1/24 Through the 1960s: Mr. Swat & Rizzo Sign, Yo-Yo Leppert; HBD Ross, Tim, Wally, Brute, Ugly Johnny, Stu & Dave

• 1879 - IF Dave Brain was born in Hereford, England. Brain was a jack-of-all-trades player who spent a bit of his seven big league years (three months of 1905) in Pittsburgh. He hit .257, about his career average, and was a player with a rep for some power & speed (his versatility in the field was probably a matter of finding a spot to hide him; he booted 22 balls in 82 games as a Pirates infielder). He’s noteworthy in two aspects: after the season, he was part of the package that brought Hall-of-Fame hurler Vic Willis to town, and he was one of the earliest native-born Englishmen to play for Pittsburgh. 
• 1906 - IF William “Stu” (for middle name Stuart) Clarke was born in San Francisco. He spent his entire career in Pittsburgh, albeit one that lasted just from 1929-30. The backup infielder hit fairly well, putting up a .273 BA over his 61 big league games, but finished out his time in the bushes, where he compiled a more telling lifetime .238 average before retiring after the 1933 season. 
• 1910 - OF “Ugly Johnny” (he gave himself the moniker) Dickshot, whose given name was John Oscar Dicksus, was born in Waukegan, Illinois. He played for the Bucs from 1936-38, mainly as a bench outfielder. Johnny was a feared hitter in the minors, putting up a .318 BA in 14 seasons, but was just a .250 batter with Pittsburgh, although his career MLB average was .276 after six seasons. When he retired after the 1945 campaign, he opened a bar in his hometown. John Ducey, an actor who appeared quite often in TV sitcoms, is his grandson. 
• 1913 - C Josh “Brute” Johnson was born in Evergreen, Alabama. Raised in the Pittsburgh area, he caught for the Homestead Grays in 1934-35 (he was taught “the book” on hitters by Smokey Joe Williams) and then returned in 1939-42. He took over the starting catcher’s job during the 1940 season when Josh Gibson, along with several other stars, jumped to the Mexican League, and responded with his best campaign, batting .429 in league play. He was drafted during WW2 and returned from serving with the “Red Ball Express” in Europe to become a teacher and coach with a degree from Cheyney State/masters from Penn State. 

Wally Judnich - 1949 George Durrill/photo

• 1917 - OF Wally/Walt Judnich was born in San Francisco. Wally was a touted HS player with speed and some power who started his MLB career with three strong seasons with the St. Louis Browns, batting .299 as a starting center fielder. But WW2 took three years from him and he lost his edge after he was discharged. He spent four more seasons in the league, but hit .259 over that span and finished his career with a 10-game swan song as a Pirate in 1949, batting .229. He was sent to the PCL and closed out his pro days with six seasons on the coast, where his stroke returned (his MiLB lifetime BA was .288). Wally retired in 1955 at age 39. 
• 1940 - The Pirates received OF Johnny Rizzo’s signed contract; the amount was undisclosed but though to be close to $10,000. He shined as a rookie, hitting .301 in ‘38 to finish sixth in the MVP vote and was solid enough the next year, banging out a .261 BA. He struggled with the Bucs in 1940, batting just .179 before he was sent to the Reds in May for Vince DiMaggio. He recovered his stroke over the summer, but posted a .223 average in the next two years between Philly and Brooklyn and enlisted in the Navy after the season, never again to play MLB. Rizzo was 33 when he returned to the sport in 1946, spending four years in the minors. 
• 1941 - OF Ralph Kiner signed with the Pirates when scout Hollis Thurston pulled him away from the Yankees by citing a better opportunity to play and then inked Ralph to a deal after he graduated from Alhambra (CA) HS. It took Kiner until 1946 to crack the lineup after serving as a Navy reconnaissance pilot in the Pacific theater during WW2 and missing two-plus years, but he made up for lost time. In eight Bucco seasons as a Pirates drawing card (the fans would often stream out of Forbes Field after his last at bat), he smacked 301 homers, drove in 801 runs, hit .280 and walked 250 times more than he fanned, posting a 157 OPS+. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1975. 

Tim Jones - 1978 Topps Rookies

• 1954 - RHP Tim Jones was born in Sacramento. He only tossed three games in his MLB career, all during a September call up from the Bucs in 1977, but at least he left the league on a high note. After a pair of mop-up details, Chuck Tanner let the 1972 fourth-round pick start on the last day of the season. Jones tossed seven shutout innings against the Cubs, surrendering just four hits, to win his one and only MLB start to finish his big league cup of coffee with a 1-0/0.00 slash in 10 IP. He’s the only player in MLB history to have pitched at least 10 career innings and not allow a run. Tim was traded to the Montreal Expos for Will McEnaney as camp broke in 1978, had a terrible year at AAA Denver and after reading the tea leaves called it a career at the tender age of 24. 
• 1965 - The Pirates conditionally purchased the contract of C Don Leppert, who had caught for them from 1961-62 but was with Washington’s minor league Hawaii club thanks to bursitis. He received a camp invite, but was returned to the Senators after the Jim Pagliaroni - Del Crandall pairing claimed the job. Still, the Bucs brought him to Columbus in the following season and then launched Don on a long minor league coaching career that started in Pittsburgh before making stops in the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros and Minnesota Twin systems. 
• 1968 - LHP Ross Powell was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Powell spent 48 games over three years in the show, closing out his MLB stand with Pittsburgh in 1995 when he was sold to the club by the Astros in late July. Jim Leyland worked him mostly from the pen, though he did give him three of his four major league starts. He didn’t impress in either role (0-2/5.23) and was released.