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7/30 Through the 1940s: Wally Cycle, Duel, Max Muscles, Game Tales; The Shuffle, Pud Umps; HBD Vic, Johnny, Hal, Chuck, Casey & Bills

Tuesday, July 30, 2024 7:35

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1870 – C/1B Bill Merritt was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. The reserve played for the Pirates from 1894-97, with a brief stop in Cincinnati (Pittsburgh was one of Bill’s six MLB outposts during his eight-year MLB stay). He hit .280 while with the Bucs, close to his .272 career average.
1886 – Enjoying an off day between games against the Metropolitans in New York, Allegheny pitcher Gentleman Jim Galvin took in the NY Giants-St. Louis match at the Polo Grounds, and ended up with the best seat in the house. Steaming over some verbal blasts unleashed during the prior day’s game, ump John Gaffney demanded a pre-game apology from the Giants. With none forthcoming, he stormed off the grounds, and Pud was pulled from the stands to umpire. He must have done OK; the Giants edged the Maroons, 2-1, and he escaped in one piece.
1890 – OF Casey Stengel was born in Kansas City, Missouri. The Ol’ Perfesser spent 1918-19 as a Pirate outfielder, posting a .280 BA, and performed his famous “bird in the hat” stunt as a Bucco. He’s much more associated with the Big Apple, of course, than the Steel City. Between playing and managing, the Hall-of-Famer is the only person to have worn the uniforms of all four of New York’s major league clubs – the Dodgers, Giants, Yankees and Mets.
1891 – The Pirates (it was their first season after dropping the Alleghenys brand) got off to a 31–47 start following a disastrous 23–113 season, demoted captain/manager Ned Hanlon (who had left the team in 1890 for the Pittsburgh Burghers of the Players’ League before returning after that outfit folded) and hired Bill McGunnigle as skipper. McGunnigle managed the club to a 24–33 record over the remainder of the year and was replaced in turn by Tom Burns, who didn’t make it through the 1892 season before losing his job to Al Buckenberger.

Al Buckenberger – Ars Longa

1894 – IF Chuck Ward was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He started his six-year MLB career with the Pirates, playing 125 games and hitting .236 in 1917. The next five campaigns were spent with the Brooklyn Robins, where he became the backup shortstop, playing off the bench through the 1922 season. Ward started pro ball in 1912 as a 17-year-old at Falls City and retired after the 1924 campaign with Toledo. He later managed the Rutgers nine for a dozen years.
1904 – Baseball had some pretty rowdy roots. Per BR Bullpen: “Cardinals pitcher Jack Taylor walked seven and tossed three wild pitches to help the Pirates beat St. Louis, 5-2 at Exposition Park. The outcome was viewed suspiciously because several local gamblers had bet heavily on Pittsburgh before the game, but the real reason was Taylor and teammate Jake Beckley’s late-night public drinking.” Pittsburgh Press writer Ralph Davis did note dryly that “Taylor was not hit hard, but he was inclined to be wild.” Bucco hurler Roscoe Miller’s five-hit performance from the hill played a role, too. It was the opener of a twin bill; the Pirates also took the nitecap behind Sam Leever, 2-1. “Old Sam” chipped in with a pair of hits, outdone only by Tommy Leach’s three knocks.
1905 – C Hal Finney was born in Lafayette, Alabama. He was a reserve that played for the Bucs from 1931-34 & 1936. He spent his MLB career in Pittsburgh, finishing with a .203 BA. Finney came by that BA honestly – he held the MLB record for most at bats in a season without a hit by a non-pitcher from 1936, when he went 0-for-35, until 2011. His OBP was .000 as well.
1909 – The Bucs ended New York Giant’s Christy Mathewson’s 13-game winning streak by a 3-1 count at Forbes Field. Tommy Leach doubled in Fred Clarke & Alan Storke, and Wee Tommy in turn was chased home by Dots Miller, all in the opening frame. That early burst was all the support Vic Willis would need, scattering nine hits for the complete game win over Matty.

Johnny Rizzo – 1938-39 TSN Collection

1912 – OF Johnny Rizzo was born in Houston. He burst on the scene in 1938, hitting .301 with 23 HR and 111 RBI as a rookie; his HR mark for a first-year Pirate stood until Jason Bay bettered it in 2006 (Ralph Kiner tied the mark in 1946). Rizzo drove in nine runs against the Cardinals in 1939, and that’s still the team’s single-game record. He cooled off considerably after that red hot start, and early in 1940 was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Vince DiMaggio after putting up a line of .283 with 29 HR and 168 RBI while in Pittsburgh. Johnny joined the Navy in 1943 and played minor league ball after his discharge, then worked in the sporting goods business. He passed away in his hometown in 1977 at the age of 55.
1922 – Max Carey went yard twice and Reb Russell homered once before a Sunday crowd of 22,000 at the Polo Grounds as the Pirates beat the New York Giants, 7-0. The dinger duo accounted for six of the Pirates’ runs with their trio of long balls. Jughandle Johnny Morrison went the distance on the bump for the Pirates, allowing seven hits and going 4-for-4 at the dish.
1928 – C Bill Hall was born in Moultrie, Georgia. Hall signed as an amateur with the Pirates for the 1947 season. He got cups of coffee in 1954 and ‘56, with a longer look in 1958. Those three campaigns marked his MLB career, hitting .262 in 57 games before retiring after the 1960 season.
1937 – The Pirates snapped a 15-inning scoring drought in the bottom of the ninth to take a 1-0, walk-off victory from the Boston Bees at Forbes Field. Ed Brandt of the Bucs and Hub City’s Guy Bush hooked up in a twirler’s duel until an Al Todd hustle double opened the final frame. Johnny Dickshot ran for him, and an intentional walk and a sac bunt that was beat out loaded the bases. After an out, pitcher Red Lucas hit for Brandt and lifted a fly to right that scored Dickshot easily. Pittsburgh Press beat writer Claire Burcky wrote that “…(RF Gene) Moore just stuck the ball in his tobacco pocket and jogged off through the clubhouse tunnel.” Bush scattered seven hits while Brandt gave up just two raps, both doubles to Ray Mueller, the only Bee to get past first base.

Vic Davalillo – 1971-72 Jay Publishing

1939 – OF Vic Davalillo was born in Churuguara, Venezuela. (caveat emptor; his b-day has been reported as on the 31st and in 1936, so it’s more or less around this date). He played for the Bucs from 1971-73, hitting .290 as a lefty-hitting platoon player, seeing time in the outfield and first base. Vic played on two Pirate playoff clubs and when he was traded to the Oakland Athletics in 1973, he joined a third. Davalillo was a motherland hero who played 30 seasons in the Venezuelan Winter League and still holds a handful of career records, including a .325 BA. In 2003, Vic was selected in the inaugural class of the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame.
1948 – Pittsburgh unleashed a four-homer barrage against Brooklyn to take a 10-5 win at Ebbets Field. Wally Westlake hit for the cycle, while Max West, Monty Basgall and Clyde Kluttz went deep to chase Ralph Branca. Bob Chesnes was on the hill and went the distance for the win.

Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2024/07/730-through-1940s-wally-cycle-duel-max.html

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