9/24 Happenings: HBD Dixie, Jeff & Travis; 10,000 Wins; Pedro Inks It; 50 For Omar & More...

• 1910 - OF Fred (“Dixie” or “The Peoples Cherce”) Walker was born in Villa Rica, Georgia. He’s often remembered as the guy who fought Jackie Robinson’s arrival in Brooklyn, though he later accepted him both as a ballplayer and person. However, the initial blowback was said to be part of the impetus for the Dodgers to deal him to Pittsburgh (Brooklyn got Preacher Roe back, another pretty fair reason) in 1948. He played two seasons, batting .316 in his first campaign, then posting a .282 BA with 13 pinch hits in 1949 as a bench piece. After the ‘49 season, he hung ‘em up and went on to a long career in scouting and coaching. Fred came by the “Dixie” moniker honestly, as a Georgia boy whose father Ewart was known as Dixie. (His dad had pitched for the Senators, and his brother Harry “The Hat” Walker managed the Pirates from 1965-67.) His popularity with the Ebbets Field fans in the forties earned him the other nickname "The People's Cherce," as spelled (or at least pronounced) in Brooklynese.

Dixie Walker shanghaied by Buccos in 1948 (photo Stan Friedberg/Mears Collection/The Sporting News)

• 1957 - Bucco 1B Dee Fondy grounded out to end the game and thus became the last player to swing a bat in anger at Ebbets Field. Da’ Bums Danny McDevitt blanked the Bucs 2-0 in the final major league game played in Brooklyn before the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles.
• 1971 - Shea Stadium hosted a Roberto Clemente Day. Clemente was gifted with a Cadillac, which he accepted, and cash, which he insisted be sent to three children’s charities in Puerto Rico. The event was put together by New York’s Puerto Rican community, and the gifts came via donations from the “small people.” The Bucs won the game 3-2 on their way to a division title. Clemente had two hits and drove in a pair of runs to key the victory.
• 1973 - Danny Murtaugh was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the story “Frenzy In the East.” The Pirates, winners of three consecutive titles, finished third behind the Mets, 2-½ games out. Five of the six NL East teams finished in a pack separated by five games.

• 1977 - OF Omar Moreno swiped his 50th base of the season to surpass Sonny Jackson's rookie record set with the Astros in 1966. The Antelope swiped a pair of sacks and was caught once by Cubs C George Mitterwald in a 7-3 Pirate win at Wrigley.
• 1982 - RHP Jeff Karstens was born in San Diego. He was sent to Pittsburgh by the Yankees in 2008, and the oft-injured righty worked as a multi-role pitcher for the Pirates until 2012, with most of his outings as a starter. He retired in 2015 after failing to recover from 2013 shoulder surgery. In his five Pirates years, JK’s slash was 23-25/4.31.
• 1983 - 1B/OF Travis Ishikawa was born in Seattle, Washington. He started 2014 with the Pirates, lost his job to Ike Davis and was DFA’ed, ending up with the Giants and hitting a three-run homer to propel them into the World Series. The Pirates got him back in mid-2015 as a bench player. He’s bounced to-and-fro between the MLB and AAA since.
• 2006 - A little bit of MLB history the Bucs were involved in: Trevor Hoffman retired the Pirate side in order to close out a 2-1 San Diego victory at Petco Park. It was his 479th career save, surpassing Lee Smith and making the 38-year-old reliever the all-time leader in saves.
• 2008 - The Pirates officially came to terms with Pedro Alvarez, their first round draft pick and the second selection overall. Alvarez’s agent Scott Boras claimed the deadline verbal agreement between the club and third baseman was reached was too late, the MLBPA filed a grievance that was being settled by arbitration and El Toro was placed on the restricted list by MLB. Pedro’s John Doe on a $6.355M deal made all the drama disappear.

El Toro inks his deal (photo Jared Wickersham/Getty Images)

• 2015 - The Pirates won their 10,000th NL game by defeating the Colorado Rockies 5-4 at Coors Field on the strength of a three run homer by Pedro Alvarez with two outs in the eighth inning. Joe Blanton got the win while Mark Melancon became the first Pirate reliever to notch 50 saves. The club won its sixth straight game and completed its first four-game road sweep since 1997. Starling Marte was red hot; he tied Pie Traynor’s 1928 club record for most hits (13) in four-game series. The Bucco franchise started its major league days in 1882 (they didn’t join the NL until 1887) as the Alleghenys of the American Association and using that time frame, this was actually team win #10,236.

9/24: HBD Jeff & Ishy;Three for Steverino; 50 For Omar; Craig's HR Mark

• 1957 - Bucco 1B Dee Fondy grounded out to end the game and thus became the last player to swing a bat in anger at Ebbets Field. Da’ Bums Danny McDevitt blanked the Bucs 2-0 in the final major league game played in Brooklyn before the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles.
• 1966 - Roberto Clemente connected for a two-run go-ahead home run to cap off a five-run seventh inning in Pittsburgh’s 8-6 win over the Braves at Atlanta Stadium. Bob Bailey had a two-run homer and Gene Alley chased home two more with a double. Steve Blass worked two innings of relief to pick up the win; Pete Mikkelson got the save. The win moved them 1-½ games behind the LA Dodgers, but that’s as close as they would get, finishing three games off the pace.
• 1968 - Steve Blass tossed his third consecutive shutout‚ defeating the Reds 2-0 at Forbes Field. Steverino won his ninth straight victory and recorded a NL high seventh shutout on his way to an 18-6 season. The game against Gary Nolan was scoreless until the seventh when Willie Stargell led off with a homer. The Bucs added an insurance run in the eighth when Maury Wills singled, was bunted to second and came home on Matty Alou’s two-bagger.

Steve Blass 1970 O-Pee-Chee series

• 1970 - Luke Walker spun a seven hit shutout as his teammates made it easy with a 15 hit attack to drop the Mets 8-0 at TRS. Gene Alley was the unlikely hitting hero, with three hits including a triple and four RBI. Manny Sanguillen had three knocks too and scored twice. Matty Alou, Dave Cash, Richie Hebner and Bob Robertson each added a pair of hits.
• 1973 - LF Willie Stargell robbed Ken Singleton of a homer in the fifth, went long himself in the sixth and threw out Tony Scott at home in the seventh inning during a 3-0 defeat of the Expos at Jarry Park. Nellie Briles and Dave Giusti kept Montreal off the board, scattering eight hits for the shutout.
• 1973 - Danny Murtaugh was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the story “Frenzy In the East.” The Pirates, winners of three consecutive titles, finished third behind the Mets, 2-½ games out. Five of the six NL East teams finished in a pack separated by five games.

• 1977 - OF Omar Moreno swiped his 50th base of the season to surpass Sonny Jackson's rookie record set with the Astros in 1966. The Antelope swiped a pair of sacks and was caught once by Cubs C George Mitterwald in a 7-3 Pirate win at Wrigley.
• 1982 - RHP Jeff Karstens was born in San Diego. He was sent to Pittsburgh by the Yankees in 2008, and the oft-injured righty worked as a multi-role pitcher for the Pirates until 2012, with most of his outings as a starter. He retired in 2015 after failing to recover from 2013 shoulder surgery. In his five Pirate years, JK’s slash was 23-25/4.31.
• 1983 - 1B Travis Ishikawa was born in Seattle, Washington. He started 2014 with the Pirates, lost his job to Ike Davis and was DFA’ed, ending up with the Giants and hitting a three-run homer to propel them into the World Series. The Pirates got him back by the same route in mid-2015 as a bench player.

Travis Ishikawa (photo Benny Sieu/USA Today)

• 2001 - Rookie OF Craig Wilson tied the MLB record for pinch hit HRs in a season by hitting his seventh in the Pirates' 7-6 win over the Cubs. He stayed in the game and banged out two more knocks. Gary Matthews Jr. also homered as reliever Mike Lincoln, the Pirates fifth pitcher, got the win and Rich Loiselle the save.
• 2006 - Trevor Hoffman retired the Pirate side in order to close out a 2-1 San Diego victory at Petco Park. It was his 479th career save, surpassing Lee Smith and making the 38-year-old reliever the all-time leader in saves.
• 2011 - Josh Harrison went 4-for-5 with a 2B, 3B and stolen base while Neil Walker went 3-for-4 to help the Bucs to a 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park. Brad Lincoln got the win and Jason Grilli earned his first save as a Pirate.

9/24: 3 In A Row For Blass, Cap'n Willie Does It All, Omar Sets Mark, Karstens, Wilson HR, Josh & Jason, More...

3 In A Row For Blass, Cap'n Willie Does It All, Omar Sets Mark, Karstens, Wilson HR, Josh & Jason, More...

• 1957 - Bucco 1B Dee Fondy grounded out to end the game and thus became the last player to swing a bat in anger at Ebbets Field. Da’ Bums Danny McDevitt blanked the Bucs 2-0 in the final major league game played in Brooklyn before the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles. 
• 1966: Roberto Clemente connected for a two-run go-ahead home run to cap off a five-run seventh inning in Pittsburgh’s 8-6 win over the Braves at Atlanta Stadium. Bob Bailey had a two-run homer and Gene Alley chased home two more with a double. Steve Blass worked two innings of relief to pick up the win; Pete Mikkelson got the save. The win moved them 1-½ games behind the LA Dodgers, but that’s as close as they would get, finishing three games off the pace. 
• 1968 - Steve Blass tossed his third consecutive shutout‚ defeating the Reds 2-0 at Forbes Field. Steverino won his ninth straight victory and recorded a NL high seventh shutout on his way to an 18-6 season. The game against Gary Nolan was scoreless until the seventh when Willie Stargell led off with a homer. The Bucs added an insurance run in the eighth when Maury Wills singled, was bunted to second and came home on Matty Alou’s two-bagger. 

Steve Blass 1974 Topps series

• 1973 - LF Willie Stargell robbed Ken Singleton of a homer in the fifth, went long himself in the sixth and threw out Tony Scott at home in the seventh inning during a 3-0 defeat of the Expos at Jarry Park. Nellie Briles and Dave Giusti kept Montreal off the board, scattering eight hits for the shutout. 
• 1977 - OF Omar Moreno swiped his 50th base of the season to surpass Sonny Jackson's rookie record set with the Astros in 1966. The Antelope swiped a pair of sacks and was caught once by Cubs C George Mitterwald in a 7-3 Pirate win at Wrigley. 
• 1982 - RHP Jeff Karstens was born in San Diego. He was sent to Pittsburgh by the Yankees in 2008, and the oft-injured righty has worked as a multi-role pitcher for the Pirates since then, with most of his outings as a starter. 2001 - Rookie OF Craig Wilson tied the MLB record for pinch hit HRs in a season by hitting his seventh in the Pirates' 7-6 win over the Cubs. He stayed in the game and banged out two more knocks. Gary Matthews Jr. also homered as reliever Mike Lincoln, the Pirates fifth pitcher, got the win and Rich Loiselle the save. 

Jeff Karstens 2012 Topps series

• 2006 - Trevor Hoffman retired the Pirate side in order to close out a 2-1 San Diego victory at Petco Park. It was his 479th career save, surpassing Lee Smith and making the 38-year-old reliever the all-time leader in saves. 
• 2011 - Josh Harrison went 4-for-5 with a 2B, 3B and stolen base while Neil Walker went 3-for-4 to help the Bucs to a 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park. Brad Lincoln got the win and Jason Grilli earned his first save as a Pirate.

9/24: Steverino's Shutout Streak, Willie Does It All, The Antelope Plays, Jeff Karstens B-Day, Craig Wilson Homers, Grilli's First Save...

Steverino's Shutout Streak, Willie Does It All, The Antelope Plays, Jeff Karstens B-Day, Craig Wilson Homers, Grilli's First Save...

• 1957 - Bucco 1B Dee Fondy grounded out to end the game and thus became the last player to swing a bat in anger at Ebbets Field. Da’ Bums Danny McDevitt blanked the Bucs 2-0 in the final major league game played in Brooklyn before the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles. 
• 1968 - Steve Blass tossed his third consecutive shutout‚ defeating the Reds 2-0 at Forbes Field. Steverino won his ninth straight victory and recorded a NL high seventh shutout on his way to an 18-6 season. The game against Gary Nolan was scoreless until the seventh when Willie Stargell led off with a homer. The Bucs added an insurance run in the eighth when Maury Wills singled, was bunted to second and came home on Matty Alou’s two-bagger. 
• 1973 - LF Willie Stargell robbed Ken Singleton of a homer in the fifth, went long himself in the sixth and threw out Tony Scott at home in the seventh inning during a 3-0 defeat of the Expos at Jarry Park. Nellie Briles and Dave Guisti kept Montreal off the board, scattering eight hits for the shutout. 
• 1977 - OF Omar Moreno swiped his 50th base of the season to surpass Sonny Jackson's rookie record set with the Astros in 1966. The Antelope swiped a pair of sacks and was caught once by Cubs C George Mitterwald in a 7-3 Pirate win at Wrigley. 
• 1982 - RHP Jeff Karstens was born in San Diego. He was sent to Pittsburgh by the Yankees in 2008, and the oft-injured righty has worked as a multi-role pitcher for the Pirates since then, with most of his outings as a starter. 
• 2001 - Rookie OF Craig Wilson tied the MLB record for pinch hit HRs in a season by hitting his seventh in the Pirates' 7-6 win over the Cubs. He stayed in the game and banged out two more knocks.
•  2006 - Trevor Hoffman retired the Pirate side in order to close out a 2-1 San Diego victory at Petco Park. It was his 479th career save, surpassing Lee Smith and making the 38-year-old reliever the all-time leader in saves. 
• 2011 - Josh Harrison went 4-for-5 with a 2B, 3B and stolen base while Neil Walker went 3-for-4 to help the Bucs to a 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park. Brad Lincoln got the win and Jason Grilli earned his first save as a Pirate.