12/27: Tiger Ties Knot; Brown Honored; HBD Bill, Jim, Craig & Jeff

• 1864 (1869) - RHP Bill Bishop was born in Adamsburg, part of nearby Westmoreland County near Jeanette. He pitched two seasons (1886-87) for the Alleghenys, going 0-4 in five starts with a 9.21 ERA. There are two different years given for his birthday. We went with 1864 as he would have been a 16-year-old rookie if he was actually born in 1869, although that age would provide some cover for his pedestrian pitching results.
• 1912 - RHP Jim Tobin was born in Oakland, California. Tobin spent his first three seasons (1937-39) as a Pirate, going 29-24 with a 3.71 ERA, before being traded to Boston, where he would spend the majority of his nine-year career. He was OK with a stick, too; Tobin pinch-hit over 100 times in his major league career with a batting line of .230/.303/.345 in the majors. He totaled 35 doubles, 17 homers and 102 RBI in 796 at-bats in the show. Tobin is the only pitcher in the modern era to hit three home runs in the same game, batting against the Cubs when he pitched for the Braves in 1942.

Jim Tobin 1994 Conlon/The Sporting News

• 1952 - SS Craig Reynolds was born in Houston. The Bucs selected him in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1971 draft, signing the Houston HS Player-of-the-Year to a $2M bonus. He played sparingly for the Pirates, hitting .225 in 38 games over 1975-76 and was traded to Seattle for Grant Jackson after Craig was unable to oust Frankie Tavaras from the SS job. He went on to have a pretty solid career, playing 15 seasons with a .256 BA (11 with his hometown Astros) and earning a pair of All-Star berths while fielding league average at short.
• 1958 - In his third year on the job, Buc GM Joe L Brown was named The Sporting News’ “Executive of the Year.” Under his hand, the Pirates finished second in the NL after a long run of second division play and drew 1,311,000 fans in 1958.
• 1961 - 3B Don Hoak married Avonmore’s Norma Jean Speranza, better known as pop singer and TV starlet Jill Corey, in a civil ceremony in Common Plea judge Frederick Weir’s chambers, with Mayor Joe Barr as a guest. The Tiger met the singer at a promotional event at Forbes Field and the pair exchanged vows 16 months later.

Don & Jill (photo Associated Press)

• 1975 - RHP Jeff D’Amico was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. D’Amico was a 1993 first rounder of the Brewers, but after 40 MLB starts missed 1998-99 following shoulder surgery. The Pirates plugged him into the rotation in 2003; he went 9-16. 4.77, and his 16 defeats were the most in the majors. His career ended the next season when the Indians released him in June.

12/27: Tiger Days; HBD Jim Tobin & Craig Reynolds

• 1912 - RHP Jim Tobin was born in Oakland, California. Tobin spent his first three seasons (1937-39) as a Pirate, going 29-24 with a 3.71 ERA, before being traded to Boston, where he would spend the majority of his nine-year career. He was OK with a stick, too; Tobin pinch-hit over 100 times in his major league career with a batting line of .230/.303/.345 in the majors. He totaled 35 doubles, 17 homers and 102 RBI in 796 at-bats in the show. Tobin is the only pitcher in the modern era to hit three home runs in the same game, batting against the Cubs when he pitched for the Braves in 1942.

Jim Tobin 1938 - 1994 Conlon Trivia Collection

• 1952 - SS Craig Reynolds was born in Houston. The Bucs selected him in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1971 draft, signing the Houston HS Player-of-the-Year to a $2M bonus. He played sparingly for the Pirates, hitting .225 in 38 games over 1975-76 and was traded to Seattle for Grant Jackson, unable to oust Frankie Tavaras from the SS job. He went on to have a pretty solid career, playing 15 seasons with a .256 BA (11 with his hometown Astros) and a earning pair of All-Star berths while fielding league average short.
• 1961 - 3B Don Hoak married Avonmore’s Norma Jean Speranza, better known as pop singer and TV starlet Jill Corey, in a civil ceremony in Common Plea judge Frederick Weir’s chambers, with Mayor Joe Barr as a guest. The Tiger met the singer at a promotional event at Forbes Field and the pair exchanged vows 16 months later. 

Mr & Mrs Tiger on their wedding day (photo Associated Press)

• 1969 - Don Hoak died exactly eight years later, on the same day that Danny Murtaugh was named manager, a job the Tiger thought he deserved. His widow claimed that Hoak died of a broken heart because the Pirates had passed him over as skipper, although he suffered his fatal heart attack chasing after a relative’s stolen car.

12/27: Jim Tobin Born, Don Hoak Hitched...

Jim Tobin Born, Don Hoak Hitched...

• 1912 - RHP Jim Tobin was born in Oakland, California. Tobin spent his first three seasons (1937-39) as a Pirate, going 29-24 with a 3.71 ERA, before being traded to Boston, where he would spend the majority of his nine-year career. He was OK with a stick, too; Tobin pinch-hit over 100 times in his major league career with a batting line of .230/.303/.345 in the majors. He totaled 35 doubles, 17 homers and 102 RBI in 796 at-bats in the show. 

Jim Tobin 1939 Play Ball 9

• 1961 - 3B Don Hoak married Avonmore’s Norma Jean Speranza, better known as pop singer and TV starlet Jill Corey, in a civil ceremony in Common Plea judge Frederick Weir’s chambers, with Mayor Joe Barr as a guest. The Tiger met the singer at a promotional event at Forbes Field and the pair exchanged vows 16 months later. Hoak died eight years later on the same day that Danny Murtaugh was named manager in 1969, a job the Tiger thought he deserved. His widow claimed that Hoak died of a broken heart because the Pirates had passed him over, although he suffered his fatal heart attack chasing after a relative’s stolen car.

Don Hoak & Jill Corey after the ceremony - Associated Press photo

12/27-28: Jim Tobin, John Milner, Klu, Zane Smith, Charlie Hayes...

Jim Tobin, John Milner, Klu, Zane Smith, Charlie Hayes...

December 27, 1912 - RHP Jim Tobin was born in Oakland, California. Tobin spent his first three seasons (1937-39) as a Pirate, going 29-24 with a 3.71 ERA, before being traded to Boston, where he would spend the majority of his nine-year career.
December 28, 1949 - John Milner was born in Atlanta. “The Hammer” was a platoon 1B/OF and pinch hitter for five years (1978-82) in Pittsburgh, hitting .263 with a .333 BA in the 1979 World Series.
December 28, 1957 - The Pirates swapped first basemen with the Reds. Pittsburgh acquired Ted Kluszewski, known for wearing cut-off sleeves to show off his guns, and Cincinnati received seven year veteran Dee Fondy in return. Neither got much; Klu’s power days were behind him, and Fondy spent just one more season in MLB.

 Topps 1959 series

December 28, 1960 - LHP Zane Smith was born in Madison, Wisconsin. Smith came to the Bucs in 1990 in the Moises Alou deal with Montreal. He pitched well down the stretch in ‘90 and won 16 games in ‘91. Zane tossed five years (1990-94, 1996) for the Buccos, with a 47-41/3.35 line.
December 28, 1995 - IF Charlie Hayes was signed as a FA by the Bucs to a deal worth $1.75M and flipped at the deadline to the New York Yankees for a minor leaguer.