1/20 Through the 1950s: Hans, Lloyd & Heinie Sign - Big Poison Holds Out, Roberto On Radar, Dapper Dale; RIP Josh, HBD Carl, Jesse & Denny

• 1904 - OF Denny Sothern was born in Washington. Originally, his last name was Southern, but it changed, along with his age, so he could enlist in the Marines while underage. Sothern had been a fairly effective leadoff hitter for Philadelphia going into his fourth season (.289 BA) and the Bucs sent OF Fred Brickell to the Phils in August of 1930 for him. Denny’s bat went cold (he hit .176) and the Pirates sold him to Baltimore, who flipped him to Brooklyn. He played 17 games for the Robins in 1931, ending his MLB career at age 27. Brickell didn’t set the world afire, either, but he did last three plus seasons with the Phillies, hitting .258. 
• 1933 - RHP Heinie Meine stopped by the Pirates office and signed a $10,000 contract. It was feared that the 34-year-old workhorse, who had notched 31 wins and 450+ IP in 64 outings (60 starts) during the 1931-32 campaigns, would be difficult to sign after holding out in ‘32, but he came back and anchored the staff with a line of 15-8/3.65 during the season. Heinie was the poster boy for pitch-to-contact hurlers. In six seasons here, he averaged 1.8 strikeouts per nine innings. 
• 1936 - C Jesse Gonder was born in Monticello, Arkansas. Jesse caught the final two seasons (1966-67) of his six-year career in Pittsburgh, batting .209 while backstopping 70 games. He came to Pittsburgh as a Rule 5 pick from Atlanta hoping to win the starting spot from Jim Pagliaroni, and although he didn’t, Jesse did see a lot of action in 1966 (59 games). Relegated as the third man the following year, he faltered and the curtain dropped on his stint in MLB. 

Jesse Gonder - 1966 East Hills SC Promo

• 1937 - The Waner brothers didn’t do everything in tandem. Club President Bill Berswanger announced that Lloyd’s contract was returned signed, with a salary guesstimate of $10K or so, while big bro Paul returned his unsigned. No worries, though - Big Poison, like Hans Wagner, was a notorious malingerer as spring camp approached, but always returned to the flock. He played all 154 games in 1937, eventually inking a deal estimated at $15-16,000. Veteran lefty Ed “Dutch” Brandt, newly obtained from Brooklyn, also agreed to his terms (the amount was undisclosed) and the next day shortstop Arky Vaughan signed for $12,500. 
• 1940 - Honus Wagner, 65-years-old, signed his 29th Bucco contract as he joined Frankie Frisch’s staff for his eighth season as a Pirates coach He played until 1917, took some time off from baseball and then returned to the coaching ranks in 1933 before retiring for good in 1951. Hans joined with holdovers Jake Flowers and Mike Kelly as Frisch’s aides returned intact. Young southpaw Ken Heintzelman also returned a signed agreement and joined the rotation in ‘40. 
• 1944 - UT Carl Taylor was born in Sarasota, Florida. He caught, played first and pinch hit for the Bucs in 1968-69 and was brought back again in September of 1971 for their pennant drive from KC; he returned to the Royals after the title run to complete the final two years of his career. His best season far and away was 1969, when he slashed .348/.432/.457 in 221 AB. 
• 1947 - Homestead Gray and Pittsburgh Crawfords C Josh Gibson, the “black Babe Ruth,” died of a stroke at the age of 35. The future Hall of Fame catcher was put to rest in an unmarked grave in Allegheny Cemetery. In 1975, Negro League teammate Ted Page, Puerto Rican baseball scout/exec Pete Zorrilla, Bucco Willie Stargell and Commissioner Bowie Kuhn paid for a red granite marker that read: "Josh Gibson, 1911-1947, Legendary Baseball Player," a prototype for SABR’s Negro Leagues Grave Marker Project to memorialize lost players. 

Roberto Clemente - 2022 Topps Heritage Minor League

• 1954 - The Sporting News first mentioned Roberto Clemente in a notes column that read “Three major league organizations - the Giants, Braves and Dodgers - are attempting to sign Roberto Clemente, Santurce (Clemente’s Puerto Rican club) outfielder.” The Dodgers may have won that early tussle, but quickly lost The Great One in November’s Rule 5 draft to Pittsburgh. 
• 1957 - Dale Long won the Dapper Dan Man of the Year honor for his eight-game home run streak and was presented with the award at the annual dinner at the Penn-Sheraton Hotel. He became the sixth Pirate to receive the DD and the first to be recognized since pitcher Murry Dickson in 1951.