1882 - IF William “Jap” Barbeau was born in New York City. Barbeau spent four years in the show, and only one of those seasons was he a full-time guy. That was for the Pirates in 1909, but after he hit .220, he was sent to St. Louis late in the season as part of the Bobby Byrne deal. He played MLB ball for part of 1910 and was done, although he did carve out a 14-year pro career. He got his nickname because he was short - 5’5” - and per Alfred Spink in his 1910 book The National Game, “owing to his swarthy appearance,” leading a Columbus writer to pin the “Jap” tag on Barbeau as a minor-league rookie in 1905.
1890 - OF Jocko Fields of the Pittsburgh Burghers hit the first home run at Exposition Park (the third incarnation of the yard) in a 10-4 win over the aptly named Chicago Pirates. Fred Carroll banged out four hits and Ed “Cannonball” Morris went the distance for the win. The Burghers were part of the Players League and were manned primarily by guys who had previously played for the Alleghenys & jumped leagues, such as Fields, Carroll and Morris.
1891 - It was early in a tough year for Pittsburgh. Although the pitching was solid, the hitting ranked either seventh or eighth in the counting stats, the club went through a pair of managers and finished last in the National League with a 50-88 record. But today at the Polo Grounds, all was well - Pud Gavin cruised as the Bucs scored eight times in the first frame to run away with a 14-6 win. The Pirates banged out 15 hits and Ump Tim Hurst put on a show of his own. The Commercial Gazette wrote “...he seems to have a great penchant for calling strikes balls and balls strikes. He also seems to have a mania for getting in the way of the fielders. Some of his decisions on the bases were enough to take the hair off the heads of all good rooters.” The squad needed some help - this was only their second victory during a 16-game swoon.
1905 - Vic Harris was born in Pensacola, Florida. His family moved to Pittsburgh in 1914, and OF Vic spent 23 years playing for the Homestead Grays, hitting .299. He was also a player-manager for the Grays, winners of nine consecutive Negro National League pennants from 1937-1945 (he was off during the war years of 1943-44 when Candy Jim Taylor took over).
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| Vic Harris - Helmar Big League Brew Famous Athletes |
1905 - RHP “Deacon Danny” MacFayden was born in Truro, Massachusetts. He spent 17 years in the majors, mostly with the Boston Red Sox and Bees, and his last full campaign was in 1940 with the Pirates when he went 5-4/3.55 and then was released at the age of 35. After his pitching days, Danny became the baseball coach at Bowdoin College from 1946 to 1970. Per Wikipedia, Danny’s serious demeanor won him the nickname "Deacon Danny" while New York World-Telegram sports writer Dan Daniel, a critic of his play, called him "Dismal Danny."
1911 - The Bucs ran Brooklyn in circles at Forbes Field. Bobby Byrne stole 2B, 3B, and home in the sixth inning, swiping third base while the Superbas argued the original call at second. The Pirates pulled off a pair of double steals (they stole six bases, all in the sixth inning) and an uncredited triple steal that was instead ruled an error on the throw. When the dust settled, Pittsburgh had a 9-0 win over Brooklyn. But it was an all-around fine game by the Pirates. Beat man Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote “The Pirates played like real champions...they fielded like fiends, ran wild on the bases and hit when hits meant runs.” Fred Clarke and Newt Hunter each had three hits while pitcher Babe Adams added a pair of knocks while posting 10 whiffs.
1920 - RHP Johnny “Specs” Podgajny was born in Chester, Pennsylvania. Podgajny put five years in the big leagues, and was a regular from 1941-43, mostly with Philadelphia (he was a teammate of Danny Murtaugh) who served with the Pirates in ‘43. He went 0-4/4.57 in 15 games with five starts and then was out of MLB except for a brief 1946 stint with the Indians. He ended his 12-year pro career after the 1950 campaign. “Specs,” of course, wore glasses.
1929 - C Hank Foiles was born in Richmond, Virginia. He played for the Pirates from 1956-59, starting two seasons. Foiles was an All-Star in 1957, hitting .270 and throwing out 38% of the base stealers trying his arm, but his bat didn’t hold up over time, as his four-year Bucco BA was just .230. Hank put together an 11-year big league career, playing for six clubs. He was a touted multi-sport guy as a preppie and in college - he was an All-Southern Conference gridder - and is enshrined in the Virginia, Hampton Roads and Granby HS Sports Hall of Fames. Foiles passed away on May 21, 2024, less than three weeks before his 95th birthday.
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| Bill Swift - 1936 National Chicle Pastel |
1935 - Paul Waner, Arky Vaughan and Pep Young hit back-to-back-to-back HRs in the eighth inning off Benny Frey during the Pirates 14-1 win against the Reds at Forbes Field, the middle win of a five-game victory run. Gus Suhr also went yard and Bill Swift earned a complete game victory. Every Bucco had a hit and either scored or drove in a run; six did both, including Swift. The batfest wasn’t witnessed by many rooters; only 1,186 fans showed for the contest.
1969 - The Bucs traded RHP Ron Kline, 37, to the Giants in return for LHP Joe Gibbon, who was 34. Kline had spent his first six years in Pittsburgh (1952, two years military, 1955-59) and returned for 1968-69, slashing 66-91-14/3.77 as a multi-role twirler for the Buccos. Gibbon had a similar resume; his first six seasons (1960-65) were spent as a Pirate followed by a second stint in 1969-70; his local line was 44-46-18/3.61.
1971 - The Baseball Hall of Fame's new Special Committee on the Negro Leagues formally selected Satchel Paige for induction on August 9th. Paige made stops with the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords during his storied career that carried him through the Negro Leagues, the Dominican League, countless barnstorming nines and finally MLB.
1973 - IF Calvin "Pokey" Reese was born in Columbia, SC. A first round pick of the Reds in 1991 out of high school, he played second for the Bucs in 2003-04, hitting .254 but losing most of the second season to injury. His nickname didn't have anything to do with his pace (he stole 144 bases in his career), but there are two nana tales: Reese was born with a hernia that caused his navel to poke out, so his grandma called young Calvin "Pokey." The second story has it that Reese got his moniker because he was a chubby baby and his grandmother called him Porky, which came out “Pokey” with her southern drawl.
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