8/18 Through the 1960s: Out Of Order, Game Days, Ray & Buck NNL-ASG Dr Hardy Deal, Branch Goes, HBD Arriba, Spanky, Carl, Roger, Bernie, Burleigh & Spooks

1891 - IF Wally “Spooks” Gerber was born in Columbus, Ohio. Gerber started his 15-year career with Pittsburgh in 1914-15 as a utilityman (he was another in a long line of Hans Wagner replacements at short), batting .207. Following his playing career, Gerber was an umpire in the Mid Atlantic League and also worked as a super for the Columbus Recreation Department. Wally got his nickname because of his gaunt, ghostly build.

1893 - RHP Burleigh Grimes was born in Emerald, Wisconsin. The Hall of Famer spent five years with the Bucs (1916-17, 1928-29, 1934), beginning and ending his career in Pittsburgh with a couple years in the middle. His line was a modest 48-42/3.26 as a Pirate, but in a 19-year career with seven different clubs, Old Stubblebeard (he didn’t shave on game days, claiming the emery he used on ball irritated his face) won 269 decisions and was the last of 17 pitchers grandfathered in by a 1920 ban who was allowed to legally throw a spitball.

1893 - RHP Bernie Duffy was born in Vinson, Oklahoma. He joined the Pirates briefly in 1913 as a highly touted arm, but in three outings (two starts), the 19-year-old lasted just 11-1/3 IP and gave up 18 hits while putting up a 5.56 ERA. He spent the next several years going from farm club to farm club, and after the 1917 season did what any self-respecting Oklahoman would do: he hung up the spikes and earned his daily bread as a wildcatter in the oil fields. 

1914 - Babe Adams bested NY Giants Rube Marquard to take a 3-1 decision at Forbes Field. Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote that “Adams was more than their (the Giants) master and forced them to bow to defeat.” The Babe helped his own cause by banging an inside the park homer, set up when frustrated center fielder Bob Bescher didn’t chase the ball after it got past him and allowed it to roll almost to the wall as Adams circled the bases. 

Babe Adams - Helmar Score 5 Disc

1927 - LHP Roger Bowman was born in Amsterdam, New York. He closed out his five-year MLB career with two stops in Pittsburgh in 1953 and 1955, slashing 0-7/5.66. Bowman did have a long career in the minors, working from 1946-61 and once tossing a seven-inning perfecto, and also twirled in the Cuban and Venezuelan Leagues. He was a well-rounded fellow, playing sax for area big bands in the Adirondacks, turning an art degree into an upholstery business after his ball-playing days and earning a pilot's license.

1930 - Carl Barger was born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. A corporate lawyer with Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott, he helped form and lead the Pittsburgh Associates to keep the Pirates in Pittsburgh after they were put up for sale by John Galbreath's family in 1985. He was president of the Pirates from 1987 to 1991 when he resigned to help his friend, Wayne Huinzenga, put together the Florida Marlins franchise. He died of a ruptured aorta while attending the winter meetings in 1992, before the Marlins had even played their first game. The Fish retired number 5 in his honor (though Carl was a long-time Pirates fan from his youth, Joe DiMaggio, who wore that number, was his favorite player). Fame is fleeting, though - the Marlins controversially unretired it for Logan Morrison in 2012, instead leaving a couple of practice fields named after Barger.

1931 - Paul Waner went 5-for-6 to lead Pittsburgh to a 14-5 win over the Phils at the Baker Bowl. Pie Traynor added three hits, three runs and two RBI while Eddie Phillips drove in four runs to provide the muscle to allow righty Glenn Spencer to cruise to a complete game victory.

1934 - The Great One, Roberto Clemente, was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico. The Hall of Famer & humanitarian compiled a lifetime .317 BA, hitting over .300 in 13 of his last 14 seasons, and collected 3,000 hits in eighteen years as a Pirate. He was a two-time World Series champ, 15-time All-Star, won 12 Golden Gloves, was an NL & WS MVP, had his number retired and since 2002 has been honored annually by a MLB special day.

1940 - Homestead Grays RHP Ray Brown worked the final two frames for the East All-Star club that shut out the West 11-0 at Chicago’s Comiskey Park in the Negro League Summer Classic. Teammate Buck Leonard added three hits, three RBI and scored twice for the ASG winners.

Buck Leonard - 1993 Ted Williams

1940 - IF Paul Popovich was born in Flemington, West Virginia. The Mountaineer (he was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2013) closed out his 11-year career with Pittsburgh, hitting .211 in 1974-75 as a bench player for two division-winning clubs. After his playing days were finished, he spent a decade as an infield coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

1948 - The Bucs put up a six-spot in the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs to pull away for a 7-4 win at Wrigley Field. Future manager Danny Murtaugh drove in three runs, while rookie pitcher Bob Chesne helped himself to the victory with 8-2/3 IP on the hill and two hits, a run and an RBI at bat.

1952 - The Pirates sent IF George Strickland and RHP Ted “Cork” Wilks (he was called Cork in his St. Louis days because he was the club’s late-inning “stopper”) to the Cleveland Indians for Johnny Berardino‚ minor leaguer Charlie Sipple and $50‚000. For Berardino, it was his second stint in Pittsburgh (59 games/.187 BA), a stopping off point before his more lucrative career in movies and as a soap opera star, notably playing Dr. Steve Hardy on “General Hospital.” The deal was a win for the Cleves. Strickland ended up with eight years for the Tribe as a defensive whiz, playing 734 games while hitting .233.

1956 - Manager Bobby Bragan literally shook up the lineup by sending the first six batters up in order of productivity, batting the pitcher seventh, and using the bottom pair to set up the top of the order. His lineup: Frank Thomas, Dale Long, Bill Virdon, Lee Walls, Roberto Clemente, Dick Groat, Bob Friend, Bill Mazeroski and Jack Shepard, one that Press beatman Les Biederman described as “...a batting order that defied every known law of the game.” It worked, though, as the Bucs pounded out a 9-1 victory over the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. To Bragan’s way of thinking, the old way of constructing lineups was archaic, but his method never won over the support of traditionalists or the analytic gurus, and the Designated Hitter rule has made it moot.

1959 - Branch Rickey resigned as chairman of the Pirates board of directors to become president of the Continental League, a proposed third major league. The league disbanded in 1960 without playing a single game, but it helped to accelerate the expansion of MLB. Owners who were opposed to the CL approved expansion clubs in Houston, Minnesota and New York, all potential CL cities, to draw membership away from the new league, eventually killing it.

Spanky - 1990 Topps

1960 - C Mike “Spanky” LaValliere was born in Charlotte, NC. Spanky caught for the Bucs from 1987-93, putting up a .278 BA, a Golden Glove winner and a part of three Jim Leyland-led division winning teams (1991-93). He played though the 1995 season before retiring as a White Sox. LaValliere is now an instructor and occasional TV analyst. He picked up his nickname because his AAA manager, Jim Fregosi, thought he looked like Spanky from “Our Gang.”

1966 - Oooops! 3B Jose Pagan tied the modern NL record for errors in an inning with three in the fourth frame, booting four balls overall, as Pittsburgh lost to Mets 9-5 at Shea Stadium. Jose’s bad mitt day led to six unearned runs charged to loser Woodie Fryman. And ouch, Pagan also went 0-for-4 with two whiffs.

1969 - The Pirates showed some late inning two-out lightning at Crosley Field by scoring three times in the ninth to tie the Reds 5-5 and then ringing up seven more runs in the 10th to steal a 12-5 win. The Buccos juiced the sacks with two gone, with two runners reaching on Cincy errors and another on a bunt single, before the extra-innings floodgate opened. Carl Taylor cleaned the bases with a double, a knock set up Pirates at the corners and Al Oliver’s double followed by Gene Alley’s homer added up to the seven spot. Alley had four hits during the contest while Alou and Roberto Clemente each chipped in with three. Bruce Dal Canton tossed the final three frames for the win in relief of Bob Moose.

1969 - Bucco broadcaster Bob Prince announced that he had a lucrative offer to switch booths to take Harry Caray’s place in St. Louis (Caray was in the Busch doghouse and was fired after the campaign). The Gunner didn’t sound like a man ready to move, though, as he told the Pittsburgh Press that “I wouldn’t quit a job where I’m #1 for one where I’d be #2 or #3. He stayed but his announcing teammate Jim “The Possum” Woods did accept a job there as the sidekick to Jack Buck, but left after a year because the two didn’t get along particularly well.

8/18 From 1970: Bryan Bombs, Duke Run, Dual Dale, Mad Dog, Game Days, Wilson-Hatcher, Jason Signs, HBD Yu, Austin & Justin

1974 - The Bucs completed a three game sweep of the Dodgers at TRS, winning 10-3 behind the big sticks of Bob Robertson and Richie Zisk. The pair combined to go 7-for-10 with five runs and five RBI, each collecting a homer and banging out three doubles together. Rennie Stennett and Manny Sanguillen went 6-for-9 at the top of the order and scored three runs as Larry Demery cruised to the win with help from Dave Giusti. The game concluded a 25-of-35 streak; after a pair of losses, the Bucs then won 14-of-17 as they rolled to a division title. They ran into LA again in the NLCS, dropping the best-of-five series three games to one.

1976 - Bucco bats were smokin’ against the Giants John “The Count” Montefusco and Mike Caldwell as Pittsburgh ran away with a rain-shortened 12-1 win over San Francisco at Candlestick Park. Every player in the lineup had a hit, and four different Pirates either scored or drove in two or more runs. Richie Zisk led the way with a 4-for-4 day; five of his teammates had a pair of knocks. Jim Rooker rolled to victory, giving up four hits in six innings before the rain fell.

1985 - Bill Madlock went 4-for-4 and swatted a pair of homers to lead the Pirates to a 5-0 win over the Mets at TRS. Mad Dog was on a roll; he had long balls in each of his past two games, and went on to take the National League Player of the Week honors. Winner Don Robinson went six innings and Pat Clements spun the last three, combining for a five-hit whitewash.

1987 - LHP Justin Wilson was born in Anaheim, California. A fifth round pick in 2008 from Fresno, he didn’t sign him until two days before the deadline. A starter throughout his farm career (he was involved in a pair of no-hitters at AAA Indy), he was converted to a multi-purpose pen arm in the show, making his debut in 2012. He went 9-5/2.99 during his Pirates stint (2012-14) before being traded to the Yankees for Fran Cervelli. Justin was with the Red Sox, his seventh different club, in 2025 and is a free agent this season.

Barry Jones - 1987 Donruss

1987 - The Pirates and Reds were tied 4-4 after six at Riverfront Stadium, but the Bucs featured homers, double plays and whiffs to pull away in the final three frames for a 7-4 victory. John Cangelosi gave Pittsburgh the lead in the seventh with a solo shot to center, then Barry Jones put up zippos against Cincinnati that inning and the eighth thanks to a pair of twin killings. The coup 'de gras was provided in the ninth when Barry Bonds & Bobby Bo went long and Jim Gott fanned two-of-three Redlegs to clinch the game & win for Bob Walk.  

1989 - The Pirates traded OF Glenn Wilson to the Astros for OF Billy Hatcher. Wilson had hit well (.274) for the Bucs before the deal, but flopped with Houston. Hatcher didn’t do much at the plate for Pittsburgh either (.244 BA/68 OPS+) and was traded the next April to the Reds.

1992 - C Austin Hedges was born in San Juan Capistrano, California. He was a second round draft pick of the Padres in 2011 out of Serra Catholic HS and debuted with San Diego in 2015. Hedges was part of the 2020 Mike Clevinger deal with Cleveland before the Pirates signed him in the 2022 off season (one-year/$5M). Pittsburgh had a gaping hole at catcher and he’s reputedly an excellent handler of the staff with an elite mitt, but that’s offset by a career .189 BA.  He was sent to the Texas Rangers at the deadline for international pool space after batting .180 with a 28 OPS+ for Pittsburgh. He’s back for a second gig with the Cleveland Guardians now.

1992 - LHP Zane Smith’s bum wing had a domino effect on Pirates pitching. After tendinitis landed Smith on the DL for the second time, Bob Walk, who had been a spot starter working out of the bullpen, took his place in the rotation and Danny Cox, who had been fighting his own arm woes, was brought up from Buffalo to replace Walk. It worked out pretty well - Walkie and Smith won 18 games between them and Cox slashed 3-1-3/3.33 out of the pen. 

Zane Smith - 1992 Score

1995 - IF Yu-Cheng Chang was born in Taitung, China. Chang, who was in his fourth campaign with the Cleveland Guardians, was purchased by the Pirates in May, 2022, after he had been DFA’ed and injuries left the Bucs threadbare at first base. He had shown some power in 2021, playing in 89 games, but with a sky-high K rate. The strikeouts continued in ‘22 with both clubs. The Pirates DFA’ed him in June, 2022 and he was claimed by the Tampa Bay Rays. They let him go in September and Yu now plays in Taiwan.

1997 - A smattering of names usually not on the bingo card led the Bucs to a 7-2 victory over the Florida Marlins at Pro Player Stadium. Leadoff hitter Jermaine Allensworth was a triple shy of the cycle, scored twice and drove in two runs. Dale Sveum also went long, tallied twice and chased three runs home while Eddie Williams, playing both corners, delivered three knocks. Jose DeLeon went six innings for the win while Jason Christiansen, Marc Wilkins and Rich Loiselle added three hitless frames to bring it home. The game broke open late when the Bucs, aided by a couple of Fish boots, put up five runs in the final three innings.

1998 - LHP Jason Christiansen agreed to a two-year/$1.725M agreement with the Bucs, a nice boost over his current $320K deal. He almost outlasted the contract, leaving the team at the 2000 deadline when he was dealt to St. Louis. He worked through 2005 to close an 11-year MLB career.

1999 - Dale Sveum became the second Pirate (Bobby Bonilla was first) to homer from both sides of the plate during a game, the third time he accomplished the feat in his career, during a 12-6 win over the Reds at Cinergy Field. Also going deep for the Bucs were Brian Giles, Ed Sprague and Al Martin. Giles had three hits, three runs scored and three RBI in the Francisco Cordova win.

Mike Williams - 2002 Topps Total

2002 - The Bucs took a 3-2 victory from the Brewers at PNC Park as Adam Hyzdu came up clutch with a two-out RBI single in the opening frame and the eventual game-winner, a solo shot in the fourth. Bronson Arroyo went five innings for his first win of the season, though it took five arms behind him to finally put it to bed. The last Bucco twirler was Mike Williams, who earned his 35th save, besting the former record of 34 held since 1988 by Jim Gott. Williams ended the campaign with 46 saves, a mark since passed only once, by Mark Melancon in 2015 with 51.

2005 - LHP Zach Duke ran his record to 6-0, taking a 5-0 decision at Shea Stadium against the Mets. Duke allowed two hits in seven frames while whiffing five and dropping his ERA to 1.87. His six-game winning streak was the longest by a Pirates rookie since Don Robinson won seven straight in 1978. A July call up, Zachster finished the year with 8-2/1.81 slash in 14 starts.

2007 - The 2-3-4-5 hitters for the Bucs (Freddy Sanchez, Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Adam LaRoche) combined to go 10-for-17 with a homer, four doubles, three walks, six RBI and eight runs scored to lead Pittsburgh to an 11-6 romp over the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park. Paul Maholm was the recipient of the heart of the lineup’s largesse and took home the victory.

2015 - The Bucs won a game they tried hard to give away by a 9-8 count over Arizona at PNC Park. The Bucs were cruising along in the eighth with an 8-3 lead, built by Pedro Alvarez’s homer and some timely hitting, but a couple of walks let the D-Backs back in with three runs in that inning and then two errors in the ninth led to a pair of unearned runs (also ruining Mark Melancon’s 35-game streak of converted save opps) to tie the game. But the bullpen regained its mojo and behind scoreless three-inning stints turned in by Arquimedes Caminero and Joe Blanton, ground out the win. With two out in the 15th, Fran Cervelli singled and scored on Pedro Florimon’s triple off the Clemente Wall. Florimon was hitting under .100 coming into that at bat and had failed in a bunt try his last at-bat to become an unlikely hero. Blanton got the win; Cervy had four hits during the long (five hour plus) contest - and caught the next night.

Cervy - 2015 photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates

2019 - The Pirates traded a home game for the second time in three years for an appearance in the Little League Classic in Williamsport. The Bucs didn’t teach the 2,500 Little Leaguers and fans at Bowman Field, the home of the Class A Williamsport Crosscutters, much about how the game should be played, surrendering three homers in a 7-1 loss to the Cubs. But they displayed some big league sportsmanship, spending hours mixing with the small fry before the game, then went through a postgame handshake line.

2021 - Roberto Clemente became the sixth person honored with a statue at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, joining Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Derek Jeter. His 39-ounce, 35” Hillerich & Bradsby U1 Louisville Slugger bat was also added to the companies’ permanent “Hold a Piece of History” exhibit; before that, the war club had been shown as part of its Walk of Fame display since 2006.

2022 - Bryan Reynolds hit homers #2,999 and 3,000 in PNC Park history (numbers 19 and 20 on the year for B-Rey, giving him three bombs in the last two games), both two-run shots, to lead the Bucs to an 8-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. JT Brubaker came up with his strongest effort of the campaign, throwing seven innings of two-hit, shutout ball with seven whiffs. Ben Gamel drove in a pair of runs, with the other RBIs courtesy of Michael Chavis and Tyler Heineman. Kevin Newman added three knocks and crossed the dish three times while playing in the 400th game of his MLB career, all with Pittsburgh. The Pirates were due; they broke a six-game losing streak with the win.

Weekly Report: 3-3 Week; Player Musical Chairs Continues, Skenes Get Brief Break, Cruz Still Out, Endy Back On IL

Summertime, summerime...

Pirates Stuff:

• It never ends...3B Nick Gonzales was removed from Friday’s game after being hit on the helmet by a heater. Nicky G seemed fine, but was yanked as a precautionary move per the club. He had a contusion but no concussion and sat out the weekend.
• Endy Rodriguez was officially placed on the 10-day IL with hip inflammation, retro to Monday (when he was recalled off the IL, ironically). IF Jack Branningan was called up. Ps Isaac Mattson and Evan Sisk were swapped out - Mattson is back in the bigs, Sisk was optioned to Indy. Branningan lasted through Saturday before he went back.

Yo-yo Wilber Dotel - 2026 photo Pirates/Los Piratas

• OF Jhostynxon Garcia was optioned back to Indy (no surprise considering how little playing time he was getting) and RHP Yohan Ramirez, the main man in the pen, was placed on paternity leave. Billy Cook was called up to replace Password; Wilber Dotel took Yohan's spot. Wilber got an outing and was returned to Indy; OF Nick Yorke and LHP Hunter Barco were called up from AAA.
• Oneil Cruz had his rehab switched from Indy to Altoona. It's a move to keep him close at hand; the Curve is home this week while Indy is at Nashville. The latest word is that his bones have mended but he's still feeling soreness in his hand.
• Indy 2B Termarr Johnson was placed on the 7-day IL with a left knee injury suffered over the weeked running out a grounder. It was later diagnosed as tears to the ACL and LCL, ending his season. 
• The Pirates had lost seven straight series until they took 2-of-3 from Boston over the weekend. Oddly, that was Pittsburgh's eighth consecutive home series win against an American League opponent, done for the first time since interleague play began in 1997.

Game Stuff:

• Paul Skenes started off the week's festivities at Miami on Tuesday. He went five although his pitch count was just 65, giving up two runs and having another pair saved when B-Rey stole a homer. That would be it; the Pirates managed four singles all night and lost the opener 2-0.
• Didn't work out much better the next night, either; Carmen Mlodzinski and the Bucs fell 8-2.
• It was Braxton Ashcraft to the rescue - he threw his first complete MLB game, an 85-pitch three-hitter w/10K, on the same day Pirate batters figured out what the piece of wood they carried was for as the Bucs rocked 'n' rolled to a 13-1 dub. Rafe Flores slugged a pair of three-run bombs (one off a position player), Jared Triolo went ​3-for-4 with a homer (it bounced off of a Miami mitt, but hey...), a walk, three RBIs & three runs scored and Jake Mangum went 3-for-4 with a single, double & triple plus HBP, plating a run while tallying three times. Nick Gonzales also went long. 

Braxton Ashcraft - 2026 image Pirates/DLC

• And it was back to PNC Park to host the Red Sox. The afternoon was wet and dreary, but the sun came out, Bubba was solid and the Bucs took an 8-4 dub, with Brandon Lowe's three-run bomb the big blast. Rafael Flores kept up his bopping too with a solo shot. 
• 38,408 fans showed up to catch Jared Jones; it was the fifth PNC Park sellout of the season. It the third-largest crowd for a game at PNC Park this year, behind only July 25 vs. the Cubs (39,105) and April 3 (Home Opener) vs. Baltimore (38,986). The team didn't put up much of a batting show for the crowd - JJ left down 1-0, and the BoSox added three more off Luke Weaver in the ninth to win 4-0 & even the series.
• It was Paul Skene's day to toss, but the Bucs pushed his outing back a couple of days 'til Wednesday to give him some extra breathing room; Lake Bachar got the ball. He spun three scoreless frames, tho Hunter Barco later gave up e three-run bomb. But the Bucs were up 7-0 by that time; Esmerlyn Valdez, Bryan Reynolds & Brandon Lowe had six hits, five runs and four RBI v the Beaneaters by then. Then it thundered, lightning'ed, galed & rained in the seventh, holding up the ballplayin' until after 6PM. It finished quietly from there and the Bucs bullpen game ended up an 8-3 dub for the good guys.
• It will be the Tigers turn to visit the North Shore this week before the Bucs start a Friday set against the Dodgers in la-la land. Monday's game will be on ESPN, the first PNC Park-ESPN pairing since 2019.

MLB Stuff: 

• Curious just how the Pirates defense rates? SABR has a list ranking the players' glovework; some of the results are kinda obvious, but a couple may surprise you.
• RHP Chris Devenski signed a minor-league deal with the Mets after he opted for free agency rather than a return trip to Indy after rehab.
• RHP Bryse Wilson, who was recently DFA'ed by the Brewers and declared for free agency, played his cards right; he re-signed an MLB deal with the Brew Crew and is back in the bullpen.
• RHP Brent Honeywell, who appeared in a couple of games for the 2024 Pirates, signed a minor league deal with the Padres.
• The D-Backs, who stashed RHP Dennis Santana in AAA after he was released by the Bucs, called him up over the weekend. 
• 1B Carlos Santana got his release from Atlanta's AAA Gwinnett squad and is now a free agent.

8/17 Through the 1960s: Alley Oop, Chris' 1st, Hank Takes Two, Trips, Rube Rhubarb, Game Days, HBD Alex, Bill, Red & Arch

1891 - 3B Arch Reilly was born in Alton, Illinois. Arch never got to bat in his MLB career, though he was used as a defensive sub during a blowout once by the 1917 Bucs, handling his only chance at the hot corner flawlessly. The Ohio State man played in the minors from 1913-17, then retired from playing to coach three different sports at Marshall College (now University).

1892 - IF John “Red” Rawlings was born in Bloomfield, Iowa. He spent the final seasons (1923-26) of his 12-year career as a Bucco, hitting .272 mainly as a bench guy. Rawlings later managed for eight years in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League for the Grand Rapids Chicks (1946-50), Peoria Redwings (1951) and Rockford Peaches (1953-54). He led his teams to six playoff appearances, including a championship with the 1947 Chicks. 

1904 - The Pirates whacked 13 hits and six runs off Christy Mathewson, but it wasn’t enough as the New York Giants scored nine times against Charlie Case to win a slugfest at Exposition Park. Giants manager John “Mugsy” McGraw was at the center of a small riot. He was coaching third, and for some reason left the box and stood on the sack as a Giant runner was coming in; Hans Wagner saw the movement and thought it was 3B Tommy Leach, not McGraw, on the hot corner, zipped the ball to the bag and the overthrow plated a run for NY. Afterward, as described by the Pittsburgh Press, “Wagner made a kick and was put out of the game” by ump Johnstone. The Pirates protested to the league to no avail. Leach had three hits and Moose McCormick homered for the Pirates.

1907 - Pittsburgh defeated the Boston Doves at the South End Grounds by a 5-1 score. The Pittsburgh Press wrote that CF Wee Tommy Leach “...broke the hearts of the (Boston) locals with a great spear in the third inning of (Ginger) Beaumont’s rap with the bases full. He gathered the ball in his mitt with his arm extended while going at full speed...it seemed impossible to get the ball, and it cost the Bostons four runs.” Leach made several nice plays in the pasture on the day, and even stole home. It was the Doves' 16th consecutive loss, but they finally straightened up and flew right to take the set’s next three games.

Wee Tommy Leach - 1908 Harwell Collection/Detroit Public Library

1915 - Rube Benton pitched the Bucs to a 3-2 win over Chicago, but both the Cubs and Giants protested the win. According to the SABR Biography Project “Cincinnati placed him (Benton) on waivers in early August. The New York Giants verbally claimed him for the $3,000 waiver price, but shortly thereafter the Pittsburgh Pirates offered $4,000. The Reds accepted the Pirates' offer, prompting the Giants to file a grievance. Benton, meanwhile, reported to the Pirates and tossed a six-hitter to defeat the Cubs. One week later, the NL's Board of Directors awarded Benton to the Giants. It ruled, however, that the Pirates had acted in good faith; rather than forfeiting the August 17th game, the Board ordered that it be stricken from the record books and replayed in September. The day after the decision, Rube pitched his first game for the Giants - against the Pirates, of course! - and gave up 12 hits in four innings of a 9-7 loss.” Benton was a solid arm and pitched for 15 years with a 150-144/3.09 slate.

1929 - The Bucs scored three times in the first inning when Paul Waner doubled in Dick Bartell and Lloyd Waner, then came home on a two-out knock by Adam Comorosky, providing just enough firepower to hold off Boston at Braves Field, 3-2. Larry French got the win and Steve Swetonic closed it out for the save, but 2B George Grantham actually made the key save. With Braves on first and second and nobody out, he snared a liner and flipped it to SS Bartell, who stepped on second for out #2 and tagged the Braves’ runner from first (Boston had the hit-and-run on so everyone was movin’) for a triple play.

1943 - Pittsburgh won a twin bill from Boston‚ 8-0 and 4-3. Elbie Fletcher and Maurice Van Robays each had five hits on the day and drove in seven runs while banging out a homer, triple and four doubles in tandem. Hank Gornicki was the winner in both games at Braves Field (and both losses were suffered by Nate Andrews). He tossed a six-hit complete game in the opener and shut Boston down again for 1-2/3 frames in the nitecap. But what goes around...a few days later, on August 22nd, the Brooklyn Dodgers evened the score by beating Gornicki twice. 

1948 - The Pirates beat the Reds 4-3 at Forbes Field when Ralph Kiner took Ewell Blackwell deep with two outs in the ninth inning for the walkoff win, finishing off a 3-for-5 day at the dish. Vic Lombardi tossed a complete game for the Bucs while also going 3-for-4 with an RBI.

Ralph Kiner - 1948 Leaf/Bowman

1957 - RHP Bill Landrum was born in Columbia, South Carolina. Landrum closed for the Bucs from 1989-91, saving 56 games and putting up a 13-10/2.32 line. His big year was 1989, when he saved 26 games and had a 1.67 ERA. Bill retired after the 1993 campaign when he was 36 and transitioned to the real estate business back home in South Carolina.

1960 - Clem Labine, picked up the day before after being released by Detroit, tossed 3-2/3 innings of hitless ball with six K to save a 5-3 win for Harvey Haddix over the Phils at Forbes Field. Don Hoak’s three RBI paced the Bucco batters. Labine still had it during the Bucs stretch run, posting a line of 3-0-3/1.48 in 15 outings. Clem, one of the fifties premier backenders, stuck with Pirates for another season, with his last campaign as a Met in 1962.

1962 - Per the Pittsburgh Press, “Harvey Haddix agrees that it makes a great difference when your curveball and slider finally do what a curve and slider are supposed to do” as he notched his first win since July 3rd over the Phillies at Forbes Field, 9-1. Harvey went the distance, scattering nine hits behind a balanced attack that saw all nine Bucs reach base against Philadelphia with eight scoring and seven chasing home runs. The game was played in front of a disappointing Friday night crowd of 13,713 despite a pre-game show by Jackie Gleason and the Glea Girls (which was panned in the papers).

1965 - OF Alex Cole was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Cole put in seven years in the show, spending most of 1992 with Pittsburgh and batting .278, reaching base five times in 13 PAs in the NLCS v Atlanta. He came to the Pirates in a July trade for Tony Mitchell and the speedster was lost the following season when he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. He then went to Minnesota and Boston, with his last MLB season being in 1996. Cole finished with a .280 BA and 148 SB in his 573-game career. Alex followed that with a year in the Marlins system, a year in Mexico and a final year in the indie leagues to end his playing days. He passed on in 2023 at the age of 58.

Alex Cole - 1993 Donruss (reverse)

1966 - The Pirates jumped out to a third-inning 7-1 lead against the Mets at Shea Stadium with Bob Veale on the hill, but it wasn’t to be. Fueled by a Hawk Taylor grand slam, his first and only, the NY nine roared back to take an 8-7 edge after six, and that’s how the game ended. It cut the Pirates lead in the NL to 1/2 game (they would finish third, three games behind LA). There were several sidebar stories: The Mets snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Bucs; The Kitten, Harvey Haddix, was the Metropolitan pitching coach; long time Buc fixture Bob Friend tossed three scoreless, one-hit innings to earn a save for NY, and Willie Stargell cranked out his 28th homer, setting a then-club record for HRs by a lefty. Bill Mazeroski and Donn Clendenon also went deep.

1967 - The Buccos defeated the Mets 6-5 in 14 innings in the second game of a twin bill (they lost the opener by the same 6-5 score) at Forbes Field. Manny Mota came through with a walkoff rap off rookie Tom Seaver, in his only relief appearance of the year, when he singled home Roberto Clemente to make a winner of Juan Pizarro. Six Pirates had a multi-hit game, led by Maury Wills with four knocks, posting a double, two runs scored, a run chased home and a stolen base in the nitecap.

1968 - Bob Moose spun a four-hitter over 7-2/3 IP and Ron Kline came on to get the final four outs as the Pirates dropped the Dodgers at Forbes Field, 3-0. The big blow for the Bucs was Chris Cannizzaro’s first MLB homer, a two-run shot, with the other score coming on a Freddy Patek triple and slow grounder. For Cannizzaro, it had taken seven seasons and 602 MLB at-bats before he finally launched a ball out of the yard (he would hit 17 more before retiring in 1974). He was behind the dish for the injured Jerry May. For Moose, it was his first start in 11 days; he had been out of baseball action while drilling with the Marine Corps Reserve.

1969 - The Pirates opened with five runs in the first inning, capped by a three-run Gene Alley blast. The Reds answered with four tallies of their own as Pete Rose and Bobby Tolan, the first two Cincy batters, homered off Steve Blass with Johnny Bench adding another long ball an out later. The game at Crosley Field settled down after that, with the Pirates taking an 8-5 decision as Al Oliver and Willie Stargell added dingers. Steverino gave up another home run (to Tony Perez) in the third, but hung on to claim the win with a Chuck Hartenstein save.

8/17 From 1970: Streak Snappers, GI's Lucky 13, Bombfest, Sweep, On Point, Maz #2,000, Game Days, Last Hero, HBD Chad

1971 - Bill Mazeroski recorded his 2‚000th career hit against Wade Blasingame in a 6-5 loss to Houston at TRS. Maz finished his career with 2,016 knocks, eighth on the all-time Pittsburgh hit list, tucked between a pair of pretty good woodchoppers in Willie Stargell and Arky Vaughan.

1978 - RHP Chad Qualls was born in Lomita, California. The Pirates got him at the deadline from the Yankees in 2012 for Casey McGahee as they sniffed a playoff run that never materialized; in fact, they faded badly and ended up with just 78 wins. Chad didn’t help turn the corner, tossing to a 6.59 ERA in 17 appearances and getting released after the year. Qualls kept working, though - he lasted in the majors until 2017, when he was released by the Rox.

1984 - A 20-cent commemorative stamp recognizing the 50th birthday of Roberto Clemente (it was the next day, a Sunday) was issued by the Post Office in Carolina, Puerto Rico, his birthplace. The release ceremony was held at the Roberto Clemente Sport City facility. His stamp was designed by Juan Lopez-Bonilla and shows Arriba with the Puerto Rican flag in the background.

1988 - Newly acquired Dave LaPoint went seven innings in his first Pirates start, giving up a run on three hits, to lead the Pirates to a 2-1 win over the Braves in front of 33,164 Buck Night fans at TRS. Pittsburgh got RBIs from Jose Lind and Tom Prince in the second and third innings, and it was just enough to squeeze by Tom Glavine. Jim Gott earned the save in a game that took the quick-working LaPoint and company just 2:05 to complete. LaPointe, a stretch run rental, slashed 4-2/2.77 for the Bucs before moving on to the NYY's in the off season.

1990 - In a battle of division leaders, the Bucs swept the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium by 7-1 and 4-3 tallies. In the opener, Wally Backman doubled twice and drove in two runs; Spanky LaValliere also doubled and had two RBI. Bobby Bonilla cranked a homer and scored three times as Mike York got the win in his MLB debut with help from Bob Patterson (as his reward for a seven-inning, six-hit, scoreless stint, York, who was called up from AAA Buffalo, was returned the next day, tho he was called back in September). In the nitecap, the Bucs rode three solo shots by Jay Bell, Bobby Bo and Jeff King and a two-out infield single by Bell in the eighth that plated John Cangelosi to victory. John Smiley was credited with the victory and Stan Belinda worked the last two frames to save the Bucco dub. Unfortunately, the day’s good karma didn’t carry over to the postseason as the Reds won the NLCS over the Pirates in six games.

Mike York - 1991 Topps

1993 - A trio of Bucs (Carlos Garcia, Jeff King & Al Martin) homered and drove in three runs apiece to ruin Beaver HS grad John Burkett’s return home as the Pirates romped over the Western Division’s front-running Giants at TRS 10-3. The triplet vibe carried on as Garcia and Don Slaught banged out a three-pack of hits to support winner Steve Cooke, who went eight innings.

2003 - The Pirates drew 24,092 to PNC Park for Charlie Brown bobblehead night, and the fans were treated to a 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Tike Redmond, Jack Wilson and Reggie Sanders homered for the Bucs as Josh Fogg claimed the win. Fogg helped himself by breaking the Pirates staff's 10-game streak of giving up homers. The club was playing a man short after trading 1B Randall Simon to the Cubs earlier in the day for SS Ray Sadler. 

2004 - The Bucs dispatched Arizona 7-1 at Bank One Ballpark to win for the eighth time in their last nine decisions. Ty Wigginton and Craig Wilson homered as Jose Castillo banged out a pair of doubles. Ryan Vogelsong tossed seven innings of one run, six-hit ball for the win.

2009 - Garrett Jones homered in Pittsburgh's 9–5 victory over Milwaukee at PNC Park for his 13th home run in the 40 games since his June 30th call up. He was the first rookie in eight years to hit 13+ home runs in that span, joining Albert Pujols and Adam Dunn, who did it 2001. Adam LaRoche and Ronny Cedeno also went long as the Bucs won for only the second time in 14 games. He had signed with the Pirates in the off season as a minor league free agent.

2012 - James McDonald and four relievers held St. Louis to four hits at Busch Stadium to claim a 2-1 victory over the Redbirds. The two Buc runs scored in the fourth and both were gift wrapped by the Cards - one scored on a wild pitch, the other on a passed ball with an error in between.

J-Mac - 2013 Topps Opening Day

2013 - The film “Baseball’s Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories” premiered at the Strand Theater in Zelienople. The movie was written by West View native Richard Rossi. It had its initial showing in Hollywood, and after its debut, Rossi edited the film into its final version for its local viewing.

2018 - The Pirates lost a second consecutive 1-0 game to the Cubs at PNC Park, both decided by Chicago solo homers, to run their scoreless streak to 23 innings. This match was especially frustrating - the Pirates tied the MLB record held by the 1969 San Francisco Giants & 1942 Philadelphia Athletics by hitting into seven double plays in regulation, including the game-ender with runners on first and second with an out in the ninth. David Freese and Josh Bell each banged into a pair of DPs. The Cubbies and Buccos set a new nine-inning NL record by smacking into nine total twin killings. The poor fans sat through all the misery until the wee hours; the game’s start was delayed by 1:47 after waiting out a storm that rolled over the city, providing the only local thunder and lightning the rooters would see. Trevor Williams and Ivan Nova were the hard-luck losers after dancing with Cole Hamels and Jon Lester.

2024 - A couple of streaks came to an end - the Pirates beat Seattle at PNC for their second straight win after dropping ten games in a row to snap a four-series losing streak (three were sweeps), and the Mariners became the final AL team to lose a series in Pittsburgh, having swept or split their previous four sets in the Steel City. As for the game, Bailey Falter tied a career high by striking out eight in 5-2/3 IP, with homers by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Rowdy Tellez and Jared Triolo providing the muscle in a 7-2 dub; Rowdy had three RBI with a long ball & 2B.

8/16 Through 1954: Demon Dutchman, Ace Elmer, Game Days, HR Spree, HBD Nick, Al, Curt, Gene, Tiny, Andy, Bill, Rube, Wee Willie & Kid

1872 - SS Frederick “Gene The Kid” Steere was born in South Scituate, Rhode Island. An All-America at Brown University, where he got his nickname (he was on the small side and looked younger than his age), his major-league career consisted of 10 games with the Pirates in 1894, hitting .204. The Kid took the hint and went off to Hawaii at age 26, where Steere was a successful plantation owner and real estate developer who was deeply involved in baseball on the Islands. It had taken root there when Alexander Cartwright made it his home (he left NYC and the Knickerbockers to join the Gold Rush and kept going). Steere continued to help popularize the game Aloha Islands before returning stateside.

1872 - 1B “Wee Willie” Clark was born in Pittsburgh. He played the final two years of his five-season big league career with the Bucs, hitting .293 from 1898-99. Though he played well, he was part of the backwash when Barney Dreyfuss absorbed most of the Louisville team in 1900. Willie played a year for the minor league Milwaukee Brewers, then retired. He stayed local, dying at the age of 62 and was buried in Allegheny Cemetery.

1887 - LHP John Henry “Hank”/“Rube” Robinson was born in Floyd, Arkansas. He spent the first three years (1911-13) of his career with Pittsburgh, going 26-17/2.34 with his time split between the pen and starting. After he retired, Robinson pitched 13 consecutive seasons with Little Rock from 1916-28. During his career he won 190 games, working 3,000+ innings for the Travelers, and earned a spot in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1962.

1890 - RHP Bill Phillips of the Alleghenys (and Charleroi) became the first pro pitcher in history to allow two grand slams in the same inning while tossing against the Chicago Colts, as the Windy City won 18-5 at Recreation Park. Phillips ended 1-9 with a 7.57 ERA in his rookie season but took some notes and went on to have a seven-year career with a 70-76/4.09 line.

Bill Phillips - photo via Basball Almanac

1892 - 1B Bill Keen was born in Oglethorpe, Georgia. Keen got into six games as a Buc in 1911, going 0-for-7 with a walk, and that was his MLB career. He was one of six first basemen to get a look that season, and his was the briefest audition of the gang. Keen did have a drawerful of nicknames, with Rebel, Hammerhead, WB (William Brown) and Buster among them.

1904 - The Pirates swept the NY Giants by 7-2 and 4-1 counts at the Polo Grounds in front of 23,000 disappointed Big Apple fans. Patsy Flaherty took the opener from Christy Mathewson while Mike Lynch did the honors in the nightcap, defeating Dummy Taylor. Ginger Beaumont had five hits during the day to lead Pittsburgh while Hans Wagner chipped in with three. It was the first time that the New Yorkers had dropped a twin bill during a season that saw them dethrone the Bucs and run away with the pennant by reeling off 106 wins.

1908 - RHP Andrew Jackson “Andy” Bednar was born in Streator, Illinois. Andy pitched briefly for the Pirates in 1930-31, making five appearances with a 0-0/15.19 slash. That was his MLB career, but despite that, he was a fine pitcher in the minors, once winning 22 games for Tulsa. He died young in Texas in 1937 following a car crash while working in the oil fields.

1909 - OF Red Murray of the NY Giants saved Christy Mathewson’s bacon on a dark and stormy afternoon when, as the Pittsburgh Press described “...the ball was seen rising, rising far out over the heads of the waiting fielders. But Red Murray had his eye on the ball...the most wonderful catch ever seen at Forbes Field was pulled off, Murray getting the sphere with his bare hand after a long hard run. The inning was over and the Pirates were robbed of victory...as the game was called because of rain with the score deadlocked at 2-2. Two runners had already crossed home when Murray snagged Dots Miller’s two-out drive...as the wind whistled, the lightning flashed, the thunder crashed and the rain descended.” 1B Ham Hyatt chipped in with his third pinch-hit triple of the year, a record that wouldn't be matched until 1970 by Vic Davalillo of St. Louis.

Elmer Steele - 1911 Conlon Collection/Detroit Public Library

1911 - Elmer Steele needed just 72 pitches in downing the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers 9-0 at Washington Park. Steele surrendered no walks, had no strikeouts, and allowed just one hit, a one-out ninth inning single that just got past 2B Dots Miller. But it wasn’t all good news: Honus Wagner severely injured his ankle during the match, ended up on crutches and missed 25 of the next 26 games. During his absence, the Bucs, who were only one game off the pace at the time, stumbled and finished 16 games behind, a distant third to the NY Giants.

1913 - The Pirates jumped on the Giants’ Christy Mathewson, scoring eight times in the first three frames and then hanging on for an 8-6 win at the Polo Grounds. The “demon Dutchman” (per the Pittsburgh Press) Hans Wagner went 4-for-5 with a homer and Jim Viox added three knocks to help Babe Adams to the win with George McQuinlan credited with a four-inning save.

1913 - RHP Ernest “Tiny” Bonham was born in Ione, California. He pitched the final three years (1947-49) of his career for the Pirates, with a record of 24-22 and a 2.11 ERA. Prior to that, Tiny tossed seven seasons for the Yankees with a 21 win season and two All Star berths. In one of baseball’s saddest endings, he went to the hospital in August of his last season for an appendectomy, was discovered to have cancer and died three weeks later.

1922 - OF Gene Woodling was born in Akron, Ohio. The outfielder spent 17 years in the league, and made a stop at Pittsburgh in 1947 as a 25-year-old, getting into 22 games and batting .266. He coached for the Orioles for four years after hangin’ ‘em up, but his biggest contribution following his playing days was as a major mover in establishing a players pension fund. 

Curt Roberts - 2024 Pirates BHM

1929 - 2B Curt Roberts was born in Pineland, Texas. The first black American ballplayer for Pittsburgh (Carlos Bernier was the first black player), he played from 1954-56, hitting .223 as a Pirate. He lost his starting job at second in 1955 to Johnny O’Brien and they both lost out to a kid from Ohio named Bill Mazeroski, who would claim the position in 1956 and keep it for the next dozen years. When his baseball career ended, he worked as a security guard for the University of California, Berkeley. He died tragically at the age of 40 in Oakland, California, when he was hit by a drunk driver while changing a flat tire on his car.

1947 - The Pirates blasted a franchise record-tying seven homers in a game (it was equaled  in 1894, 2003, 2023 and 2024) against the Cardinals in a 12-7 win at Forbes Field. Ralph Kiner launched three consecutive dingers, the first of four times he would do that thing (he also tied a MLB record by going long in four consecutive at bats), while Hank Greenberg and Billy Cox blasted a pair each. For Greenberg, it was his 35th and final multi-homer game. The homers accounted for all 12 of the Buc runs. Kiner matched the MLB marks of seven HRs in four games, six in three games, five in two games, and four in consecutive at bats (he went long in his last at bat the day before) while becoming the first Pirate to homer not only three times in a single game but consecutively. Kiner, Greenberg and Cox were joined by Cardinal Whitey Kurowski, who also had a pair of homers, to set a MLB record for most players with multi homers in a game; the 10 home runs in a nine-inning game tied another record as nine long ball marks were set or equaled.

1952 - LHP Al Holland was born in Roanoke, Virginia. Holland spent 10 years in the show, starting in 1977 with the Pirates (he would return for a bit in 1985) and slash 1-3-4/3.54. He had some nice seasons closing for Philly, earning an All-Star berth and the NL Rolaids Reliever of the Year award. He took a hit when he admitted to coke use during the 1985 trials and that, along with a wrist injury, ended his career after the 1987 campaign.

1953 - Coach Nick Leyva was born in Ontario, California. He closed his career as an advisor in Pirates baseball operations after he was the Bucs first/third base coach, joining the staff in 2010 when Clint Hurdle was hired and exiting in 2020. Leyva is a former minor league player and manager who began coaching in 1978 and was the skipper of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1989-1991.