manager on farm teams and another 14 campaigns as a minor league manager, mostly for the New York Yankees organization. Bill passed away on Christmas Day, 1976, at age 81. 

Hans - Helmar Hey Batter R318

• 1898 - According to Charlton’s Baseball Chronology (and verified by Reach's Official Base Ball Guide of 1899), Honus Wagner hurled a baseball 403 feet 8 inches in a throwing contest at Louisville's League Park (teams often featured races, batting contests and long-toss exhibitions back in the day) to beat the record of 400' 7-1/2" set by the Brooklyn Mutuals' John Hatfield in 1872. Wagner's distance throw was, in some histories, topped by Larry LeJeune’s toss of 435 feet on October 3rd, 1907, although that measurement is not universally accepted. 
• 1900 - The Bucs committed six errors against the Brooklyn Superbas at Exposition Park during the Chronicle-Telegraph Challenge series and lost, 4-2, as Fred Kitson got the better of Sam Leever. Pittsburgh was held to four hits, with Honus Wagner’s double leading to one run and Jack O’Connor driving in Tom O’Brien for the other tally. The CTC Cup was an unofficial postseason interleague series (the Bucs came in second while Boston was the NL champ) and a WS precursor. 
• 1904 - RHP Walter “Boom-Boom'' Beck was born in Decatur, Illinois. He tossed for 12 years in the show, closing out his career in Pittsburgh in 1945 with a line of 6-1/2.14 in a strong final campaign at the end of the war years. He only won 38 games during his big league career, but to the best of our knowledge is the only “Boom Boom” to play for the Pirates. His moniker dates back to when he pitched a game for Casey Stengel’s Brooklyn Dodgers against the Phillies at the Baker Bowl, which had a tin outfield fence. Philadelphia had been drilling balls off that wall all afternoon, and the “boom-boom” sound of the ball ricocheting off the tin that day gave Beck a nickname he never shook. According to baseball lore, the barrage wore out OF Hack Wilson and eventually brought on the Ol’ Perfessor to yank Beck, who didn’t approve and instead of handing the ball to the manager, he spun and fired it off the fence. Wilson, who had been daydreaming while the mound switch was going on, was startled and thought another ball had been lined over his head and off the wall, so he chased down the carom and threw the ball to second. 
• 1909 - In a World Series showdown between two of baseball's premier players, Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb, the Pirates downed the hometown Detroit Tigers, 8-0, in game seven to become World Champions for the first time. The real star of the Series, though, was rookie pitcher Babe Adams, who notched three victories, including the decisive seventh game six-hit shutout. The Pirates were helped by Tiger wildness; the Bucs banged out just seven hits, but the 10 walks were the killers for Motown (Fred Clarke got zero official at bats; he walked four times and scored twice). Honus Wagner and Dots Miller had a pair of RBI, while Clarke and Tommy Leach scored twice. It was the first World Series to go seven games. The Flying Dutchman, battling injuries in his first World Series in 1903, bounced back this time around. Hans hit .333, with seven RBIs and six stolen bases to outshine Ty Cobb, who hit .231 with six runs driven home and two steals. 

Ed Bahr - 1946 Play Ball

• 1919 - RHP Ed Bahr was born in Rouleau, Saskatchewan. His career lasted from 1946-47, with Bahr going 11–11/3.73 with 69 strikeouts in 46 appearances (25 starts, eight complete games) and 219 innings tossed. But ominously, his ERA went up by two runs per game from his rookie year to his sophomore season and he failed to make the team in 1948. He was traded to Brooklyn in 1949 and never returned to the show, working in the minors through 1950. 
• 1928 - LHP and later scout Lenny Yochim was born in New Orleans. He had a brief career pitching with the Pirates (1951, 1954, 1-2/7.62 ERA), but a long and fairly shiny tenure in the minors, where he once tossed a no-hitter. After his playing days, Yochim rejoined the Pirates in 1966 as part of their baseball operations department. He held various scouting positions before moving into the front office in 1994, where he worked as a senior adviser for player personnel through 2004. 
• 1929 - The Bucs finished in second after the season, 10-1/2 games behind the Philadelphia Athletics, but were still awarded $29,106.50 to divvy up as runner-ups, with a full share worth $995.05. The players were pretty generous, giving out various-sized slices of the pie to coaches, trainers, groundskeepers, clubhouse attendants and part-time players. 
• 1952 - Pittsburgh sent IF George Strickland and RHP Ted Wilks to the Cleveland Indians for IF Johnny Berardino, a PTBNL (RHP Charles Sipple) and $50,000. Strickland played eight years for the Tribe, but the light-hitting infielder batted just .233 over that time. Wilks was at the end of his playing days and made 11 Indians appearances before retiring. Berardino was making a return trip to Pittsburgh, but his .143 BA and a bum leg turned him into a full-time actor (a much better career choice, as it ended up) after 56 at bats. Sipple never made it out of the minors. 
• 1959 - C/OF Brian Harper was born in Los Angeles. Brian was a utilityman for the Bucs from 1982-84 before being traded to St. Louis; he didn’t really blossom until the 1988 season with Twins, who played him full time and kept him behind the dish. He started there for five seasons through the age of 33 before he slowed down. Harper retired in 1996 and did some high school coaching before returning to the majors to ride the minor-league coaching carousel for several clubs. 

Brian Harper - 1985 Topps

• 1961 - RHP Billy Taylor was born in Monticello, Florida. Billy had a seven-year career, mostly with Oakland, that ended with an appearance with the Bucs in 2001 that lasted two innings, giving up a run. Taylor was a late bloomer; he made his MLB debut in 1994 at the age of 32, 14 years after he was drafted, and went on to save 100 games for the A’s through 1999. 
• 1967 - RHP Josias Manzanillo was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. He tossed for 11 years in the MLB, serving 2000-02 with the Bucco staff. His first two campaigns were good as he went 5-4-2/3.39 in 114 appearances, but he lost it in the following campaign with his ERA shooting up to 7.62. He struggled along with the Reds in 2003 and the Fish in 2004, retiring when he didn’t make it out of camp with Boston in 2005. He’s famous for two things: one was when his family jewels were blown up thanks to a liner in the groin, requiring reconstructive surgery. The second was just as ugly as he was named as a player who shot up steroids in the 2007 Mitchell report. Josias and his people denied it, saying he admitted to buying PEDs but was afraid to actually use them. His older brother, Ravelo, also pitched for the Pirates between 1994-95. 
• 1969 - LHP Matt Ruebel was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was drafted by the Pirates in the 3rd round of the 1991 draft out of Oklahoma and pitched parts of three seasons for Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay. He made 70 appearances and went 4-3-1/5.49 for the Bucs in 1996-97 and went north of that line for Tampa the following season, his last in MLB. He’s since been a scout fot the Bucs and Nats. 
• 1971 - The Baltimore Orioles came back from a 2-0 hole to take a 3-2, 10-inning win from the Bucs at Memorial Stadium and force the World Series to a seventh game. The Pirates left the bases loaded in the 10th; Baltimore didn’t. Brooks Robinson’s short sac fly to center off Bob Miller barely brought in Frank Robinson; Al Oliver had been removed in a double switch just that inning, putting the weaker-armed Vic Davalillo in center. Robinson paid a price; he injured his hamstring and reaggravated an Achilles injury, limiting him severely in the ensuing decisive game. Roberto Clemente had a homer for Pittsburgh and also had a highlight throw in the bottom of the ninth, a one-hop strike home that froze Mark Belanger, who represented the winning run, sitting at third after Don Buford’s two-out double. Bob Moose became the Bucs sixth different starter when he took the hill in the first, as the scheduled pitcher Dock Ellis was scratched with an injury. 
• 1979 - With Baltimore papers filled with anticipatory stories of the Orioles’ World Series victory parade, the Bucs rode the arms of starter and winner John Candelaria and Kent Tekulve, with the save, to a 4-0 win at Memorial Stadium to square the series at three games each. The top of the order (Omar Moreno & Tim Foli) and the bottom (Ed Ott & Phil Garner) combined for nine hits and scored all four runs in a late breakthrough, scoring a pair in the seventh and eighth frames. The Birds got seven singles off the Buc duo, but with no gift runners via walks/errors and two DP balls, the base paths stayed relatively clean as only two Orioles advanced as far as second base. 

• 1981 - 3B Bill Madlock signed a six-year/$5.4M contract. The 30-year-old had a .316 lifetime BA and three batting crowns on his resume, winning the third in ‘81 with a .341 mark to outdo Pete Rose. Mad Dog gave the Bucs two strong seasons (he won a batting crown and an All-Star berth) before stumbling in 1984-85, hitting in the .250 range before being moved to the Dodgers in August for Sid Bream, RJ Reynolds and Cecil Espy. Bill played through the 1987 campaign with Detroit. 
• 1991 - For the second time in the series, the Bucs were 1-0 losers to the Atlanta Braves to send the NLCS to a seventh game. The Pirates were held to four hits by Steve Avery and Alejandro Pena at TRS. The game’s only tally came with two outs in the ninth when Greg Olsen doubled home Ron Gant to hand Doug Drabek the defeat. The Pirates tried to rally in the bottom half, but left Gary Varsho, who had opened with a single, stranded on third. It was announced before the game that Barry Bonds was the only Buc to earn a spot on AP’s All-MLB All-Star team. 
• 1991 - RHP Edgar Santana was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. He was green as a youth and Pirates scout Juan Mercado signed him as a project just before his 22nd birthday. Santana picked up a slider to go with his four seamer in the DSL and took off. He zipped through the system and landed in Pittsburgh in 2017, getting into 19 games and posting a 3.50 ERA with 20 K in 18 IP. He made the roster the following year and became a solid middle inning bridge guy, going 3-4/3.26 in 69 outings. Unfortunately, in late September he encountered arm tightness requiring TJ surgery, and missed the entire 2019 campaign. Ditto for 2020; he was suspended 80 games (of a 60-game season) for using a PED. He was DFA’ed and spent 2021 with Atlanta as his last MLB stop. Santana has spent the past two campaigns in the Latin leagues. 
• 2009 - Andrew McCutchen was named the Baseball America Rookie of the Year for 2009, and finished fourth in the NL ROY balloting. He joined the team in June, replacing Nate McLouth, and finished his rookie season with a .286 BA, 12 HR, 54 RBI, and 22 stolen bases in 108 games. Cutch singled off the Mets’ Mike Pelfrey in his first MLB at-bat to get his career off to a flying start.

10/15: Kremer Wins Game 7 v Sens In '25, Tele Cup; Kent Goes, Forbes Joyride, Waner Bros on Tour, Alleghenys Reform; HBD Juan, Mendy, Carlos, Mitchell, Red, Gale, Bill, Don, Mules & Bob

• 1881 - HD “Denny” McKnight resurrected the Allegheny Baseball Club of Pittsburgh (it had disbanded after the 1877 season) during a meeting at the St. Clair Hotel and joined the newly formed American Association. In 1887 they entered the National League and in 1891 morphed into the Pittsburgh Pirates after “pirating” away infielder Lou Bierbauer from the Philly A’s. 
• 1887 - RHP Bob Harmon was born in Liberal, Missouri. He tossed for four seasons for the Pirates (1914-16, 1918), posting a 39-52-4/2.60 line while splitting his time between starting and the pen. After his pro baseball career ended in 1918, he became a successful dairy and crop farmer in Louisiana, becoming an active participant in both the community and the local sports scene. 
• 1892 - On the last day of the season, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Charles “Bumpus” Jones no-hit Pittsburgh at League Park in his major league debut. Bumpus won 7-1, fanning three and issuing four walks. It wasn’t much of a launching pad - his MLB career lasted eight games and he won just one other decision. Bumpus still remains the only player to pitch a no-hitter in his first MLB appearance. Bill James, according to Wikipedia, gave him the distinction of being the “mathematically least likely pitcher ever to have thrown a no-hitter in the major leagues.” 
• 1896 - RHP John “Mule” Watson was born in Arizona, Louisiana. He worked five games for the Pirates in 1920, one of three teams he played for that season. He didn’t impress the Bucco brass, compiling the worst ERA (8.74) for any of the four teams he spun for over a seven-year career. Mule did enjoy his 15 minutes of fame, although in a different set of flannels - on August 13th, 1921, he started both games of a doubleheader, and did pretty well, too, winning 4-3 and 8-0 contests in a pair of complete game outings for the Boston Braves against Philadelphia. 

Claude Ritchey - Harwell Collection/Detroit Public Library

• 1900 - The Pittsburgh Chronicle-Telegraph offered a silver cup to the winner of a best-of-five series at Exposition Park between the NL’s top two teams, the Pirates and the Brooklyn Superbas; Brooklyn won the 1900 title by 4-1/2 games over the Bucs during the regular season. Two future Hall of Famers faced off in the opener as NL ERA leader Rube Waddell (2.37) went against “Iron Man” Joe McGinnity, who topped the league with 28 wins. McGinnity whitewashed the Pirates for eight innings before two unearned runs in the top of the ninth cost him the shutout. Not only was he hurt by shoddy fielding, but he had been knocked out briefly the inning before during a rundown when he was accidentally kneed. He refused to come out after he regained his breath and went the distance for a five-hit, 5-2 victory. Claude Ritchey banged out a pair of knocks in a losing cause. 
• 1903 - OF George “Mule” Haas was born in Montclair, New Jersey. Haas was signed as a youngster by the Bucs and worked his way to the show in 1925, getting in four games and going 0-for-3. Haas was in a wrong-time, wrong place situation - the Pittsburgh outfield that season featured Kiki Cuyler, Clyde Barnhart and Max Carey. Mule was sold to Atlanta after the season due more to the logjam than performance. He played 11 more seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox, hitting .292 and playing in three World Series. Haas got his nickname in the minors while playing at Birmingham when the local beat man wrote that his bat had the kick of a mule after he homered. 
• 1925 - Before the final game of the World Series, Senators OF Goose Goslin got some column inches in the Washington Post to debunk reports that Pirates C Earl Smith had gotten under his skin by clowning around behind the dish when Goslin hit. “That’s a lot of apple sauce,” Goslin wrote. “Smith simply is one of these ‘funny boys’ who gets a big kick out of trying to get smiles from the crowd. His imitation of flopping of wings, goose calls and such seem to have worried others worse than it has me. I think my batting record, which includes three home runs and a double out of my seven hits, proves that his antics have not upset me much. The fact is that I have been kidded by experts and have paid absolutely no attention to Earl’s amateurish efforts.” Goose added that Clark Griffith, Washington’s president, had complained to Commissioner Landis “on the grounds that Smith’s actions take away from the dignity of the game” and might even lead to a brawl. “I can promise one thing,” Goslin wrote. “I don’t intend to start any trouble.” Goose and Smith factored one another out; each went 1-for-4 during the deciding contest. 

Earl Smith 10/7/1925 Press photo

• 1925 - In Game Seven of the World Series at Forbes Field, played on a muddy track soaked by a two-day rainstorm (the game was delayed a day), Kiki Cuyler laced an eighth-inning two-out, two-run, bases loaded double off Washington's Walter “Big Train” Johnson to lead the Pirates to a 9-7 comeback victory and their second World Championship, made all the sweeter by rallying from an early 4-0 deficit. Ray Kremer got the win, his second of the Series, with four innings of one-run relief after pitching a complete game win two days before. Errors by SS Roger Peckinpaugh, the AL MVP, in both the seventh and eighth innings led to four unearned runs. He had a tough Series in the field, committing a record eight errors. With the victory, the Bucs became the first team to win a World Series after being down three games to one. The Series was a big financial hit, grossing a record-setting $1.2M. Winning shares were $5‚332.72 while the losers pocketed $3‚734.60. It took a while, but Bucco manager Bill McKechnie became the first MLB skipper to win a World Series title with two different teams when his  Cincy Reds beat the Detroit Tigers in the 1940 Fall Classic. 
• 1926 - RHP Don Carlsen was born in Chicago. Carlsen was signed by the Cubs as an IF, played a season and then went into the service, coming back two years later as a pitcher. He played in a game for Chicago, then in 1951-52 tossed for Pittsburgh, going 2-4/5.43 in 12 games (seven starts). Don worked in the Pirates minors until 1957, retiring after that campaign. 
• 1927 - LHP Bill Henry was born in Alice, Texas. The veteran reliever spent the latter half of the 1968 campaign with the Pirates. It was his 15th year in the show and the creaks showed as he had the worst line of his career, compiling no record but tossing to an 8.10 ERA and giving up 18 runs (15 earned) and 29 hits in 16-2/3 innings over 10 appearances. Bill got into three games with the Astros the following year and then hung up his mitt. Henry did have a nice career run despite the messy finish as he ended his MLB days credited with 572 outings, 46 wins, 90 saves and a 3.26 ERA with an All-Star game and World Series during his tenure. 

The Waners - November 1927 photo Ray Gallavan/Press

• 1927 - Although the New York Yankees Murderers Row pushed the Pirates out of the spotlight with a World Series sweep, the Bucs strong season kept the Waner brothers on a big stage a little longer as the "Waner Wonders" vaudeville team toured Loew movie houses in St. Louis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and other stops for six weeks. Paul blew sax, Lloyd bowed the fiddle, and they told baseball stories between tunes. Per Bob Hersom’s Oklahoman article, "Every so often," Lloyd said, "we'd hit the same notes as the orchestra." The Waners were each paid $2,100 a week, culminating with a $3,000 payday in the Big Apple, stipends that way outstripped their baseball compensation. Even with more big money waved at them, the brothers turned down an extension of their tour; they had to catch up on their off season fishing, hunting and golfing. 
• 1928 - OF Gail Henley was born in Wichita, Kansas. He hit .300 in his only year with the Pirates (and in the big leagues), 1954, but the spot he was auditing for was more than adequately locked up with the arrival of Roberto Clemente the next year. Henley did serve some minor league time, then managed eventual Pirates skippers Jim Leyland and Gene Lamont. After some time as a skipper in the minors for the Detroit Tigers, Henley joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as a scout and organizational manager before retiring as a scout for Tampa Bay. 
• 1936 - RHP Art “Red” Swanson was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was signed by the Pirates as a bonus baby in 1955 and spent the next two years in the show, as required by the signing rules, and barely appeared, with 10 outings in all. Red got more work in 1957, slashing 3-3/3.72 in 32 appearances before being sent to the minors, where he pitched until 1963. His dad was Al “Red” Swanson, who coached baseball at LSU and from whom Red picked up his nickname. 
• 1951 - OF/1B Mitchell Page was born in Los Angeles. A third round pick of the Pirates in 1973, he tore it up in the minors for four years before being shipped to Oakland in part of the big ‘77 deal that brought Phil Garner to Pittsburgh. He spent seven seasons, four as a starter (.273/64 HR from 1977-80), on the coast before returning to the Pirates in 1984. He went 4-for-12 as a late-season call up, spending most of his time at AAA Hawaii. Mitchell retired after the year and coached off and on for the Royals, Cards and Nats before passing away in 2011. 

Mitchell Page - All Star Cards Collectibles photo

• 1958 - Some joyriders sneaked into Forbes Field, hot-wired a maintenance truck parked overnight by the scoreboard and rode around the park until they crashed the vehicle several rows deep into the first base boxes, causing $3,000 worth of damage to the ballyard due to their midnight ride. 
• 1967 - IF Carlos Garcia was born in Tachira, Venezuela. In seven (1990-96) Bucco seasons, he hit .278. Carlos was named to the 1993 Topps All-Star Rookie Team and the NL All-Star squad in 1994. In 1995, he was a hitting machine who had a 21-game hitting streak in June and then a 15-game hitting streak in September. García later coached for Seattle and was the first base coach and infield instructor for John Russell’s staff in 2010. He was named the manager of the Bradenton Marauders in December 2010, and in 2013-14, Garcia managed the Altoona Curve before being released by the Pirates. He then coached and managed in the Mexican League until 2018 and is now a clinic hitting coach. 
• 1973 - IF Mendy Lopez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Mendy got bits and pieces of seven campaigns in the majors, with some of 2001-02 with the Pirates where he hit .217 in 25 games (he spent almost all of 2002 in AAA Nashville). After his MLB retirement in 2004, he played in Korea, Mexico (where he was the 2006 MVP) and the Dominican. Mendy joined the organization in 2015 as the Pirates DSL manager, then was the Bucs Latin American Field Coordinator from 2017-21 and became Bradenton’s batting coach the following season. 
• 1978 - RHP Juan Cruz was born in Bonao, Dominican Republic. Juan finished up his 12-year career in Pittsburgh in 2012, getting into 43 games and going 1-1-3/2.78 with 14 holds as part of the support group of closer Joel Hanrahan. With several other late inning options available, the Pirates released him in late August and that was the final leg of his MLB journey. 
• 2002 - No job is safe: head Trainer Kent Biggerstaff was fired by Dave Littlefield. Biggerstaff, 54, had spent the past 17 years as the Bucs’ head trainer after serving a four-year apprenticeship under Tony Bartirome, who he replaced in 1986. He went on to become an athletic trainer for the PGA Tour, the Summer Senior Olympics, and Minor League Umpires Concussion Coordinator. In 2018, Kent was elected to the National Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame.

10/14: Postseason - Rook, Bert & Nellie Stop O's, Zane Whips Braves; Cutch MoY, Deal Nixed, Expansion, Roster Shuffles, Bell-Abrams; HBD Miguel, Kris, Duaner, Ryan, Midre, Scoops, Tom, Ken, Fireman, Oscar, Ona & Norm

• 1863 - LHP (as speculated by SABR; his pitching side is not known for sure so...) Norm Baker was born in Philadelphia. He got his first taste of the pros with the Alleghenys in 1883, going 0-2/3.32 in a three game tryout and getting released before he put in 10 days on the roster to qualify for a contract. (His ERA wasn’t very indicative of his pitching; he gave up seven earned runs but 16 tallies overall and yielded 24 hits and 11 walks in 19 IP). Baker went on to pitch for the American Association’s Louisville and Baltimore franchises, although he was best known for irritating teammates (he was described as a “contrarian” who argued for the sake of arguing) and a man who never let a contract stand in his way - he switched among amateur, independent and minor-league clubs as freely as the law allowed and then some. He was injured in 1889 in a train accident and tried to come back, but his arm never fully recovered. Baker umped and managed briefly afterwards, then went on to have a career as a music store keyboard salesman while playing and co-managing for the company team.
• 1886 - IF Ona Dodd was born in Springtown, Texas. The TCU alum got into five games for the Bucs in 1912 after being selected from Waco, went 0-for-9, and that ended his MLB journey. He played in the Texas League afterward through 1918. Dodd was the second player from Texas Christian to reach the show, and the only one of the 40+ Horned Frog MLB players to play for Pittsburgh. 
• 1896 - CF Oscar Charleston was born in Indianapolis. The Hall of Famer played for the Homestead Grays from 1930-31, and from 1932-37 was the player/manager for the Pittsburgh Crawfords during their heyday. He consistently hit .340+ for the Crawfords, with a .363 BA in 1932. That club, with brother Hall of Famers Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, and Judy Johnson on the roster along with “Charlie,” is considered among the best Negro League teams ever fielded. 

Oscar Charleston - photo National Baseball Hall of Fame

• 1909 - The Pirates scored three times in the first inning, but the Detroit Tigers came back to take a 5-4 win at Bennett Park to force a seventh game in the World Series. The Cats used a balanced attack, banging out 10 hits, five of which were doubles, to give George Mullin the win and send Vic Willis to defeat. The Pirates scored three first-inning runs, keyed by a Hans Wagner double, and almost pulled it out in the ninth. Leadoff singles and a misplayed bunt brought the Bucs within a run with runners on the corners and no outs, but Pittsburgh couldn’t cash in. Bill Abstein was tossed out at home on George Gibson’s bouncer to first and Ed Abbaticchio banged into a game-ending DP to kill the golden goose. It was also the first officially sanctioned series to go the full seven-game limit.
• 1913 - RHP Hugh “Fireman” Casey was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Casey was a nine-year vet (he lost a couple of years to the war) who spent most of his time with the Dodgers; he played with the Bucs for most of his final campaign in 1949, going 4-1-5/4.66 before being released to the Yankees for his final four outings. He had started as a fireballer, but an arm injury made him go to a curve and a new pitch, the splitter (although most opponents considered it a spitter, not splitter). Hugh was also noted for once getting into a brawl with author Ernest Hemingway in Cuba where the Dodgers were training. He got his nickname because he was an early baseball fireman, doing what a reliever should - putting out fires. Hugh came to a sad end, committing suicide in 1951 after losing a paternity suit and being sued for back business taxes due from his bar/restaurant.
• 1915 - LHP Ken Heintzelman was born in Peruque, Missouri. He pitched for Pittsburgh from 1937-42, was off during the war years, and then returned for 1946-47. In eight years, the southpaw made 154 appearances with 86 starts and went 37-43 with a 4.14 ERA. His son Tom, went on to play MLB ball with the Cardinals and Giants as an infielder between 1973 and 1978. 
• 1934 - RHP Tom Cheney was born in Morgan, Georgia. Cheney put in eight seasons of MLB ball, working for the Bucs in 1960 and a bit in ‘61 (2-2/4.67 overall) before going to the Senators for Tom Sturdivant. Tom had control issues throughout his career but terrific stuff, and holds the record for most K in a game with 21 in a 16-inning, 228-pitch win for Washington in 1962. Still, he only won 19 games in 71 starts over those eight years. He appeared to have turned the corner in 1962-63, but in August of the ‘63 campaign blew out his elbow and only got into 18 more MLB games before he was done. 

Tom Cheney - 1961 Topps

• 1946 - OF/1B Al “Scoops” Oliver was born in Portsmouth, Ohio. He played 10 of his 18 big league years (1968-77) in Pittsburgh with a line of .296/135/717 and three All-Star berths. Scoops was a key member of the early ‘70s clubs that won a World Series and five pennants in six seasons. He holds the distinction of hitting the last home run at Forbes Field while also driving in the first run ever scored at Three Rivers Stadium. Al was dubbed “Scoops” as a minor league player at Gastonia because of his glove work at first. And his leather was excellent no matter where they put Oliver, who played 840 MLB games in center field. 
• 1952 - 22-year-old Pirate OF Gus Bell was traded to the Giants for outfielders Gail Henley and Cal Abrams, along with C Joe Rossi. Bell spent the next 13 years in the show, nine with the Reds and four as an All-Star, belting double figure homers for the next eight seasons with a high of 30 long balls in 1953. Abrams hit well in his two Bucco years (.273/15 HR) before being traded to Baltimore, but Henley got just 30 MLB at-bats and Rossi was a wash-out. 
• 1968 - The Pirates, in the midst of a youth movement, shed some years when they lost OF Manny Mota, 1B Donn Clendenon and 3B Maury Wills to the Montreal Expos along with pitchers Dave Roberts, Al McBean and Ron Slocum to the San Diego Padres during the expansion draft. 
• 1969 - The Pittsburgh Press reported that the Pirates were a little flummoxed as to what to do with their peach-fuzz trio of Al Oliver, Richie Hebner and Bob Robertson. The consensus: keep Scoops at first base, move Big Red to third and deal The Gravedigger, who was used in a platoon role during the past season. Fortunately, when the season started, all three were still here thanks to Oliver’s versatility - he played first base and both outfield corners full-time (151 games, 609 PAs), allowing Robby to stay at first and Hebner to man the hot corner as platoon guys, with both getting 450+ dish visits. It kept that core together - Richie was 22 while the other pair were 23, and the trio remained intact as Pirates teammates through the 1976 season and five flags. 

Nellie Briles - 1972 Topps World Series

• 1971 - Nellie Briles tossed a two-hit, two-walk shutout at the Baltimore Orioles, and the 4-0 win put the Pirates up three games to two in the World Series. The Birds never got a runner to second as two Orioles reached with two outs and the Bucs turned a pair of DP on the other set as Nellie faced just 29 hitters. Every Pirate batter reached base during the game, with Bob Robertson hitting a solo shot at Three Rivers Stadium in front of 51,377 Pittsburgh fans. 
• 1971 - OF Midre Cummings was born in Christiansted, St. Croix, in the US Virgin Islands. A first round pick of the Twins in the 1990 draft, he came to Pittsburgh as part of the John Smiley deal. Between 1993-97, he barely got over 500 at bats for the Bucs, hitting .217. After the Pirates let him go, he played until 2005 and turned his bat around, never hitting under .263, although he remained a bench guy, playing fewer than 100 games in any given season. 
• 1978 - OF Ryan Church was born in Santa Barbara, California. Church was signed to a one-year/$1.5M FA contract by the Bucs in 2010 in the hope that he would provide at least a platoon, if not starting, bat for the outfield. But Church had suffered a second concussion while playing in 2009 and never recovered his old mojo as a hitter, batting .182 and being sent to Arizona at the deadline. He played out the year there, hitting better (.265), but it was his final bow in the show after seven MLB seasons after the D-Backs non-tendered him following the campaign. 
• 1979 - Staring at elimination, Pittsburgh had Bill Mazeroski throw out the first pitch. That Maz mojo apparently did the trick as Jim Rooker and game-winner Bert Blyleven combined to toss a six-hitter against the Orioles at TRS to keep the Bucs alive with a 7-1 victory. Rook went five frames, leaving with the Birds ahead, 1-0, before Blyleven and the Buc bats took over. Tim Foli tripled and had three RBI, Bill Madlock went 4-for-4, and Dave Parker and Phil Garner had a pair of knocks. The Pirates’ win left Baltimore ahead in the World Series win column three games to two. It’s also the last World Series game played in Pittsburgh.

Duaner Sanchez - 2003 Upper Deck

• 1979 - RHP Duaner Sanchez was born in Cotuí, Dominican Republic. The Pirates got him from the D-Backs in July, 2002, for Mike Fetter, and Sanchez was tagged for 15 runs in 8-1/3 IP during his nine outings as a Bucco. He was released in 2003 and the Dodgers claimed him, with Duaner putting together a solid three-year run with LA and the Mets as a set-up man after that. His career took a hard hit in 2006, when a cab he was riding in was sideswiped by a drunk driver, separating his shoulder and pretty much ending his major league days. He put in a full year with the Mets in 2008, albeit with a 4.32 ERA (it was 2.60 before his injury) and after a quick stop at San Diego, he spent 2009-11 in the Dominican, Mexican and indie leagues before retiring from pro ball. 
• 1980 - Charley Feeney of the Post Gazette wrote that the Bucs offered the California Angels SS Tim Foli in exchange for 1B Jason Thompson, and the Halos countered by asking for a SS Dale Berra/RHP Enrique Romo package. No deal was struck, but focus and perseverance sometimes pay off. The Bucs landed Thompson late during the following spring training camp by sending the Halos C Ed Ott and LHP Mickey Mahler. JT proved solid with the stick - in his five Pirate campaigns, he hit .259 with 93 HR and a 125 OPS+. Otter played one more season and was done while Mahler pitched from 1981-83 in the Angels system, but only made 12 MLB outings, working out of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League and serving as a depth option for the Cali club. 
• 1984 - LHP Kris Johnson was born in West Covina, California. Johnson was a #1 pick (40th overall) of the Bosox out of Wichita State in 2006. They released him in 2011 and the Bucs signed him. He got into four Pirates games (one start) in 2013, slashing 0-2/6.10, and was traded to the Twins after the season to get Duke Welker back. He carved out a solid six-year run beginning in 2015 (60-43/2.81) with Hiroshima in the Japanese League before retiring in 2021. 
• 1991 - The Pirates Zane Smith was the victor as the Bucs took a 1-0 win over the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and a 3-2 lead in the NLCS. Tom Glavine was the loser, touched up only in the fifth when Chico Lind singled home Steve Buechele. The Braves lost a run when David Justice missed third base while heading home after a two-out, fourth-inning single in a decision that was controversial with its replay inconclusive, allowing the original call to stand. 

The Slide even made bobblehead notoriety...

• 1992 - Pittsburgh lost the seventh game of the NLCS to the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, 3-2, when Sid Bream scored in the ninth, barely beating Barry Bond's off-line throw and Spanky LaValliere’s lunging tag to begin a two-decade long Bucco Dark Age. Pittsburgh carried a two-run lead into the last frame when a Chico Lind error and two walks proved fatal. Francisco Cabrera, whose two-out pinch-hit single tallied Bream, was a backup catcher who had only 11 plate appearances during the regular season. Karma quickly caught up; the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Bravos four games to two in the World Series, taking all four of their victories by one run with three of those wins claimed during their last at bat for their first of back-to-back Fall Classic titles. 
• 1992 - LHP Miguel Del Pozo was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He bounced around and had TJ surgery in 2016, landing with Pirates in 2020 as a minor league FA. Del Pozo had been beaten up some in his rookie year with the Angels, and it continued during his season in Pittsburgh. He was called up in 2020 and still had big problems finding the strike zone. Miguel walked eight in 3-2/3 IP and posted an ERA of 17.18; he declared for FA after the season and signed with the Tigers. He was DFA’ed after the 2022 season and signed with Detroit, was released after TJ surgery and is in the Giants system now. 
• 1994 - The players may have been on strike, But GM Cam Bonifay was still trying to beef up the edges of the club. LHP Randy Tomlin was DFA’ed (he declared for free agency but never landed another MLB gig) to make room for IF Nelson Liriano, who was claimed from the Colorado Rockies. Earlier in the week, Cam picked up C Mark Parent on waivers from the Chicago Cubs and added a pair of outfielders, Jacob Brumfield and Micah Franklin, in deals with the Cincinnati Reds. 
• 2015 - Andrew McCutchen was selected as Pittsburgh’s Male Athlete of the Year in a voter's poll for the City Paper’s “Best Of” issue. Charlie Deitch wrote a feature on Cutch, saying “...the reason (for the award) seems like a simple one: He's really good at playing baseball. But it's more than that...this guy really loves the game; he says it with his words and his actions.”

Notes: Quiet Week...

The quest for the crown... 

Pirates Stuff:

• MLB's Winter meetings will be held in Dallas this December 9-12, featuring the GM meetings and Rule 5 Draft. Last year, the Pirates added just one player (OF Gilberto Celestino, who was sold to the Cubs in July w/o appearing for the Bucs) before December.

Farm Stuff:

• Indianapolis Indians president/CEO Randy Lewandowski was named the 2024 Minor League  Executive of the Year.
• RHP Mike Burrows was yanked from the AFL Scottsdale Scorpions roster (no reason given), and replaced by RHP Valentin Linarez. Linarez, 24, began the year AA-Altoona before being sent to Hi-A Greensboro after a rough go with the Curve. The 6-5 Domincan's combined '24 slash was 4-2-2/4.98 with 71 K in 56 IP. 
• Hurricane Milton chewed up the Buc Lecom/Pirate City facilities in Bradenton a bit, but the complex avoided a major hit (primarily the park wall and practice fields fencing were dinged) and should be ready for spring training.

Family Ties Stuff:

• Former Bucco All-Star reliever Mark "The Shark" Melancon joined the San Diego State Aztecs' staff as pitching development coordinator.
• Indians, Twins, Red Sox, Yankees, Pirates and Angels pitcher Luis Tiant passed away Tuesday. El Tiante tossed for the Bucs in 1981 (2-5/3.92), the year before ending his 19-year career.

Playoffs:

• It's down to four - The Mets and the Dodgers go at it for the NL crown (LA up 1-0) while the Yankees and Guardians vie for the AL title. The two winners meet on October 25 to begin this year's grand finale, the Fall Classic.

10/13 Through the 1930s: Rizzo Deal, Waner, Rhyne Called Up; Postseason - Ray Stops Sens, Babe & Bats Do In Tigers; Smoky City; HBD Dick, Xavier, Charlie, Frank, Jack & Rube

• 1876 - LHP George “Rube” Waddell was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania. He pitched just two seasons for the Pirates (1900-01), but his legend deserves mention. He wore out his welcome with Pittsburgh, getting into two games in 1901 after leading the NL in ERA (2.37) the year before with the Bucs. His eccentricities: He was a fire fanatic in a good way; Rube always wore a red t-shirt so he could join up with any fire-fighting brigade that he found in action. Though he never showed up drunk at a game, he was a heavy drinker - The Sporting News called him a “sousepaw” - and was distracted by crowds, who would mesmerize him by flashing shiny objects at him. In exhibition games, he had his teammates sit around him on the mound. Waddell also wrestled alligators in the off season. Current baseball historians believe he was autistic or had ADD before the conditions were known. But Rube could throw a baseball. He won 193 games and struck out 2,316 batters in his career (349 whiffs in 1904 alone). Rube K’ed three batters on nine pitches in 1902. He was one of the great drawing cards of early baseball, and is in the Hall of Fame. The story of his life was foretold by the stars: Rube was born on Friday the 13th and died on April Fools Day. 
• 1888 - Manager, coach & scout Jack Onslow was born in Scottdale, between Connellsville and Mt. Pleasant. Jack had a brief MLB career, consisting of two seasons and 36 games as a catcher before coaching for Bill McKechnie’s Pirates (1925–26), the Washington Senators (1927), St. Louis Cardinals (1928), Philadelphia Phillies (1931–32) and Boston Red Sox (1934). Onslow also scouted for the Chicago White Sox, Boston Braves and Boston Red Sox. He was the White Sox skipper from 1949-50 and managed minor league squads for six seasons. 
• 1889 - SS Frank Smykal was born in Chicago. He got a six-game cup of coffee with the Bucs in 1916, going 3-for-10 with three walks. He was one of a group of SS’s on the roster as it was Hans Wagner’s final season; the spot stayed patchwork after the Dutchman left until Rabbit Maranville arrived in 1921. It was the 26-year-old Smykal’s only taste of MLB ball, and after his Pirates stint that he went home to Chicago for good, where he lived until he passed away at age 60. 

Pgh Commercial Gazette Clip 10/14/1899

• 1899 - Smoky City, home field edge: The Louisville Colonels scored four runs in the ninth to take a 6-5 lead over the Pirates at Exposition Park, as a thick‚ black mist from the local mills slowly settled over the field. The game was called before the Bucs could bat because of poor visibility (darkness, technically) caused by the smokestack fog, and much to Louisville's consternation, the score reverted to the last full frame, the eighth inning, giving Pittsburgh a 5-2 victory. 
• 1903 - Boston won the first World Series five games to three (it was best-of-nine) with a 3-0 win at the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds in front of 7,455 fans. In a battle between Deacon Phillippe and Bill Dinneen, the key blow was Hobe Ferris’ two-run single in the fourth inning, following a Bucco boot. Dinneen tossed a four-hitter, and ended the game with his seventh K, whiffing Honus Wagner. Even in that rubber-armed era, the Pirates had piled way too much work on Phillippe, who started five of the eight games (and went the distance in all of them) because of an injury to Sam Leever’s shoulder, the mental breakdown of Ed Doheny, a 16-game winner during the season, and the defection of 1902 rotation members Jack Chesbro and Jesse Tannehill to the American League. Pittsburgh owner Barney Dreyfuss added his share of the gate receipts to the players' share, so the losing team's players actually finished with larger individual shares than the winning team ($1,316.25 to $1,182.00). An appreciative Dreyfus also gave the Deacon a bonus and 10 shares of stock of Pirates ownership for his yeoman efforts on the slab. 
• 1906 - IF Charlie Hughes was born in Lawrenceville. Hughes, a gifted gloveman who developed his skills on Ammon Field, played two seasons for the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1931 & 1934) and another campaign for the Homestead Grays (1933). Hughes started in the local black sandlot leagues, playing for the Bluesox of Herron Hill/Lawrenceville and the Edgar Thompson mill team. He played 32 years for ET, off-and-on, where not only did you get to play ball but had a job in the mill to pay the bills. (Carnegie/US Steel sponsored teams starting in the late 1800s). 

Fred Clarke - 1909 American Caramel

• 1909 - The Pirates broke out the bats at Forbes Field in front of 21,706 fans to take a 3-2 lead in the World Series with an 8-4 win over the Tigers. Fred Clarke had two hits, including a homer with three RBI/two runs scored, to lead the offense. Tommy Leach, Bobby Byrne and George Gibson also had a pair of raps while Babe Adams cruised to his second WS win, giving up six hits and fanning eight. The Bucs tortured Detroit on the basepaths, stealing five bases in six tries. 
• 1912 - RHP Xavier Rescigno was born in New York City. He tossed for the Pirates during the war years of 1943-45 (it was his entire MLB career), slashing 19-22-16/4.13 in 129 games (21 starts). The curve ball whiz tossed for Manhattan College and was signed by the Yankees but didn’t take off until he joined the Brooklyn organization and was tutored by Burleigh Grimes. The Pirates eventually bought his contract and sent him to Albany, and they brought him and Ralph Kiner up in 1943. He worked through the ‘45 season when at age 32, he was overtaken by the wartime talent returning from the service back to baseball. He worked in the minors for five more years before retiring. Rescigno was known as “Mr. X” and was the first guy named Xavier to play in MLB (there have been six in big league history and the Pirates rostered three - Rescigno, Nady and Paul). In fact, while in his 90s, one of his final acts as a baseball elder was to meet up with the newest MLB Xavier at the time, OF’er Nady, during a game at San Diego, and Rescigno followed up with a letter welcoming Nady into the Xavier fraternity. 
• 1925 - The Pirates, on the recommendation of scout Joe Devine, bought OF Paul Waner (who had 280 hits and a .401 BA) and SS Hal Rhyne from the Pacific Coast League champs, the San Francisco Seals, for $100 K. Hall-of-Famer Waner played 15 years for the Bucs from 1926-40, hitting .340 with one MVP and four All-Star outings (ASGs didn’t begin until 1933, when he was 30 years old). Rhyne played two years in Pittsburgh and batted .258, but couldn’t move Glenn Wright off of short. Hal played five more years for Boston and the White Sox. 
• 1925 - Pittsburgh evened the World Series at three games each as they downed the Washington Senators, 3-2, at Forbes Field. Ray Kremer bested Alex Ferguson, giving up six hits. Pirates leadoff man Eddie Moore had two hits, including a homer, two runs scored and an RBI; Pie Traynor and Clyde Barnhart drove in the other tallies, with all the scoring posted in the first five innings. 

Eddie Moore - 1925 photo Bain/Library of Congress

• 1932 - IF Dick Barone was born in San Jose. The 27-year-old Barone was called from Columbus to become the back-up to Dick Schofield in 1960 after Dick Groat was injured. He played in three games (once as a starter) over the final month, and those three contests made up his entire major league career. He was 0-for-6 while flawless in the field, but wasn’t included on the Pirates' 1960 World Series roster as Groat returned to the roster for the postseason. Barone's baseball claim to fame is that he once started a game in place of Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski. Afterward, he played in the minors through 1962 and saw his pitcher grandson, Daniel, play in the show in 2007 with the Florida Marlins. 
• 1937 - The Bucs got OF Johnny Rizzo from the Cards for 1B Bernard Cobb, C Tom Padden, OF Bud Hafey and cash. The rookie Rizzo hit 23 homers in 1938, a team record that lasted for nearly a decade (it was broken by Jason Bay and Josh Bell, both who hit 26 dingers), and was traded early in 1940 for Vince DiMaggio. Rizzo went downhill in 1941, and ‘42 was his last MLB season as he enlisted in the Navy the following year. He came back from the service in 1946, spent four years in the minors and retired to work in the sporting goods field and as an auto salesman.

10/13 From 1940: Shep Hired; Postseason - Maz Mr. Game 7, Roberto Rips O's Bucs Even Up w/Braves In '71 & '72, Saul's Gang; HBD Jose, Hayden & Bob

• 1941 - Pittsburgh selected Fayette City and Connellsville HS’s Jim Russell from Memphis of the Southern Association in the minor league draft. He hit .277 from 1942-47 for the Bucs (in 1944 he led the Pirates in hitting with a .312 BA and 109 runs scored) before spending his next four MLB campaigns playing for the Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers, with Jim’s career cut short by heart problems he had contracted as a child. He stayed in baseball afterward, scouting for the Dodgers and Washington Senators for a decade. Jim’s claim to fame is that he was the first player in Buccaneer history to hit a pinch hit grand slam, banging it against the Dodgers in 1943. He’s a member of the Mon Valley, Western Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Hall of Fames. 
• 1942 - 3B Bob Bailey was born in Long Beach. As a prep player, he was inked to the largest signing bonus ever paid up to that time, a reported $135,000, and began his 17-year pro career in Pittsburgh (1962-66) where he hit .257 with occasional power before being dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers with Gene Michael for Maury Wills. Bailey had his best years with the Montreal Expos in the early seventies, with three 20+ HR seasons and three more with 80+ RBI. When he retired, Bob spent a decade managing in the Montreal system with side gigs as a hitting instructor. He passed away in Las Vegas at age 75. 
• 1960 - Game Seven of the World Series at Forbes Field ended with this call by NBC’s Mel Allen “There's a drive into deep left field, look out now… that ball is going, going, gone! And the World Series is over! Mazeroski… hits it over the left field fence…” Bill Mazeroski led off the bottom of the ninth with the most dramatic home run in Series history, a blast off Ralph Terry, breaking a 9-9 tie with the Yankees and bringing Pittsburgh its third World Championship. It’s still the only homer to win a seventh game in the ninth inning. Hal Smith hit a key two-out, three-run shot in the eighth to give Pittsburgh a short-lived lead before Maz stole his thunder. Harvey Haddix, the fourth Pirate hurler, recovered from a blown save in the ninth to get the win in front of 36,683 ecstatic rooters. Maz’s blast also cost Casey Stengel his job; the Ol’ Perfessor “retired'' as NY manager five days after the loss, telling the media "I wasn't retired - they fired me." Other factoids: Bobby Richardson of the Yankees was named MVP of the Series, the only time that someone from the defeated team has been so honored, and it was the only World Series game ever played without a strikeout recorded by either club. The event has been celebrated on its anniversary outside the remaining FF wall since 1985. 

Maz's trot - 10/14/1960 photo Jim Klingensmith/Post-Gazette

• 1967 - Larry Shepard was named manager, replacing Danny Murtaugh, who in turn had replaced Harry Walker earlier in the year. He lasted two seasons, circularly replaced by Murtaugh, then became the pitching coach of Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine under Sparky Anderson from 1970 through 1978. He finished his coaching career with the San Francisco Giants in 1979. 
• 1971 - Roberto Clemente had three hits while Milt May drove in the winning run with a pinch-hit single in the eighth as the Pirates rallied to defeat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-3, at TRS in Game Four of the Fall Classic. Luke Walker gave up three runs in the first frame before heading to the showers with two outs, but Bruce Kison came to the rescue, tossing 6-1/3 one-hit innings, then Dave Giusti saved it by pitching perfect ball over the last two frames. It was the first scheduled night World Series game in baseball history (in 1949, the lights were turned on in the ninth inning at Ebbets Field because of darkness in a WS game between Brooklyn & the Yankees) and set two attendance records with 61M TV viewers listening to Curt Gowdy and Bob Prince call the action while 51,378 fans blanketed the park. It was a success all around; by 1987, all World Series games would be scheduled under the lights and the win evened the Series at two games apiece. It also got foul poles added to TRS the following season after a rhubarb over a Clemente drive (the Bucs claimed homer; the ump called foul) led the Pirate brass to discovered that TRS’ painted yellow foul line had a 20” recess between the fence on the field and the back wall, leaving enough room for a curving ball that would otherwise kiss the foul line to instead slide foul. Local baseball icon from Donora, Stan “The Man” Musial, tossed out the game’s first pitch. 
• 1979 - The Bucs took a 6-3 lead into the eighth against the Orioles in the fourth game of the World Series, but they and 50,883 fans were stunned by a six-run eighth by the Orioles and a 9-6 loss snatched from the jaws of victory at Three Rivers Stadium. Kent Tekulve, inheriting a mess from Don Robinson, gave up a pair of two-run doubles to Terry Crowley and John Lowenstein to take the defeat. The Pirates banged out 17 hits, but stranded 10 with two DP, a caught stealing and a throw-out at home. Willie Stargell had three knocks, including a homer and double, but Pittsburgh fell into a three games to one hole against Baltimore. 

Willie Stargell - 1979 Topps WS Patch

• 1984 - RHP Hayden Penn was born in La Jolla, California. Penn appeared in 33 games over four years in the majors. His last three outings were with the Pirates in 2010, when he gave up eight runs in 2-1/3 IP after being claimed off waivers from the Florida Marlins during training camp. Penn was sent to AAA Indianapolis, then his contract was sold and he threw in Japan for three seasons afterward for Chiba-Lotte, winning a Japan Series game (their World Series) in 2010. He made his last hurrah with the indie Bridgeport Bluefish in 2013, retiring at age 28. 
• 1985 - Saul Finkelstein sat at the base of the flagpole by the Forbes Field wall outside Schenley Plaza and listened to a taped NBC radio broadcast of Chuck Thompson and Jack Quinlan calling the seventh game of the 1960 World Series on his boombox. After that day, the memorial event soon evolved into an annual party & ceremony open to all under the auspices of the Game Seven Gang, often drawing an assortment of politicos and members of the championship team to mingle with the fans in Oakland once again. 
• 1991 - Pittsburgh evened the NLCS at two games with a 10-inning, 3-2 win at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium over the Braves. Mike LaValliere’s two-out, pinch hit single off Mark Wohlers scored Andy Van Slyke, and Stan Belinda tossed two scoreless frames for the win. Steve Buechele banged out three hits, giving him five straight knocks over two games to tie an NLCS record that stood until 2003. 
• 1992 - The Pirates pounded the Braves, 13-4, at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium to even the NLCS series at three games each. Tim Wakefield won his second game while Jay Bell, Barry Bonds and Lloyd McClendon homered. The Bucs ran away with the game early after an eight-run second inning, featuring a pair of hits by Bonds and McClendon during the frame. 
• 1994 - C Jose Godoy was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela. He was signed in 2011 by the Cards and had cups of coffee with Seattle and Minnesota. The Twins waived him in 2022 and the Bucs, in need of another catcher (he was the season’s seventh), claimed him. Jose got into eight August games, got one hit and was sent to Indy when Tyler Heineman returned to action. Jose then had stops with the Orioles, Yankees and Rangers before spendingt ‘24 in the Phils system.