5/14 Through the 1970s: Robby Gem; Johnny, Jake Sixers; Roberto Rewarded; Rain, Rain; Contracts...; HBD Joey, Bob, Willie, Lefty & Horace
- 1853 – Horace Phillips, manager of the Pittsburgh Alleghenys from 1884-89, was born in Salem, Ohio. He coached the club to a 294-316 record with a couple of winning campaigns in his six seasons. Sadly, he was institutionalized shortly after his Allies stint and lost his battle with mental illness (he spent seven years in an institution), dying at the age of 42 in 1896.
- 1889 – Wonder why players want contracts that are guaranteed? Because in the founding days, pennies counted and contracts often weren’t worth the paper they were printed on as GM’s looked to save every nickel they could. The Pittsburgh Alleghenys suspended Ed Morris and Pete Conway on this date to dodge paying the salaries of the sore-armed pitchers after Conway had won 30 games and Morris 29 in 1888. The salary dump suspensions were FO hardball, but did serve its purpose: Morris returned in three weeks although he was never again effective while Conway never pitched again.
- 1896 – Jake Stenzel collected six singles and added a stolen base in a 20-4 pounding of the Boston Beaneaters at Expo Park. The Bucs collected 27 hits during the day. Jake hit three doubles a day later and the Pittsburgh Press noted that “Good pitchers do not frighten Jakey Stenzel. The pitchers will soon take to giving Stenzel a chance to walk.” The Press was dishing out some good advice – Stenzel was in the fourth year of a five-season streak (1893-97) of batting .350+.
- 1901 – LHP Drew “Lefty” Rader was born in Elmira, New York. His MLB career consisted of two innings of two-hit, no-run ball for the Pirates in 1921. Rader went to Reading of the International League the next year and his trail went cold after that. He passed away at age 74 in Catskill, New York.
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| Lefty Rader – image via Chemung County Historical Society |
- 1912 – Umpire Johnny aka Willie (his middle name was William) Stevens was born in Duquesne. After learning the ropes in the Eastern League, Stevens umpired in the AL from 1948 to 1971, working in four World Series, five All-Star Games, and behind the plate for a pair of no-hitters. In all, he was part of the blue crew for 3,345 games and became an evaluator at umpire school after he retired. Stevens also officiated college basketball, calling both NIT and NCAA tourney games.
- 1917 – P/OF Bob Thurman was born in Kellyville, Oklahoma. He was a semi pro star who was signed by the Homestead Grays after he was discharged from the Army and played for Homestead/Washington for 1946-48. The lefty wasn’t much of a hurler, going 5-9/5.32 as a Gray, but he had a strong stick, batting .320, mainly as a RF. The bat was good enough to get him into 334 MLB games with Cincinnati from 1955-59, where he hit .246 w/35 HR. He joined the Minnesota Twins as a scout after his playing days and later bird-dogged for the Reds and the Royals.
- 1932 – It was monsoon season, or so it seemed, in Pittsburgh as the Pirates were rained out of their fifth straight game at Forbes Field (they did make them all up over the summer). John McGraw, Giants manager who was victim of three of the washouts, moaned “Our pitchers have about 10 days rest each…these confounded postponements have us at sea. And that’s no pun.”
- 1950 – All Star 1B Johnny Hopp hit two home runs and four singles in six at-bats, leading the Pirates to a 16-9 victory and doubleheader sweep over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Bucs banged out 21 hits off six Cubby hurlers, with Wally Westlake & Clyde McCullough (who finished a homer short of the cycle) each adding four knocks and Nanny Fernandez three more. Woody Main got the win in relief. The Pirates claimed the opener, 6-5, as Danny Murtaugh had two hits, including a long ball, and two RBI. But the clutch blow was struck by pinch hitter George Strickland in the final frame, when his two-out, bases-loaded single plated the tying and go-ahead runs. It was a steep climb to victory; the Pirates fell behind by a 5-0 count after three frames before getting serious. Bob Chesnes earned the win in relief after Bill Werle closed it out; he saved both games.
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| Bill Werle – 1950 Bowman |
- 1965 – Coach Jose “Joey” Cora was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico. A 1985 first-round draft pick, he had an 11-year big league career as an infielder. When his ball-playing days ended, Joey coached in the Mets system, then became a member of the White Sox and Marlins major league staff, where he served as third base/bench coach and had some brief stints as an interim skipper. In 2016, he joined the Pirates organization as Altoona’s manager and the following year got the call to Pittsburgh as the third base coach, replacing Rick Sofield. Joey is now the hot corner coach for the Tigers after a stint with the Mets.
- 1967 – Henry Aaron got the headlines when he hit his 450th homer, but the work of a pair of Bucco Hall-of-Famers, Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazeroski, were the game story when they led the way a 5-2 Pirates win over the Atlanta Braves at Forbes Field before 26,071 fans. Clemente had three hits, falling a homer shy of a cycle, and was driven home twice by Maz. Roberto later plated the insurance RBI to back the work of Dennis Ribant, Pete Mikkelson and ElRoy Face.
- 1973 – President Richard Nixon presented the Presidential Citizens Medal to Vera Clemente, who was accompanied by Willie Stargell and Manny Sanguillen, for her husband Roberto in the Oval Office; he was the first person to be so honored (another wouldn’t be awarded until 1981). The bill was sponsored by Western Pennsylvania House member William Moorhead and co-sponsored by a rep from North Carolina, Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell, a teammate of Clemente’s on the 1960 World Series squad. The Great One’s citation read in part “He stands with that handful of men whose brilliance has transformed the game of baseball into a showcase of skill and spirit, giving universal delight and inspiration. More than that, his selfless dedication to helping those with two strikes against them in life blessed thousands and set an example for millions.”
- 1978 – Don Robinson struck out seven batters in a four-hit shutout during Pittsburgh’s 1-0 win at San Diego. Frank Taveras drew a leadoff walk in the sixth inning and eventually came around on a Dave Parker bouncer to score the only run (and it was unearned) of the game. For Robinson, it was the first of six shutouts he would record in his career. Randy Jones and Mark Lee of the Friars were both on top of their games, too, allowing the Bucs just five hits.
Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2024/05/514-through-1970s-robby-gem-johnny-jake.html
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