10/18: WS Sidebars; Cash for Brett; Cup Loss; HBD Cliff, Hans 2, Frenchy, Phil, George & Andy

• 1859 - OF Cliff Carroll was born in Clay Grove, Iowa. Cliff closed out the first half of his career in 1888 with Pittsburgh, playing in five games and hitting 0-for-20. He was playing through some health issues and wouldn’t reappear until 1890 after a brief retirement to his farm. He played for four more campaigns, three quite solidly, before retiring with 11 years in the show. Cliff also influenced the design of baseball jerseys. In his day, the shirts had a pocket, and he had a ball that took a strange hop and got stuck in his. It caused some embarrassment on the field and his owner fined him over the play, leading to some bitterness between the club and Carroll. The ugly incident led his squad, the St. Louis Browns, to eliminate the pocket from their uniforms and the rest of the league followed suit. Earlier in his career, Carroll had been shot at by a fan he had squirted with a hose during pre-game warmups (it seemed to be the result of heckling repaid with horseplay). The bullet missed him and grazed SS Joe Mulvey, who was uninjured. 

Hans reunion 1938 (Transcendental Graphics/Getty)

• 1881 - IF John “Hans” Lobert was born in Wilmington, Delaware. His family moved to Pittsburgh (Lobert went to Carnegie Tech) and he played for the semi-pro Pittsburgh Athletic Association nine, but went unnoticed until the PAA was playing in Atlantic City at the same time Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss was vacationing at the shore. He signed Lobert with the Bucs for a September 1903 audition when the team was running away with the pennant. He played everywhere after the Pirates had clinched, but the biggest impression he made was on Honus Wagner, who dubbed Lobert “Hans Number Two.” The pair remained friends throughout their lives. Lobert went to the minors for a year of seasoning, then spent the next 13 campaigns in the show with four different clubs, hitting .274 with 361 stolen bases. Lobert was noted for his fleet feet; he once defeated Jim Thorpe in a 100-yard dash. Hans #2 retired at the age of 35 in 1917, led West Point baseball for eight years and then coached, managed the Phils for a year and scouted until he passed away at the age of 86. 
• 1886 - RHP George “Frenchy” LeClaire was born in Milton, Vermont. He spent his career largely with the Pittsburgh Rebels of the outlaw Federal League from 1914-15, going 6-4, 3.81 in 36 games, 10 as a starter. After starting 1915 with the Rebels, he finished the campaign with Buffalo and Baltimore. When the league folded, Frenchy’s major league career came to an end.
• 1894 - RHP Phil Morrison was born in Rockport, Indiana. His MLB career consisted of ⅔ IP for the Pirates in 1921, but with that appearance he became one of the early Pirate family acts, joining his brother, pitcher “Jughandle Johnny” Morrison, on that season’s stat sheet. 
• 1900 - The Brooklyn Superbas won the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup three games to one with a 4-1 win at Exposition Park as Joe McGinnity bested Sam Leever. The series was a challenge match sponsored by the Pittsburgh Chronicle-Telegraph (bought by the Pittsburgh Press in 1924) between the top two NL teams in an era before post-season games. It was a fruitful learning experience for the runner-up Pirates, which went on to win the next three NL pennants and played in the first World Series in 1903. The Brooklyn club didn’t win another playoff set until 1955, when they claimed the World Series title as the Dodgers. 

George Hendricks 1985 Topps Traded

• 1949 - OF George Hendrick was born in Los Angeles. The Pirates got him as part of the John Tudor deal with St Louis during the 1984 off season, but Hendrick hit just .230 with two homers in ‘85 and was sent to Angels at the deadline. He was nicknamed "Silent George" because he never spoke to the media. After his 18 year career ended, he landed coaching gigs with the Cards, Dodgers, Angels and Tampa Bay, where he still works as an advisor to the GM. 
• 1951 - LHP Andy Hassler was born in Texas City, Texas. The veteran Hassler signed a six-year/$750K contract with the Bucs in 1979. It lasted for six outings and a 3.86 ERA before he was sent to California in June where he strung together three solid campaigns with the Haloes. He mostly struggled his last three seasons with the Angels & Cards, retiring after the deal expired to end a 14-year career. 
• 1960 - Cause and effect: a little blowback from Maz’s home run took place when the Yankees let go of manager Casey Stengel, supposedly because he had passed the newly mandated Yankee mandatory retirement age of 65. The Ol’ Perfesser, who amassed a 1149-696 (.623) record while capturing ten AL pennants and seven World Series Championships in his 12 years at the NYY helm, said "Resigned, fired, quit, discharged, use whatever you damn please. I'll never make the mistake of being seventy again." His counterpart, Danny Murtaugh (The Whistling Irishman was just 42 years old), still had 11 seasons with a couple of service breaks and another WS title yet to be added to his Pirates resume. 

Ken Brett 1974 Topps

• 1973 - The Pirates shipped 2B Dave Cash to Philadelphia in exchange for LHP Ken Brett. Cash was being phased out for Rennie Stennett, but still had seven years and three All-Star games left in him. Brett went 22-14 with a 3.32 ERA for Pittsburgh in two seasons and made an All-Star team before an elbow injury slowed him down, and like Cash still had a long shelf life. He pitched seven more years after leaving the Pirates, although he wasn’t really effective again after 1976. 
• 1979 - Chuck Tanner returned to hometown New Castle 12 hours after the Pirates had won the World Series in Baltimore to bury his mom. She passed away before Game 5 with the Pirates down three games to one, and Chuck told his players in a quiet locker room before the contest that "My mother is a great Pirates fan. She knows we're in trouble, so she went upstairs to get some help." Tanner was quite close to his mom, but he insisted on managing through the series because he knew she would have wanted him to see it through. Judging by the results, that extra angel in the outfield sure proved handy. 
• 1979 - Congressman Doug Walgren ate high off the hog thanks to the Pirates World Series win. Maryland congresswoman Barbara Mikulski paid off her losing bet with crabs, sausage and pastries while Ohio rep Tom Luken brought in some Cincinnati chili dogs after being dunned for the Reds NLCS defeat. Walgren sported a Pirates cap all day, and his phone’s background music was “We Are Fam-A-Lee.” Senator Richard Schweiker also got in on the action and was served a regional delicacy, Maryland beaten biscuits, by MD lawmaker Charles Mathias.

10/17: Birds Plucked in '71 & '79; Bravos Win '91 NLCS; HBD Kid, Pop, Pete, Ravelo, Mark & Chris, Banny Goes; Cup Win

• 1870 - LHP George “Kid” Nicol was born in Barry, Illinois. George was called up from the semi-pro ranks to pitch for St Louis (he was 19 years old, hence “Kid”) of the American Association, and he began his career with a no-hitter (seven innings, nine walks) and a one-hitter over five frames. With the demise of the Player’s League that season, there were more players than roster spots around baseball so the Kid went to the minors despite that opening spurt. He got a couple of more shots in the majors, with Pittsburgh giving him the ball eight times (five starts) in 1894, with Nicol going 3-4, 6.50 and giving up 57 hits and 33 walks in 44-⅓ IP. He had a curve that baffled lesser hitters but looked like a beach ball to better stickmen and control issues bit him throughout as he issued 8.3 free passes every nine innings. To boot, it was suspected that his performance with the Pirates was the opening round of arm problems; the Kid returned to the minors and converted to the outfield. He played on farm clubs until 1906, retiring to the life of a hubby, father and working Joe machinist in Milwaukee. 

Pop Dillon (photo via Baseball History Daily)

• 1873 - 1b Frank “Pop” Dillon was born in Normal (North Bloomington), Illinois. Pop spent the first two campaigns of his five-year MLB career in Pittsburgh (1899-1900) and he hit .237 as a bench guy. He lost out the following year after the franchise was reinforced by Barney Dreyfuss’ bringing in the Louisville roster, but found a new home on the coast. He became a player and manager for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League from 1902-15, taking the LAA to PCL pennants four times. It was also there that he earned his nickname; after his decade plus of service with the Angels, his hair had gone gray and so he became “Pop.” He went on to work for the Association of Professional Ball Players of America after the Angels gig and was inducted into the PCL Hall of Fame.  
• 1900 - Pittsburgh avoided being swept in the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup series by nickle-and-diming Harry Howell for 13 singles and 10 runs. Tommy Leach reached base five times and scored four runs. Ginger Beaumont had three hits, and Claude Ritchey, Honus Wagner and Bones Ely added a pair. Deacon Phillippe threw a six-hit shutout for the win at Exposition Park, although the Pirates still trailed the best-of-five series two games to one. 
• 1929 - Pirate catcher and GM Harding “Pete” Peterson was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He appeared in 65 games over four seasons (1955; 1957–59) for Pittsburgh and batted .273 in limited service, due to a two-year stint in Korea. His playing career was effectively ended as the result of a broken arm suffered in a home plate collision at Wrigley Field in early 1959. Pete coached and headed the scouting department for the Bucs afterward, and took Joe L. Brown’s spot as GM in 1976. He fielded strong teams in the late seventies with a championship club in 1979. Peterson lasted until 1985, dragged down by the cocaine trails and the soap opera over team ownership. 

Ravelo Manzanillo 1994 Flair

• 1963 - LHP Ravelo Manzanillo was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. Ravello tossed for three years in the show, two with Pittsburgh (4-2-1, 4.19 in 51 outings between 1994-95). He also tossed in the minors from 1981–2005, including stints in the Korea, Taiwan, Mexico and indie baseball circuits. Manzanillo also played winter ball in the Venezuelan and Dominican Leagues. 
• 1967 - 1B Mark Johnson was born in Worcester, MA. Mark was a good glove, power-hitting guy who made his MLB debut at the advanced age of 27. His .239 BA in three years (1995-97) with the Pirates didn’t cut it as he lost his job to Kevin Young. Johnson was a good pinch hitter and closed out his career with the NY Mets, playing until 2002. 
• 1969 - C Chris Tremie was born in Houston. Chris got four wham-bams in the majors; his stop in Pittsburgh was in 1999 when he got into nine games and went 1-for-14 in a year that the Pirates rostered six different catchers (Tremie, Jason Kendall, Keith Osik, Joe Oliver, Tim Laker and Yamid Haad). Baseball has been Chris’ career canvas - he spent 14 seasons in the minors and been a manager in the Indian’s system since 2007. Not a bad resume for a kid who was drafted by the White Sox in the 39th round (#1,100 overall) in 1992. 

• 1971 - Steve Blass hurled a four-hitter and Roberto Clemente homered as the Pirates won Game Seven of the World Series, 2-1, at Baltimore, earning Pittsburgh its fourth World Championship. The winning run scored in the eighth, when Jose Pagan doubled home Willie Stargell. Clemente hit safely in all seven games of the series, a feat he also accomplished in 1960 against the Yankees, extending his consecutive Fall Classic hitting streak to 14 contests. He also became the first Latino player to earn World Series MVP honors after batting .414. Bruce Kison and his best man Bob Moose were taken from Memorial Stadium by helicopter to a waiting Lear Jet to attend his wedding in Pittsburgh (even so, the groom arrived 33 minutes late). And though it was a bright moment for the club, it wasn’t for some fans. After the game‚ 40‚000 people ran wild downtown; many were arrested and at least 100 were injured. 
• 1979 - In Game Seven at Baltimore, President Jimmy Carter opened the game with a ceremonial pitch (his first and only opening pitch while prez) and Willie Stargell finished it by going 3-for-4 with his third World Series homer, lifting the Pirates to a 4-1 win and their fifth World Championship. Captain Willie gave the Bucs a 2-1 lead in the sixth with his blast. Kent Tekulve worked out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth and Pittsburgh tacked on a pair of ninth inning insurance runs to take a 4-1 victory, with Grant Jackson earning the W. Pops was named Series MVP after the Pirates erased a three-games-to-one deficit to rally past the Orioles. 60,000 fans greeted the team at the airport when they arrived home at 3AM, with thousands more lining the parkway. Baltimore, which planned a victory parade two games prior, still held one the next day and drew 125,000 for their beloved and bedraggled Birds. The game was big - an estimated 80 million people, then the largest TV audience in the history of the World Series, watched the showdown. 
• 1991 - In Game Seven of the NLCS, Brian Hunter's two-run shot in the first inning off John Smiley was all John Smoltz needed as he tossed a 4-0, six-hit whitewash against the Bucs at TRS. Atlanta won their first NL pennant since their move from Milwaukee as the Pirates failed to score in the last 22 innings of the series. The Braves lost the World Series to the Minnesota Twins four games to three in one of the most dramatic championships in the MLB annals. 

Banny 1992 Topps Debut

• 2014 - After a 29-year affiliation with the Pirates, starting as a player and spending the last five as the Bucs bench coach, Jeff “Banny” Banister left the organization to become the 18th manager of the Texas Rangers. It was, in a way, a delayed PTBNL deal involving coaches turned skippers; the Pirates took their manager, Clint Hurdle, from Texas in 2011.

10/16 Birthdays: HBD George, Baseball Tourist, Tomatoes, Leaping Mike, Bill, Boom Boom, Ed, Lenny, Brian, Josias, Matt & Edgar

• 1856 - 2B/OF George Strief was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Strief played in the majors for five years with a stop with the Alleghenys in 1882; he batted .199 and moved along. George, who walloped five homers during his career, was the first Pittsburgh major league batter to go deep when he went yard against Will White of the Cincinnati Red Stockings on May 3rd, 1882 during a 7-3 loss at Exposition Park. 
• 1866 - C Fred “The Baseball Tourist” Lake was born in Cornwallis Township, Nova Scotia. Fred spent bits and pieces of time in MLB for five seasons, playing for the Pirates in 1898 and going 1-for-13. He also put in 13 minor-league seasons with 15 teams, hence his nickname. Lake managed both the Boston Beaneaters and Doves, scouted for St. Louis and managed several farm teams and college nines. 
• 1888 - C Jake “Tomatoes” Kafora was born in Chicago. Tomatoes tore up the minors but in a two-year stint with the Pirates, he batted .125 and discovered he couldn’t hit the curve. Jake went back to Chicago after spending a couple of years in the minors and became a local star in bowling circles, a profession he worked at during the offseason. He passed away young in 1928. His nickname dates back to his youth when he would get behind the plate, give a target and exhort his pitchers to “put the ol’ tomato in the big mitt.” 

Mike Menosky Ars Longa Art Card (Jim Dandie original)

• 1894 - OF “Leaping Mike” Menosky was born in Glen Campbell in Indiana County, and attended State Normal College (now IUP). He started his career in the Federal League for the Pittsburgh Rebels from 1914-15, hitting .242, and went on to play for the Washington Senators and Boston Red Sox until 1930 with a .280 BA in the AL. Leaping Mike is famous as the guy who replaced Babe Ruth in left field after the Bambino was sold to the New York Yankees. His nickname was bestowed because of his speed and acrobatic catches. 
• 1895 - OF Bill Skiff was born in New Rochelle, New York. Skiff only played two MLB seasons - he hit .289 in 16 games with the Pirates in 1921 and sipped a cup of coffee with the Yankees five years later - but he was a baseball lifer. Skiff served 19 seasons as a player or player/manager on farm teams and another 14 solely as a minor league manager, mostly for the NYY organization. 
• 1904 - RHP Walter “Boom-Boom” Beck was born in Decatur, Illinois. He tossed for 12 years in the show, closing out his career in Pittsburgh in 1945 with a line of 6-1, 2.14 in a strong final bow at the end of the war years. He only won 38 games during his big league career, but to the best of our knowledge is the only “Boom Boom” to play for the Pirates. The story begins with him pitching for Casey Stengel’s Brooklyn Dodgers against the Phillies at the Baker Bowl, which had a tin outfield fence. Philadelphia had been drilling balls off that wall all afternoon, wearing out Hack Wilson and bringing on the Ol’ Perfessor to yank Beck. Beck didn’t like the hook and instead of handing the ball to the manager, he fired it off the fence. Wilson, who had been daydreaming while the mound switch was going on, was startled and thought another ball had been lined over his head and off the wall, chased down the carom and threw the ball to second. The “boom-boom” sound of the ball hitting the wall that day gave Beck a nickname he never shook. 

Ed Bahr 1946 Play Ball Mini

• 1919 - RHP Ed Bahr was born in Rouleau, Saskatchewan. In a career that lasted from 1946-47, Bahr went 11–11, 3.73 with 69 strikeouts in 46 appearances, (25 starts, eight complete games) and 219 IP. But ominously, his ERA went up by two runs per game from his rookie year to his sophomore season and he failed to make the team in 1948. He was traded to Brooklyn in 1949 and never returned to the show. 
• 1928 - P and scout Lenny Yochim was born in New Orleans. He had a brief career with the Pirates (1951, 1954, 1-2, 7.62 ERA), but a long and fairly shiny one in the minors, where he once tossed a no hitter. After his playing days, Yochim rejoined the Pirates in 1966 as part of their baseball operations department. He served in various scouting positions before moving into the front office in 1994, where he worked as a senior adviser for player personnel through 2004. 
• 1959 - C/OF Brian Harper was born in Los Angeles. Brain was a utilityman for the Bucs from 1982-84 before being traded to St. Louis; he didn’t really blossom until the 1988 season with Twins, who played him full time and kept him behind the dish. He started there for five seasons through the age of 33 before he slowed down. Harper retired in 1996 and did some high school coaching before returning to the majors to ride the minor-league coaching carousel for several clubs. 

Brian Harper 1985 Topps

• 1967 - RHP Josias Manzanillo was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. He tossed for 11 years in the MLB, serving 2000-02 with the Bucco staff. His first two campaigns were good as he went 5-4-2, 3.39 in 114 appearances, but he lost it in the following campaign with his ERA shooting up to 7.62. He struggled along with the Reds in 2003 and the Fish in 2004, retiring when he didn’t make it out of camp with Boston in 2005. He’s famous for two things: one was when his family jewels were blown up thanks to a liner in the groin, requiring reconstructive surgery. The second was just as ugly as he was named as a player who shot up steroids in the 2007 Mitchell report. Josias and his people denied it, saying he admitted to buying PEDs but was afraid to actually use them and didn’t. 
• 1969 - LHP Matt Ruebel was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was drafted by the Pirates in the 3rd round of the 1991 draft out of Oklahoma, and pitched parts of three seasons for Pittsburgh and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He made 70 appearances and went 4-3-1, 5.49 for the Bucs in 1996-97 and a little worse for Tampa the following season, his last in MLB. He’s with the Bucs now as a special assistant to the GM with a scouting pedigree. 
• 1991 - RHP Edgar Santana was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. He was green as a youth and Pirates scout Juan Mercado signed him as a project just before his 22nd birthday. Santana picked up a slider to go with his four seamer in the DSL and took off. He zipped through the system and landed in Pittsburgh in 2017, getting into 19 games and posting a 3.50 ERA with 20 K in 18 IP.

10/16: Bucs Take '09 WS, Split With O's, Bravos Win, Berardino Deal, Cutch BA RoY, Hans Arm, Bucs Drop Cup Game

• 1898 - According to Charlton’s Baseball Chronology, Honus Wagner hurled a baseball 403 feet 8 inches in a throwing contest at Louisville's League Park (teams often featured races and long-toss exhibitions back in the day) to beat the record of 400' 7-1/2" set by the Brooklyn Mutuals' John Hatfield in 1872. Wagner's distance throw was‚ in some histories‚ topped by Larry LeJeune’s toss of 435 feet on October 3rd‚ 1907, although that toss is not universally accepted. 

Honus Wagner 1960 Baseball Greats

• 1900 - The Bucs committed six errors against the Brooklyn Superbas at Exposition Park during the Chronicle-Telegraph Challenge series and lost 4-2 as Fred Kitson got the better of Sam Leever. Pittsburgh was held to four hits, with Honus Wagner’s double leading to one run and Jack O’Connor driving in Tom O’Brien for the other tally. 
• 1909 - In a World Series showdown between two of baseball's premier players, Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb, the Pirates downed the hometown Detroit Tigers, 8-0, in game seven to become World Champions for the first time. The real star of the Series, though, was rookie pitcher Babe Adams, who notched three victories, including the decisive seventh game six-hit shutout. The Pirates were helped by Tiger wildness; the Bucs banged out just seven hits, but the 10 walks were the killers for Motown (Fred Clarke got zero official at bats; he walked four times and scored twice). Honus Wagner and Dots Miller had a pair of RBI, while Clarke and Tommy Leach scored twice. It was the first World Series to go seven games. The Flying Dutchman, battling injuries in his first World Series in 1903, bounced back this time around. Hans hit .333, with seven RBIs and six stolen bases to outshine Ty Cobb, who hit .231 with six runs driven home and two steals. 
• 1952 - Pittsburgh sent IF George Strickland and RHP Ted Wilks to the Cleveland Indians for IF Johnny Berardino, a PTBNL (RHP Charles Sipple) and $50,000. Strickland played eight years for the Tribe, but the light-hitting infielder batted just .233 over that time. Wilks was at the end of his playing days and made 11 Indian appearances before retiring. Berardino was staging a return to Pittsburgh, but his .143 BA and a bum leg turned him into a full-time actor after 56 at bats. Sipple never made it past the minors.

Roberto Clemente 1971 Topps Super

• 1971 - The Baltimore Orioles came back from a 2-0 hole to take a 3-2, 10-inning win from the Bucs at Memorial Stadium and forcing the World Series to a seventh game. The Pirates left the bases loaded in the 10th. Baltimore didn’t. Brooks Robinson’s short sac fly to center off Bob Miller barely brought in Frank Robinson; Al Oliver had been removed in a double switch just that inning, putting the weak-armed Vic Davalillo in center. Robinson paid a price; he injured his hamstring and reaggravated an Achilles injury, limiting him severely in the decisive game. Roberto Clemente had a homer for Pittsburgh and also had a highlight throw in the bottom of the ninth, a one hop strike to home that froze Mark Belanger, who represented the winning run, at third after Don Buford’s two-out double. Bob Moose became the Bucs sixth different starter when he took the hill in the first, as the scheduled pitcher, Dock Ellis, was scratched with an injury. 
• 1979 - With Baltimore papers filled with stories of the Orioles’ World Series victory parade, the Bucs rode John Candelaria and Kent Tekulve to a 4-0 win at Memorial Stadium to square the series at three games each. The top of the order (Omar Moreno & Tim Foli) and the bottom (Ed Ott & Phil Garner) combined for nine hits and scored all four runs. 
• 1991 - For the second time in the series, the Bucs were 1-0 losers to the Atlanta Braves to send the NLCS to a seventh game. The Pirates were held to four hits by Steve Avery and Alejandro Pena at TRS. The game’s only tally came with two outs in the ninth when Greg Olsen doubled home Ron Gant to hand Doug Drabek the defeat. 

Andrew 2017 Bowman Then and Now

• 2009 - Andrew McCutchen was named the Baseball America Rookie of the Year for 2009, and finished fourth in the NL ROY balloting. He joined the team in June, replacing Nate McLouth, and finished his rookie season with a .286 BA, 12 HR, 54 RBI, and 22 stolen bases in 108 games. Cutch singled off the Mets’ Mike Pelfrey in his first MLB at-bat to get his career off to a flying start.

10/15 Birthdays: HBD Bob, Mule, Don, Bill, Gail, Red, Mitchell, Carlos, Mendy & Juan

• 1887 - RHP Bob Harmon was born in Liberal, Missouri. He tossed for four seasons for the Pirates (1914-16, 1918), going 39-52 with an ERA of 2.60, splitting his time between starting and the pen. After his baseball career ended in 1918, he became a successful dairy farmer in Louisiana and stayed active in local sports. 

Mule Haas 1981 Conlon/TSN

• 1903 - OF George “Mule” Haas was born in Montclair, New Jersey. Haas was signed as a youngster by the Bucs and worked his way to the show in 1925, getting in four games and going 0-for-3. Haas was in a wrong-time,wrong place situation - the Pittsburgh OF featured Kiki Cuyler, Clyde Barnhart & Max Carey. Mule (he got his nickname in the minors when after homering, a local beat man wrote that his bat had the kick of a mule) was sold to Atlanta after the season more due to the logjam than poor performance. He played 11 more seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox, hitting .292 and playing in three World Series. 
• 1926 - RHP Don Carlsen was born in Chicago. Carlsen was signed by the Cubs as an IF, played a season and then went into the service, coming back two years later as a pitcher. He got in a game for Chicago, then in 1951-52 tossed for Pittsburgh, going 2-4, 5.43 in 12 games (seven starts). Don worked in the Pirates minors until 1957, retiring after that campaign. 
• 1927 - LHP Bill Henry was born in Alice, Texas. The veteran reliever spent the latter half of the 1968 campaign with the Pirates. It was his 15th year in the show and the creaks showed as he had the worst line of his career, compiling no record but tossing to an 8.10 ERA and giving up 18 runs (15 earned) and 29 hits in 16-⅔ IP over 10 appearances. Bill got into three games with the Astros the following year and then hung ‘em up. Henry did have a nice run despite the messy finish; he ended his MLB days with 572 outings, 46 wins, 90 saves and a 3.26 ERA with an All-Star game and World Series under his belt. 

Gail Henley 1954 (Pirates Promo photo)

• 1928 - OF Gail Henley was born in Wichita, Kansas. He hit .300 in his only year with the Pirates (and in the big leagues), 1954, but the spot he was auditing for was more than adequately locked up with the arrival of Roberto Clemente the next year. Henley did serve some minor league time, then managed eventual Pirates skippers Jim Leyland and Gene Lamont. After managing in the minors for the Detroit Tigers, Henley joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as a scout and organizational manager. He ended his baseball jones with a stint as a scout for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. 
• 1936 - RHP Art “Red” Swanson was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was signed by the Pirates as a bonus baby in 1955 and spent the next two years (covering 1955-57) on the big league club as required by the signing rules. Red was sent to the minors when he was eligible where he pitched until 1963, but never got back to the majors; the time treading water in the majors was too much to overcome. His dad was AL “Red” Swanson, who coached baseball and basketball at LSU and from whom Red picked up his nickname. 
• 1951 - OF/1B Mitchell Page was born in Los Angeles. A third round pick of the Pirates in 1973, he tore it up in the minors for two years before being shipped to Oakland in part of the big deal that brought Phil Garner to Pittsburgh. He spent seven seasons on the coast before returning to the Pirates in 1984. He went 4-for-12 as a late-season call up, spending most of his time at AAA Hawaii. Mitchell retired after the year and coached off and on for the Royals, Cards and Nats before passing away in 2011. He was known as "The Swinging Rage" in Oakland, a nickname dropped on him by A’s broadcaster Monte Moore. 

Carlos Garcia 1994 Panini

• 1967 - IF Carlos Garcia was born in Tachira, Venezuela. In seven (1990-96) Bucco seasons, he hit .278. Carlos was named to the 1993 Topps All-Star Rookie Team and the NL All-Star squad in 1994. In 1995, he was a hitting machine who had a 21-game hitting streak in June and then a 15-game hitting streak in September. García was the first base coach and infield instructor for Pittsburgh in 2010. He was named the manager of the Bradenton Marauders in December 2010, and in 2013-14, Garcia managed the Altoona Curve before being released by the Pirates.
• 1973 - IF Mendy Lopez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Mendy got bits and pieces of seven campaign in the majors, with some of 2001-02 with the Pirates where he hit .217 in 25 games (he spent almost all of 2002 in AAA Nashville). Since he retired after the 2004 year, he’s played in Korea, Mexico and the Dominican. 
• 1978 - RHP Juan Cruz was born in Bonao, Dominican Republic. Juan finished up his 12-year career in Pittsburgh, getting into 43 games and going 1-1-3, 2.78 with 14 holds as part of the support group of closer Joel Hanrahan. With several younger back-end options, the Pirates released him in late August and that was it for his MLB journey.

10/15: Bucs Beat Big Train for '25 Title, Alleghenys Back in Business, Pittsburgh No-Hit, Stage Star Waners, Telegraph Cup

• 1881 - HD “Denny” McKnight resurrected the Allegheny Baseball Club of Pittsburgh (it had disbanded after the 1877 season) and later joined the newly formed American Association. In 1887 they joined the NL and in 1891 morphed into the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

Denny McKnight Ars Longa Art Card

• 1892 - On the last day the season, Cincinnati pitcher Charles “Bumpus” Jones no-hit Pittsburgh at League Park in his first major league start. Bumpus won 7-1, fanning three and issuing four walks. His MLB career lasted eight games and he won just one other decision. Still, he remains the only player to pitch a no-hitter in his first MLB appearance. Bill James, according to Wikipedia, gave him the distinction of being the “mathematically least likely pitcher ever to have thrown a no-hitter in the major leagues.” 
• 1900 - The Pittsburgh Chronicle-Telegraph offered a silver cup to the winner of a best-of-five series at Exposition Park between the NL’s top two teams, the Pirates and the Brooklyn Superbas; Brooklyn won the 1900 title by 4-½ games over the Bucs during the regular season. Two future Hall of Famers faced off in the opener as NL ERA leader Rube Waddell (2.37) went against “Iron Man” Joe McGinnity, who topped the league with 28 wins. McGinnity whitewashed the Pirates for eight innings before two unearned runs in the top of the ninth cost him the shutout. Not only was he hurt by shoddy fielding, but he had been knocked out briefly the inning before during a rundown when he was accidentally kneed. He refused to come out after he regained his breath and went the distance for a five-hit, 5-2 victory. Claude Ritchey banged out a pair of knocks in a losing cause. 
• 1925 - In Game Seven of the World Series at Forbes Field, played on a muddy track soaked by a two day rainstorm, Kiki Cuyler laced an eighth-inning, two-out, bases-loaded double off Washington's Walter “Big Train” Johnson to lead the Pirates to a 9-7 comeback victory and their second World Championship, made all the sweeter by rallying from an early 4-0 deficit. Ray Kremer got the win, his second of the Series, with four innings of one-run relief after pitching a complete game win two days before. Errors by SS Roger Peckinpaugh, the AL MVP, in both the seventh and eighth innings led to four unearned runs. He had a tough Series in the field, committing a record eight errors. The Bucs became the first team to win a World Series after being down three games to one. The Series was a big financial hit‚ grossing a record-setting $1.2M. Winning shares were $5‚332.72 while the losers pocketed $3‚734.60. And though it would take awhile, Bucco manager Bill McKechnie would become the first MLB skipper to win a WS with two different teams when his Reds beat the Tigers in the 1940 Fall Classic. 

The Press captures the Game 7 Crowd.

• 1927 - Although the New York Yankees Murderers Row pushed the Pirates out of the spotlight with a World Series sweep, the Bucs strong season kept the Waner brothers on the main stage a little longer as the pair commenced a series of vaudeville appearances for the Loew movie house franchise in St. Louis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Baltimore, culminating with a $3,000 payday for a week in the Big Apple.

10/14 Post-Season: Bucs Take Two From O's, The Slide, '09 Tiger Loss, '91 Bravo Win

• 1909 - The Pirates scored three times in the first inning, but the Detroit Tigers came back to take a 5-4 win at Bennett Park to force a seventh game in the World Series. The Cats used a balanced attack, banging out 10 hits, five of which were doubles, to give George Mullin the win and send Vic Willis to defeat. The Pirates scored three first-inning runs, keyed by a Hans Wagner double, and almost pulled it out in the ninth. Leadoff singles and a misplayed bunt brought the Bucs within a run with runners on the corners and no outs, but Pittsburgh couldn’t cash in. Bill Abstein was tossed out at home on George Gibson’s bouncer to first and Ed Abbaticchio banged into a game-ending DP to kill the golden goose. It was also the first series to go the full seven-game limit (with the caveat that World Series only began in 1905).

Nellie Briles 1971 Pirates Picture Pack

• 1971 - Nellie Briles tossed a two-hit, two-walk shutout at the Baltimore Orioles, and the 4-0 win put the Pirates up three games to two in the World Series. The Birds never got a runner to second as two Orioles reached with two outs and the Bucs turned a pair of DP on the other set as Nellie faced just 29 hitters. Every Pirate batter reached base during the game, with Bob Robertson hitting a solo shot at TRS in front of 51,377 Pittsburgh fans. 
• 1979 - Staring at elimination, Jim Rooker and Bert Blyleven tossed a combo six hitter against the Orioles at TRS as the Bucs stayed alive with a 7-1 victory. Tim Foli tripled and had three RBI while Bill Madlock went 4-for-4, with Baltimore still ahead in the WS three games to two. 
• 1991 - The Pirates Zane Smith was the victor as the Bucs took a 1-0 win over the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and a 3-2 lead in the NLCS. Tom Glavine was the loser, touched up only in the fifth when Chico Lind singled home Steve Buechele. The Braves lost a run when David Justice missed 3B while heading home on a two-out, fourth inning single in a call that was controversial with its replay inconclusive. 

Zane Smith 1991 Classic

• 1992 - Pittsburgh lost the seventh game of the NLCS to the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium 3-2 when Sid Bream scored in the ninth, barely beating Barry Bond's off-line throw and Spanky LaValliere’s lunging tag to begin a two-decade long Bucco Dark Age. Pittsburgh carried a two-run lead into the last frame when a Chico Lind error and two walks proved fatal. Francisco Cabrera, whose two-out pinch-hit single tallied Bream, was a backup catcher who had only 11 plate appearances during the regular season. The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Bravos four games to two in the World Series, taking all four of their victories by one run with three of those wins claimed during their last at bat.

10/14: HBD Scoops, Tom, Ken, Norm, Oscar, Fireman, Midre & Ryan; Cutch MoY; Expansion, Bell for Abrams & Co.

• 1863 - LHP (as speculated by SABR; his pitching side is not known for sure) Norm Baker was born in Philadelphia. He got his first taste of the pros with the Alleghenys in 1883, going 0-2, 3.32 in a three game tryout and getting released before he put in 10 days on the roster to qualify for a contract. (His ERA wasn’t very indicative of his pitching; he gave up seven earned runs but 16 tallies overall and yielded 24 hits and 11 walks in 19 IP). Baker went on to pitch for the American Association’s Louisville and Baltimore franchises, although he was best known for irritating teammates (he was described as a “contrarian” who argued for the sake of arguing) and a man who never let a contract stand in his way - he switched among amateur, independent and minor-league clubs as freely as the law allowed. He was injured in 1889 in a train accident and tried to come back, but his arm never recovered. Baker umped and managed briefly afterwards, then went on to have a career as a musical store salesman - he was a pretty good musician - presumably keeping a lid on his contrarian nature.

Oscar Charleston - Bernie Fuchs Art Magazine

• 1896 - CF Oscar Charleston was born in Indianapolis. The Hall of Famer played for the Homestead Grays from 1930-31, and from 1932-37 was the player/manager for the Pittsburgh Crawfords during their heyday years. He consistently hit .340+ for the Crawfords, with a .363 BA in 1932. That club, with brother Hall of Famers Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, and Judy Johnson on the roster, is considered among the best Negro League teams ever fielded. 
• 1913 - RHP Hugh “Fireman” Casey was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Casey was a nine-year vet (he lost a couple of years to the war) who spent most of his time with the Dodgers; he played with the Bucs for most of his final campaign in 1949, going 4-1-5, 4.66 before being released to the Yankees for his final four outings. He had started as a fireballer, but an arm injury made him go to a curve and a new pitch, the splitter (although most opponents considered it a spitter, not splitter). Hugh was also noted for once getting into a brawl with author Ernest Hemingway in Cuba where the Dodgers were training. He got his nickname because he was an early baseball fireman, doing what a reliever should - putting out fires. Hugh came to a sad end, committing suicide in 1951 after losing a paternity suit and being sued for back taxes due from his bar/restaurant.
• 1915 - LHP Ken Heintzelman was born in Peruque, Missouri. He pitched for Pittsburgh from 1937-42, was off during the war years, and then returned for 1946-47. In eight years, the southpaw made 154 appearances with 86 starts and went 37-43 with a 4.14 ERA. His son Tom, went on to play MLB ball with the Cardinals and Giants as an infielder between 1973 and 1978. 

Tom Cheney 1961 Topps

• 1934 - RHP Tom Cheney was born in Morgan, Georgia. Cheney put in eight seasons of MLB ball, working the Bucs in 1960 and a bit in ‘61 (2-2,4.67) before going to the Senators for Tom Sturdivant. Tom had control issues throughout his career but terrific stuff, and holds the record for most K in a game with 21 in a 16-inning, 228-pitch win for Washington in 1962. Still, he only won 19 games in 71 starts over those eight years. He appeared to have turned the corner in 1962-63, but in August of the ‘63 campaign blew out his elbow and only got into 18 more games. 
• 1946 - OF/1B Al “Scoops” Oliver was born in Portsmouth, Ohio. He played 10 of his 18 big league years in Pittsburgh with a line of .296/135/717 and three All-Star berths. Scoops was a key member of the early seventy clubs that won a World Series and five pennants in six seasons. He hit the last home run at Forbes Field off Cubbie Milt Pappas and also drove in the first run ever scored at Three Rivers Stadium, doubling in Richie Hebner against the Reds’ Gary Nolan. Al was dubbed “Scoops” as a minor league player at Gastonia because of his glove work at first. And his leather was excellent; how many first basemen can you think of who played 840 MLB games in center field? 
• 1952 - 22 year old Pirate OF Gus Bell was traded to the Giants for outfielders Gail Henley and Cal Abrams, along with C Joe Rossi. Bell spent the next 13 years in the show, nine with the Reds and four as an All-Star, and belted double figure homers for the next eight seasons with a high of 30 in 1953. Abrams hit well in his two Bucco years before being traded to Baltimore, Henley got 30 MLB at-bats and Rossi was a wash-out. 
• 1968 - The Pirates lost OF Manny Mota, 1B Donn Clendenon and 3B Maury Wills to the Montreal Expos along with pitchers Dave Roberts, Al McBean and Ron Slocum to the San Diego Padres during the expansion draft. 

Midre Cummings 1995 Donruss

• 1971 - OF Midre Cummings was born in Christiansted, St. Croix, in the US Virgin Islands. A first round pick of the Twins in the 1990 draft, he came to Pittsburgh as part of the John Smiley deal. Between 1993-97, he barely got over 500 AB for the Bucs, hitting .217. After the Pirates let him go, he played until 2005 and never hit under .263, although he was a bench guy, never playing in 100 games or more in any one season. 
• 1978 - OF Ryan Church was born in Santa Barbara, California. Church was signed to a one-year/$1.5M FA contract by the Bucs in 2010, which hoped he would provide at least a platoon, if not starting, bat for the outfield. But he had suffered a second concussion while playing in 2009 and never recovered his old mojo as a hitter, batting .182 and being sent to Arizona at the deadline. He played out the year there, hitting better (.265) but never again returning to the show after seven MLB seasons. 
• 2015 - Andrew McCutchen was selected as Pittsburgh’s Male Athlete of the Year in a voter's poll for the City Paper’s “Best Of” issue. Charlie Deitch wrote a feature on Cutch, saying “...the reason (for the award) seems like a simple one: He's really good at playing baseball. But it's more than that...this guy really loves the game; he says it with his words and his actions.”

10/13 Post-Season: Yah Maz, Boston Wins 1st WS, Tame Tigers & Sens, Split w/O's, Even '91, '92 NLCS w/Bravos

• October 13, 1903 - Boston won the first World Series five games to three (it was best-of-nine) with a 3-0 win at the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds in a battle between Deacon Phillippe and Bill Dinneen. The key blow was Hobe Ferris’ two-run single. Dinneen tossed a four hitter, and ended the game with his seventh K, whiffing Honus Wagner. Even in that rubber-armed era, it was too much for Phillippe, who started five of the eight games (and went the distance in all of them) because of an injury to Sam Leever’s shoulder, the mental breakdown of Ed Doheny, a 16-game winner during the season, and the defection of 1902 rotation members Jack Chesbro and Jesse Tannehill to the American League. Pirate owner Barney Dreyfuss added his share of the gate receipts to the players' share, so the losing team's players actually finished with a larger individual share than the winning team's ($1,316.25 to $1,182.00). Dreyfus also gave Deacon Phillippe a bonus and 10 shares of stock in the Pirates for his yeoman efforts. 

Deacon Phillippe 1980 Fleer Famous Feats

• 1909 - The Pirates broke out the bats at Forbes Field in front of 21,706 fans to take a 3-2 lead in the World Series with an 8-4 win over the Tigers. Fred Clarke had a homer and three RBI to lead the offense while Babe Adams cruised to his second WS win. The Bucs tortured Detroit on the basepaths, stealing five bases in six tries. 
• 1925 - Pittsburgh evened the World Series at three games each as they downed the Washington Senators 3-2 at Forbes Field. Ray Kremer bested Alex Ferguson, giving up six hits, among them a homer to Goose Goslin and a RBI double to Roger Peckinpaugh. Leadoff man Eddie Moore had two hits, including a homer, two runs scored and an RBI; Pie Traynor and Clyde Barnhart drove in the other tallies. All the scoring was in the first five innings. The Sens’ Joe Harris doubled with an out in the ninth, but Kremer routinely retired Joe Judge and Ossie Bluege to seal the deal. 
• 1960 - Game Seven of the World Series at Forbes Field ended with this call by NBC’s Mel Allen “There's a drive into deep left field, look out now… that ball is going, going gone! And the World Series is over! Mazeroski… hits it over the left field fence…” Bill Mazeroski led off the bottom of the ninth with the most dramatic home run in Series history, a blast off Ralph Terry, breaking a 9-9 tie with the Yankees and bringing Pittsburgh its third World Championship. It’s still the only homer to win a seventh game in the ninth inning. Hal Smith hit a key two out, three run blast in the eighth to give Pittsburgh a short-lived lead. Harvey Haddix, the fourth Pirate hurler, recovered from a blown save to get the win thanks to Maz, who also cost Casey Stengel his job; the Ol’ Perfessor “retired” as NY manager five days after the loss, telling the media "I wasn't retired - they fired me." Other factoids: Bobby Richardson of the Yankees was named MVP of the Series, the only time that someone from the defeated team has been so honored, and it was the only World Series game ever played without a strikeout recorded by either club. 

Maz's Home Run Trot (photo Jimmy Klingensmith Post-Gazette)

• 1971 - Roberto Clemente had three hits while Milt May drove in the winning run with a pinch-hit single in the eighth as the Pirates rallied to defeat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 at TRS before a house of 51,378 in Game Four of the Fall Classic. Luke Walker gave up three runs in the first frame before heading to the showers with two outs, but Bruce Kison came to the rescue, tossing 6-⅓ one hit innings, then Dave Giusti saved it by pitching perfect ball over the last two frames. It was the first scheduled night World Series game in baseball history (in 1949, the lights were turned on in the ninth inning at Ebbets Field because of darkness in a WS game between Brooklyn & the Yankees) and evened the Series at two games. 
• 1979 - The Bucs took a 6-3 lead into the eighth against the Orioles in the fourth game of the World Series, but they and 50,883 fans were stunned by a six-run eighth by the O’s and a 9-6 loss snatched from the jaws of victory at TRS. Kent Tekulve, inheriting a mess from Don Robinson, gave up a pair of two-run doubles to Terry Crowley and John Lowenstein to take the defeat. The Pirates banged out 17 hits, but stranded 10 with two DP, a caught stealing and a throw-out at home. Willie Stargell had three knocks, including a homer and double, but Pittsburgh fell into a three games to one deficit against Baltimore. 

Steve Buechele 1991 Upper Deck

• 1991 - Pittsburgh evened the NLCS at two games with a 10 inning, 3-2 win at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium over the Braves. Mike LaValliere’s two out, pinch hit single off Mark Wohlers scored Andy Van Slyke, and Stan Belinda tossed two scoreless frames for the win. Steve Buechele's three hits gave him five straight over two games to tie an NLCS record. 
• 1992 - The Pirates pounded the Braves 13-4 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium to even the NLCS series at three games each. Tim Wakefield won his second game while Jay Bell, Barry Bonds and Lloyd McClendon homered. The Bucs ran away with the game after an eight run second inning, featuring a pair of hits by Bonds And McClendon during the frame.

10/13: HBD Rube, Mr X, Dick & Bob; Shepard Manager; Game 7 Gang; Rizzo, Russell, Rhyne & Waner Join; Smoky City

• 1876 - LHP George “Rube” Waddell was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania. He pitched just two season for the Pirates (1900-01), but his legend deserves mention. He wore out his welcome with Pittsburgh, getting into two games in 1901 after leading the NL in ERA (2.37) the year before with the Bucs. His eccentricities: He was a fire fanatic in a good way; Rube always wore a red t-shirt so he could join up with any fire-fighting brigade that he found in action. Though he never showed up drunk at a game, he was a heavy drinker - The Sporting News called him a “sousepaw” - and was distracted by crowds, who would mesmerize him by flashing shiny objects at him. In exhibition games, he had his teammates sit around him on the mound. Waddell also wrestled alligators in the off season. Current baseball historians believe he was autistic or had ADD before the conditions were commonly diagnosed. But Rube could throw a baseball. He won 193 games and struck out 2,316 batters in his career (349 whiffs in 1904 alone). Rube K’ed three batters on nine pitches in 1902. He was one of the great drawing cards of early baseball, and is in the Hall of Fame. The story of his life was written by the stars: Rube was born on Friday the 13th and died on April Fools Day (4/1/1914).

Nearby smokestacks could turn day into night at Exposition Park (photo via MLB Cathedrals)

• 1899 - Smoky City, indeed. Per Charlton’s Baseball Chronology, the Louisville Colonels scored four runs in the ninth to take a 6-5 lead over the Pirates at Exposition Park‚ as thick‚ black smoke from the local mills settled over the field. The game was called before the Bucs could bat because of poor visibility (darkness, technically), and the score reverted to the last full frame, the eighth inning, giving Pittsburgh a 5-2 victory. 
• 1912 - RHP Xavier Rescigno was born in New York City. He tossed for the Pirates during the war years of 1943-45 (it was his entire MLB career, too), slashing 19-22-16/4.13 in 129 games (21 starts). The curve ball whiz tossed for Manhattan College and was signed by the Yankees but didn’t take off until he joined the Brooklyn organization and was tutored by Burleigh Grimes. The Pirates eventually bought his contract and sent him to Albany, and they brought him and Ralph Kiner up in 1943. He worked through the ‘45 season when at age 32, he was overtaken by the wartime talent returning from the service and back into baseball. He worked in the minors for five more years before retiring. Rescigno was known as “Mr. X” and was the first guy named Xavier to play in MLB (there have been six in big league history and the Pirates rostered three - Rescigno, Nady and Paul). In fact, while in his 90s one of his final baseball acts was to meet up with the newest MLB Xavier at the time, OF’er Nady, during a game at San Diego and following up with a letter welcoming him into the Xavier fraternity of baseball men. 
• 1925 - The Pirates purchased SS Hal Rhyne and OF Paul Waner from San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League, then an unaffiliated independent organization. Rhyne played a couple of years for the Bucs and had a seven year MLB career while Big Poison went on to the Hall of Fame after spending 15 of his 20 big league seasons with Pittsburgh. 

Hal Rhyne 1926 (photo Conlon/TSN/Getty)

• 1932 - IF Dick Barone was born in San Jose. His bio, per BR Bullpen: the 27-year-old Barone was called from Columbus to become the back-up to Dick Schofield in 1960 after Dick Groat was injured. He played in three games (once as a starter) over the final month, and those three contests constituted his entire major league career. He was hitless in six at-bats and flawless in the field, but wasn’t included on the Pirates' 1960 World Series roster as Groat returned and Schofield went back to the bench. Barone's baseball legacy is that he once started a game for the 1960 Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, was the player called from the minors when 1960 MVP and batting champion Groat was injured, was once pinch-hit for by legendary pinch-hitter Burgess, and once replaced Hall of Famer Mazeroski in the lineup. Afterward all that, he played in the minors through 1962 and saw his pitcher grandson, Daniel, play in the show in 2007 with Florida. 
• 1937 - The Bucs got OF Johnny Rizzo from the Cards for 1B Bernard Cobb, C Tom Padden, OF Bud Hafey and cash. The rookie Rizzo hit 23 homers in 1938, a team record that lasted for nearly a decade (it was broken by Jason Bay and Josh Bell, both who hit 26 dingers), and was traded early in 1940 for Vince DiMaggio. Rizzo went downhill in 1941 and ‘42 was his last season. 
• 1941 - The Pirates drafted Fayette City’s Jim Russell from Memphis of the Southern Association in the minor league draft. He hit .277 from 1942-47 for the Bucs before spending his next four MLB campaigns playing for the Braves and Dodgers. Jim’s career was cut short by heart problems he had contracted as a child. He stayed on in the sport, though, scouting for the Dodgers and Senators for two decades after his playing days had ended. 

Bob Bailey 1964 Topps Giant

• 1942 - 3B Bob Bailey was born in Long Beach. He began his 17 year pro career in Pittsburgh (1962-66) where he hit .257 with occasional power. Bailey had his best years with Montreal in the early seventies, with three 20+ HR seasons and three more with 80+ RBI. 
• 1967 - Larry Shepard was named manager, replacing Danny Murtaugh, who in turn had replaced Harry Walker earlier in the year. He lasted two seasons (replaced by Murtaugh), then became the pitching coach of Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine under Sparky Anderson from 1970 through 1978. He finished his coaching career with the San Francisco Giants in 1979. 
• 1985 - Saul Finkelstein sat at the base of the flagpole by the Forbes Field wall outside Schenley Plaza and listened to a taped NBC radio broadcast of Chuck Thompson and Jack Quinlan calling the seventh game of the 1960 World Series on his boombox. Since that day, it has evolved into an annual ceremony open to all under the auspices of the Game Seven Gang, often drawing an assortment of politicos and members of the championship team.