1/11 Through the 1950s: LaPalme-Wade, Sid Signs, Split Season; HBD Lloyd, Trader Jack, Mickey, Max, Skipper, Silver King & Bill

• 1867 - 3B Bill Niles was born in Covington, Kentucky. He played 11 games in Pittsburgh in 1895 and never landed another gig in the show, but he did have a burst that kept him on the radar briefly. He was cut by the Pirates in 1894, and NL clubs Cleveland and Washington put in claims for him while a handful of minor league clubs offered him a deal. Apparently intrigued enough by Niles’ potential and the interest he drew to give him a longer leash, manager Connie Mack removed him from the waiver list and loaned him to minor league Milwaukee for the year. Mack then brought Bill back to the Bucs for the end of the 1895 campaign, but he lost his luster after hitting .216, was returned to the farm after the season and toiled in the minors through 1901. 
• 1868 - RHP Silver King was born in St. Louis. King only played one season in Pittsburgh, but it was a big deal when he signed. King won 110 games from 1888-90 and signed with the Pirates for $5,000, becoming the highest paid player in the game. The investment fizzled; the Bucs got a 14-29 record (although he wasn’t all that bad; he made 44 starts and tossed 384 innings to a 3.11 ERA). But problems were looming. The Bucs released him, and the early sidewinder had one more good year with the Giants before the rules committee chopped him down to size. He threw sidearm from the far right of the pitcher’s circle, making the ball appear to be launched from third base. In 1893, the rubber was introduced and he lost his territorial advantage, never posting an ERA south of four afterward. His nom de guerre is combination physical nickname and writer’s Anglicizing: His real name was Charles Koenig, but his prematurely white hair gave him the nickname of Silver while King is the English translation of Koenig. 
• 1888 - C Clarence “Skipper” Roberts was born in Wardner, Idaho. The backstop got into 52 games for the 1914 Pittsburgh Rebels as Claude Berry’s caddy. He batted .234 in his final big league season after jumping to the Federal League Rebs from the NL Cards. Skipper played briefly for the Chicago Whales after he was bounced from the team for punching an umpire, but Federal League President James Gilmore returned him, after a scolding, to Pittsburgh after four games for the Windy City nine. Roberts returned to his home base, the Northwestern League on the left coast, and 1916 was his last season. He worked as a machinist and passed away in 1963. His nickname appears to be a naval promotion by his ball playing buds; he was called Sailor Roberts after a stint in the Navy and it evolved to Skipper after a couple of seasons. 

Skipper Roberts - 1914 photo

• 1890 - Hall of Fame OF Max Carey was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. He played 17 seasons in Pittsburgh, compiling a .287 BA while stealing 688 bases, leading the NL in that category 10 times. He was at his best during the 1925 World Series, hitting .458 as the Pirates dethroned the Washington Senators and Walter “Big Train” Johnson in seven games. 
• 1890 - 1B Mickey Keliher was born in Washington DC. He spent his two-year MLB career in Pittsburgh, striking out five times in seven at-bats. Mickey was a career minor leaguer; he spent 18 years on the farm, where he belied his major league performance by hitting .304 lifetime. He was a player/manager for his last three MiLB campaigns before dying young after a car accident. 
• 1951 - Scout and executive Jack Zduriencik was born in New Castle. His first big league executive position was as the Pirates Scouting Director from 1991-93, following birddog gigs with the Mets and Bucs. He went on to scouting/farm positions with the Mets, Brewers and Mariners before becoming GM of Seattle from 2009-15 where he became known as “Trader Jack.” Since then, he’s been a pre-and-post game analyst for The Fan (KDKA-FM). The local guy has been inducted in both the California PA University and Lawrence County Halls of Fame. 
• 1954 - Sid Gordon, who joined the Bucs as part of the big Danny O’Donnell deal, signed his contract. Terms weren’t disclosed but it was estimated to be in the same $22,000 range of his previous deal with the Milwaukee Braves. Splitting time between corner outfield and the hot corner, he hit .306 for a sad-sack club in ‘54, but after a slow start the following campaign, the 37-year-old was sold to the New York Giants in May to finish the last of his 13 MLB seasons. 

Sid Gordon - 1954 Dan-Dee

• 1955 - The Pirates were given a lop-sided schedule by the NL, playing 60 of their 77 home games by July 24th. The Bucs were booked for a virtual September-long road trip, playing at Forbes Field on September 1st, then hitting the rails for 18 straight matches before they closed the season with a three-game set in Oakland. They actually won three of the four home games and were a respectable 36-39 in the ‘Burgh but a dismal 24-55 as visitors to finish in last place. 
• 1955 - The Cards sent RHP Ben Wade and cash to Pittsburgh for LHP Paul “Lefty” LaPalme. Wade, 32, worked well if not often in ‘55 with a line of 0-1-1/3.21 in 11 outings in what was his last campaign. Lefty was converted full-time to the pen and spent his final three years (1955-57) as a reliever for three teams, slashing 10-12-11/3.29, while making 132 appearances. After the former Brooklyn Dodger hung ‘em up, he spent his post-pitching days as an Los Angeles scout. 
• 1959 - Utilityman and later manager Lloyd McClendon was born in Gary, Indiana. McClendon spent five years (1990-94) as an outfielder/first baseman in Pittsburgh where he hit .251, mainly off the bench. He was named Buc manager in 2001, and in his five seasons as skipper, McClendon compiled a 336–446 record and famously “stole” a base. Fun fact: In 1971, as a 12-year old, McClendon earned the nickname "Legendary Lloyd" when he hit five home runs in five at bats, all on the first pitch, and walked in his other five plate appearances in the three games he played in the Little League World Series.