9/14 Through the 1960s: Twin Twirlers, Waner 200X7, Game Tales, Hamey GM; HBD Jerry Don, Frank, Fred, Don & Jake
- 1853 – 1B Jake Goodman was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Jake got his start with the Alleghenys in 1877 as part of the short-lived minor league International Association and then played for the Milwaukee Grays the following year. He dropped off the map for a while, likely playing minor or semi-pro ball, and popped back up as an Allie again for 10 games in 1882 (they were major-league then as part of the American Association), going 13-for-41 and last appearing in May. His story didn’t have a happy ending. While playing minor league ball in 1884, he was beaned and never recovered. He suffered from palsy afterward and died of a stroke in 1890 at the way-too-young age of 36.
- 1916 – Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes made his first MLB start for the Pirates, losing a 3-2 decision to the Brooklyn Superbas at Ebbets Field. He didn’t have a lot of help; LF Bill Hinchman lost a fly in the sixth and Honus Wagner muffed a DP ball (per BR Bullpen, Hans said “those damn big feet of mine have always been in my way.”) in the same frame as Brooklyn scored twice. The Bucs tied it, but lost in the ninth on a two-out double by the opposing pitcher, Larry Cheney. Grimes finished his rookie campaign 2-3 but went on to win 270 games during his 19-year career.
- 1925 – The Pirates snapped a losing stretch of 7-of-8 games with a 9-4 win over the Brooklyn Robins at Forbes Field. Glenn Wright and George Grantham both went 3-for-4 and combined for a double, triple, three runs and three RBI to back Vic Aldridge’s win. The victory not only ended a dismal string, but launched the eventual World Championship club on a nine-game winning streak.
- 1931 – RHP Don Williams was born in Floyd, Virginia. Don went to the U of Tennessee and signed with the Bucs in 1953 along with his twin Dewey, who never made it out of the minors. After losing the 1954-55 seasons to military service, he finally got a couple of sips of the big league with the Pirates in 1958-59, getting into eight games with no record and a 6.75 ERA. He was sold to the White Sox, pitched again briefly in the show for Kansas City and retired after the 1963 campaign, becoming a rancher and gym teacher back in Floyd County.
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| Fred Green – 1961 Topps |
- 1933 – LHP Fred Green was born in Titusville, New Jersey. He pitched four years for the Bucs (1959-61, 1964) with a line of 9-6-4/3.33. The multi-role reliever was a member of the 1960 championship club after signing in 1952 and coming through the Pirate farm system; his last MLB gig was also with the Pirates in ‘64. After retirement, he found time to stay in the game by occasionally pitching batting practice for the Pirates before passing away at age 62. His son Gary, an Allderdice HS grad, played shortstop for the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, and Cincinnati Reds, then managed Pirates and Tigers farms teams for 11 seasons.
- 1936 – Paul Waner tied Rogers Hornsby’s modern NL record by reaching 200 hits for the seventh time as the Bucs swept the Phils, 11-4 and 6-5, at the Baker Bowl. Big Poison banged out his 200th knock in the opener and collected five hits during the twinbill. Bill Swift and Red Lucas earned complete game victories. Waner went on to set the mark with a 200+ hit season the following year (Ty Cobb posted 9). It lasted until Pete Rose topped it in 1977 (Charlie Hustle and Ichiro share the MLB record with 10 200-hit campaigns).
- 1938 – LHP Frank Carpin was born in Brooklyn. The Bucs took him from the Yankees via the 1964 minor league draft and Frank got into 39 games in 1965 for the Pirates with a slash of 3-1-3/3.18. The Astros then picked him up in the Rule 5 draft. He tossed 10 games for the ‘Stros, ended up in AAA and retired at the end of the year. At age 27, it was an easy decision – he had a degree from Notre Dame (he became a broker), four kids and bone spurs in his elbow.
- 1944 - The Pirates purchased catcher Bill Salkeld from San Diego of the Pacific Coast league. He was brought aboard to replace Al Lopez, but couldn’t win the spot even though he hit .293 in his three (1945-47) Bucco campaigns. As a rookie in ‘45, Salkeld batted .311 with 15 home runs in only 317 PA, but was mainly a platoon guy with a .213 lifetime BA against lefties. (Like most catchers, Bill was right-handed, but he batted lefty w/a .273 BA vs. RHP).
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| Roy Hamey – undated photo/Getty |
- 1946 – Roy Hamey, president of the minor league American Association, was named GM of the Pirates. He ran the ship until 1950 and was the first true general manager of the team, as the duties of the position had previously been handled by the team president. Roy picked up some veteran pieces for the squad but never put together a farm system to provide home-grown talent and was replaced by Branch Rickey, who did the opposite by tearing the MLB team apart but assembling a strong minor league pipeline. It took their successor, Joe Brown, to successfully fuse the two club-building approaches.
- 1957 – The Chicago Cubs split a doubleheader at Wrigley Field with the bonus baby O’Brien twins on the bump. In the opener, Eddie twirled a 3-1 complete game win, scattering six hits and fanning eight for his only big league decision. In the nitecap, Johnny pitched one inning in relief and was charged with the loss, his last MLB verdict (he was 1-3 lifetime). Both played from 1953-58 for the Bucs, but they were infielders first and pitchers as an afterthought.
- 1957 – LHP Jerry Don Gleaton was born in Brownwood, Texas. An All-American at the U of Texas, he was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the first round (18th pick overall) of the 1979 draft. The hard-tossing reliever spent the final year of his 12-season career as a Pirate with a 1-0/4.26 line. The first-rounder won just 15 games in those dozen years, bouncing around among six teams. He’s now active in the Pro Athletes Outreach ministry and keeps his hand in the game by coaching.
- 1958 – The Bucs swept the Cubs in a Forbes Field twinbill by 5-4 and 6-2 tallies. Though the runner up Pirates wouldn’t get closer than five games of the NL-winning Milwaukee Braves, they did serve notice that they were no longer the sad sacks of the league, going 84-70 for their first winning campaign since 1948. They were led by two guys who would be team mainstays – 2B Bill Mazeroski, who hit his 19th homer, and RHP Bob Friend, who won his 21st game. Maz’s blast set the franchise record for Pirates second sackers and lasted until 2014 when Neil Walker banged 23 balls out of the yard. Friend won 22 games in ‘58, the first Pittsburgh pitcher to hit that mark since Carmen Hill in 1927; it wouldn’t be matched again until 1990 by Doug Drabek in his Cy Young season (Bob came in third for the ‘58 Cy). Oddly, it was Friend’s only 20-win year.
- 1968 – Roberto Clemente drilled a pair of homers off Tom Seaver (his only two career bombs off Tom Terrific) while driving in three runs and Bob Veale spun a six-hitter with 10 punch outs as the Bucs dropped the Mets, 6-0, at Shea Stadium. It started a 9-of-11 run for the Pirates as they fought to finish above .500, but they stumbled at the tape and ended 80-82. Big Bob finished with a 2.05 ERA in 1968, but posted just a 13-14 slate in The Year of the Pitcher.
Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2024/09/914-through-1960s-twin-twirlers-waner.html
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