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6/9 Through 1954: Fletch Fling, Slugging Bee, Game Tales; Twins, Umps Irked, Minor Swap, Dark & Stormy; HBD Cobra, Julio, Quail, Roy & Charles

Sunday, June 9, 2024 7:34

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1860 – Charles Power was born in Johnstown. He was a minor league pitcher who developed a bum arm and turned briefly to umpiring. He became the sports editor of the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1893, then was a boss for area minor leagues. He ran the Steel and Oil League in 1895, a local collection of eight teams that Hans Wagner passed through, and then stayed on when it became the Interstate League the following year until 1900. His last executive hurrah was in 1907 when he presided over the short-lived Class D Western Pennsylvania League.
1902 – GM Roy Hamey was born in Havana, Illinois. Hamey replaced Ray Kennedy as Bucco GM following the 1946 campaign after serving as Business Manager of the Yankees. He hired Billy Meyer (a Yankee farm manager) as the Bucs’ skipper and dealt for vets like Tiny Bonham, Bob Chesnes and Hank Greenberg, but the team was a second-division club for most of his tenure, and he was swapped out for Branch Rickey after the 1950 season. Hamey ran the Phillies for five years after that without much more success, and then returned to New York after the 1960 World Series, and in his three years there, the Bronx Bombers averaged 103 wins. His last gig was as interim Chief Executive of the Seattle Pilots in 1969, running operations until Bud Selig bought the team.
1905 – It was a wild opening frame, as attested by the Pittsburgh Press headline “Pirates Win Slugging Bee: Two Twirlers Driven Off the Rubber After One Inning.” The Giants scored five runs in the top of the first off Sam Leever and the Pirates came back with six runs off Iron Man Joe McGinnity in the bottom of the frame. Deacon Phillippe of the Pirates and Christy Mathewson of NY replaced the twirlers in the second inning. It was all Pittsburgh after that, with the Bucs rolling over New York, 12-6, at Exposition Park. Fred Clarke, Ginger Beaumont, Honus Wagner, Del Howard and Tommy Leach each collected a pair of hits, while Phillippe pitched “cleverly” per the Press. To add insult to injury, the Giants were pelted with fruit as they rode along Market Street after getting into a name-calling exchange with some Pittsburgh fans after the game.

Deacon Phillippe – 1903 Pgh Press image

1906 – The Phillies had a 1-0, eighth inning lead over the Pirates at the Baker Bowl. As a storm approached, the Pirates rallied in the ninth to forge ahead, and the Phils decided to give away outs‚ bean batters, toss wild pitches (the Pirates caught on and swung at them, trying to strike out on purpose) and argue almost every call in the hope of umpire Bill Klem would call the game because of the weather. Klem did cut the festivities short, all right: after seven runs crossed the plate, he declared a forfeit because of Philadelphia’s antics. The ploy almost worked as planned, though – the rain fell shortly after the game was banged.
1914 – Honus Wagner was credited with his 3,000th hit off Philadelphia’s Erskine Mayer in a 3-1 loss to the Phillies at the Baker Bowl. Wagner’s hit, a double, came in the ninth inning. Wagner joined Cap Anson as the only members of the 3000-hit club. Hans told the Pittsburgh Press “Well, I’m glad that’s over. Sometimes I think too much newspaper talk hurts a fellow, that it acts as sort of a jinx.” It didn’t end up much of a hoodoo for the Flying Dutchman – in his 21-year career, Hans posted 3,420 hits, 643 doubles, 1,732 RBI, 1,739 runs scored, 723 stolen bases and a .328 BA. (Caveat emptor: This date was the one originally credited for the milestone hit and is still cited by several sources, but a recount by baseball archivists now date the deed to June 28th, 1914, when Hans singled off of the Reds Pete Schneider. We post both dates in the blog.)
1931 – Bill Virdon was born in Hazel Park, Michigan. The Quail came over from the Cards in 1956 and patrolled center field for 11 years (1956-66) in Pittsburgh, including the 1960 World Series season. Virdon won Rookie of the Year in 1952, the World Series in 1960 and a Gold Glove in 1962. He later coached and managed the Bucs (and later the Yankees, Astros and Expos). Bill also lent a hand at Pirates spring training until he passed away in 2021.
1931 – While defeating the local North Side Civics (a team that The Chief, Art Rooney, once played for), 16-2, four Homestead Grays’ hit home runs – Oscar Charleston, Ted Page, Vic Harris (he had four hits) and Ambrose Reid; the Post Gazette wrote “extra base hits rained off the bats of the Homestead Grays.” 23-year-old righty Roy Williams earned the win at Saltworks Field.

Bud Hafey – 1935 Diamond Greats

1935 – The Pirates traded 21-year-old RHP Jack Salveson to the Chicago White Sox for 22-year-old OF Bud Hafey. In this case, youth was not all that well served. Hafey played in 97 games over two years for the Bucs, batting .222, and spent one final campaign (1939) in the show with 12 more seasons served in the minors. Salveson only appeared five times as a Buc; overall, he slashed 9-9-4/3.99 after five seasons and 87 MLB outings.
1939 – IF Julio Gotay was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. He spent two seasons with the Pirates in 1963-64 and barely got a big league taste, getting just seven games under his belt (though he did hit .500) with most of his days spent in AAA Columbus. Julio spent parts of 10 seasons in the majors, mainly with the Astros and Cards, but primarily as an insurance policy infielder; only once in his career did he collect more than 250 at-bats.
1940 – The Pirates won for the fifth time in six games when they took the back end of a twin bill from Philadelphia by an 11-5 score at Forbes Field after losing the lidlifter, 6-1. Elbie Fletcher went 3-for-4 with a double and five RBI while Paul Waner matched him, also going 3-for-4 with a double, with two RBI and three runs. Mace Brown was the beneficiary of the batting boom. The good times didn’t last very long; the Bucs then lost 6-of-8.
1946 – The boys in blue really got under the skin of New York Giants manager Mel Ott. He was ejected from both games of a twin bill at Forbes Field for arguing calls (two different umpires tossed him), an MLB first. Ott should have read the riot act to his hitters instead, who were shut down and swept by 2-1 and 5-1 scores by Bucco hurlers Fritz Ostermueller and Johnny Lanning.

Johnny Lanning – 1940 George Burke photo

1949 – Peas in a pod: The Phillies beat the Pirates at Shibe Park, 4-3, in 18 innings. The intrastate rivals both had 16 hits in 68 at bats and committed three errors along with 21 assists. On the same day, The Press published a letter and sidebar from Sheriff Walter Monaghan urging a Pirates “Confidence Night” for the fans to rally in support of the team. He wrote “…as badly as most of us feel everytime we look at the standings, we should remember that the entire Pirates roster…must feel a whole lot worse.” The Pirates were 17-31 at the time and in last place; they finished 71-83, 26 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1951 – Dave Parker was born in Calhoun City, Mississippi. The Cobra manned right field for 11 years (1973-83) for the Bucs while compiling a line of .305/166/758, earning four All-Star appearances and three Golden Glove awards. He was the 1978 National League MVP and the first professional athlete to earn one million dollars per year (not straight up but including deferred payments) after signing a five-year, $5 million contract in January 1979. Fun fact: Parker wore a gold necklace with a Star of David pendant although he wasn’t Jewish. When asked why, his explanation was simple: “My name is David, and I’m a star.” The Buccos seconded that emotion by naming the Cobra to the Pirates Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2022.
1953 – The refusal of the National League owners to allow the Pirates to take down Forbes Field’s Kiner Korner after the trade of Ralph Kiner played into the Pirates’ hands in their 7-4 win over the Cards. Eddie Pellagrini belted a three-run pinch HR over the short porch in the eighth, after Dick Hall had earlier lofted a solo shot in the fourth into the same spot.

Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2024/06/69-through-1954-fletch-fling-slugging.html

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