6/4 Through 1954: Kiner Dump, Game Tales - Lights On At FF, Steel Man Suhr, Top of the Pops, Gus & Kiki Cycles, Forfeits; HBD Larry, Bob, Herb & Doc
- 1873 – C George “Doc” Yeager was born in Cincinnati. Doc put in six MLB seasons, mostly with the Boston Beaneaters. He spent a couple of months in Pittsburgh in 1901 after he was claimed in August following his release by the Cleveland Blues, catching and playing a little corner infield as needed (he played every position but pitcher during his career). He hit .264 while with Pittsburgh (he was a .238 lifetime batter) and was nearing the end of his big league trail, playing 40 games with the NY Giants and Baltimore Orioles in 1902 before embarking on a seven-year minor league journey.
- 1892 – LHP Herb Kelly was born in Mobile, Alabama. Herb spent his brief MLB career in Pittsburgh, going 1-3/2.95 in 10 outings between 1914-15. Unlike many players of that era, Herb didn’t become a wandering baseball nomad; he hung up the spikes at age 25 after a stint in the minors.
- 1897 – After losing a game four days prior by forfeit after a disputed call, the Bucs were banged with yet another forfeiture. Down 4-0 to the Philadelphia Phillies/Quakers at the Baker Bowl, the Pirates lost a potential two-run double in the fourth frame on a disputed foul call. Manager Patsy Donovan and the ump discussed the matter between innings, and apparently Patsy was a bit too colorful and/or the Pirates were a little sluggish getting back on the field (although the Pittsburgh Press claims all but a pair were in position, and they were part of the convo at home), so ump McDonald called the game in favor of the Phils. The Press noted that “The fair minded Philadelphia fans (quite a change in culture over the decades) were as indignant as the Pittsburg players and yelled ‘Play ball’ but the Phillies hurried into the clubhouse and McDonald disappeared. The Pittsburgh players remained on the field for 10 minutes afterward…” unaware or disbelieving what had just happened. The paper opined, however, that the affair “…added to the bad reputation the Pirates have acquired in the east.”
- 1908 – RHP Bob Klinger was born in Allenton, Missouri. He was a multi-role pitcher who could start or close, and went 62-58-9 with a 3.74 ERA in Pittsburgh from 1938-43. Klinger was in the service for two years before closing out his career with the MLB Red Sox between 1946-47. But he didn’t give up on baseball, playing in the minors through 1950. Bob was offered a manager’s job in the bushes, but instead returned home to Missouri and a steady job.
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| Bob Klinger – 1940 Play Ball |
- 1925 – Kiki Cuyler hit for the cycle plus drawing a walk, driving in three runs and scoring four times as the Bucs rolled over the Philadelphia Phillies, 16-3, at Forbes Field. Every Pirate starter, including pitcher Lee Meadows, had a hit & scored and/or drove home a run.
- 1930 – Charlie Engel, Fred Brickell and George Grantham batted 1-2-3 for the Bucs, and the top of the order went 8-for-13 with a homer, two doubles, a walk, three RBI and 10 runs scored to propel Pittsburgh to a 12-6 win over the Brooklyn Robins at Ebbets Field. Larry French went the distance, riding the offensive support of the leadoff trio to the victory.
- 1937 – First baseman Gus Suhr set the Pirates and then-NL record by playing in his 822nd consecutive game, going 1-for-4 in a loss to Boston at Braves Field. The streak ended not because of an injury or slump, but rather when Suhr flew to San Francisco to attend his mother’s funeral services. His mark stood for 20 years before it was topped by Donora’s Stan “The Man” Musial of the Cards and now belongs to the Dodgers’ Steve Garvey at 1,207 games.
- 1940 – The Pirates played their first home game under the lights at Forbes Field, beating the Boston Bees, 14-2, behind Joe Bowman’s five-hitter in front of 20,319 fans. Maurice Van Robays and Frankie Gustine combined for seven RBI while six different Buccos scored twice. Night games were supposed to be an attraction for the working fans; it ended up that quite a few female fans took in the game, too. The light banks were connected to eight towers, built by the local engineers of Westinghouse. The game wasn’t a league or even ballyard debut: the first night game played at the Oakland lot was back in 1930 when the Homestead Grays and KC Monarchs played under portable lights; the first MLB night game was at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field in 1935.
- 1943 – Up by a run in the eighth, the Bucs’ Vince DiMaggio singled. New York Giants’ pitcher Bill Sayles’ next pitch got past his catcher, Ernie Lombardi. The slow-footed NY receiver was a bit leisurely in chasing the ball, Sayles pouted on the mound and didn’t cover home, and Vince kept on chugging to score from first on the passed ball. It ended up the winning run as the Pirates took a 9-8 victory at Forbes Field. Vince had two hits including a homer, scored twice and drove three runs home. Max Butcher got the win and Hank Gornicki earned a save.
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| Vince DiMaggio – 1941 Topps Look-And-See |
- 1948 – In a game described by beat writer Vince Johnson of the Post-Gazette as “…a circus, except the clowns didn’t wear grease paint and weren’t even faintly amusing. An overflow crowd of 37,355 watched what was undoubtedly the silliest and longest spectacle of the season” in reporting on the Bucs 10-7 loss to the Boston Braves at Forbes Field. The umps started the day off when the crew chief overruled a balk call, leading to a lengthy on-field rhubarb and a protest by Beantown. That performance was later outdone in exasperation by a five-walk seventh inning in which Bucco hurlers gave up seven runs. Ralph Kiner and Clyde Kluttz homered for the Pirates during the interminably long (for the era) contest that lasted three hours and 12 minutes.
- 1951 – Gus Bell hit for the cycle to lead the Pirates to a 12-4 victory over the Phillies at Shibe Park. Bell, Rocky Nelson and Wally Westlake had three RBI apiece; Nelson and Westlake also collected three hits each. Rookie Bob Friend got the win, his first in the majors, going 6-⅓ IP with help from Murry Dickson, who closed out the game after that. Fun fact: In 2004, Gus’ grandson David (then a Phil and future Reds manager) also pulled off the feat; Gus and David are the only grandfather-grandson duo in major league history to hit for the cycle.
- 1953 – General Manager Branch Rickey traded future Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, the only man to lead the league in home runs for seven consecutive seasons, as the salary dump centerpiece of a huge deal with the Cubs. (After several acrimonious contract battles, the Mahatma reportedly told the slugger “We finished last with you, we can finish last without you.”) At least Ralph didn’t have to travel far as the Cubs were at Forbes Field, and the trade was announced after batting practice. The players involved from Pittsburgh were Kiner, C Joe Garagiola, P Howie Pollet, and OF Catfish Metkovich, who were sent to the Cubs for C Toby Atwell, P Bob Schultz, 1B Preston Ward, 3B George Freese, OF Bob Addis, OF Gene Hermanski, and $150,000.
- 1953 – RHP Larry Demery was born in Bakersfield, California, the son of Negro League outfielder/pitcher Artis Demery. He broke into the Pirate rotation a few days after turning 21 in June of 1974. Demery was mostly a long man, going 29-23-7/3.72, though he did start 46 times. An arm injury in 1977 ended his career after a four-year run with Pittsburgh. Demery came from baseball genes. His dad, Artis (aka “Artist”) Demery played during the final days of the Negro Leagues and then toiled in the minors for three years, through 1955.
Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2025/06/64-through-1954-kiner-dump-game-tales.html
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