2/16 Through the 1980s: Elroy & Bob Sign, Robby Nixes Swap, Hans # Retired, Boycott; HBD Jorge, Luis, Jerry, Ray, Skip & John
- 1873 – C John Sullivan was born in Chicago. John had a 14-game showing with the Tigers in 1905 and then settled in with the minor league Kansas City Blues; he got one more call to the majors sandwiched inside that KC stint by the Bucs, catching for three frames in 1908. He gave up a stolen base, committed an error and went 0-for-1 before returning to KC, and he retired from pro ball in 1910 at age 37 after 11 years behind the plate.
- 1889 – RHP James “Skip” Dowd was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Dowd, out of Holy Cross, got into one game for the Pirates in 1910, his only big league outing, and gave up four runs in two innings. In his defense they were all unearned, leaving him with a spotless career ERA. Aside from getting his name on a major league scorecard, he can also claim that he worked against HoF hurler Mordecai “Three Fingers” Brown. He tossed in the minors for five campaigns (1911-15) afterwards. Skip is the grandfather of Emmy-winning actress Ann Dowd.
- 1912 – RHP Ray Harrell was born in Alexandria, Louisiana. He tossed for the Bucs in 1940, getting into three games (3-1/3 IP) with an ERA of 8.10 as a waiver pickup from the Phils before being sent to the AA Portland club. Ray spent a total of six years in the show, returning in 1945 to take a final bow with the wartime New York Giants after working the intervening seasons in the Pacific Coast League. He retired in 1950 after an 18-year pro career.
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| The Flying Dutchman heads for the rockin’ chair (AP 2/17/1952) |
- 1952 – Carnegie’s Honus Wagner’s #33 (actually, it was his second number as a coach – 14 was first – chosen as players didn’t sport numbers during Hans’ playing career) was retired after he bid farewell as a Pittsburgh coach at the age of 77 following 39 years with the team. The Bucs also honored him by giving him a lifetime pension at full pay. Hans’ number was the first the Pirates retired; other Buccos to later join him in the honor were Billy Meyer (1), Ralph Kiner (4), Willie Stargell (8), Bill Mazeroski (9), Pie Traynor (20), Roberto Clemente (21) and Danny Murtaugh (40). The Flying Dutchman finished his career with a .329 average and won eight NL batting titles, ranking among the Pirates’ top 10 in 11 offensive categories. He was a coach with the Pirates between 1933 and 1951. Honus was also part of the first Hall-of-Fame class ever selected, along with Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Babe Ruth.
- 1952 – Jerry Hairston was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He was sold to the Pirates by the White Sox in June, 1977, and in 51 games he hit .192, mostly as a pinch hitter. Jerry played parts of 14 MLB seasons entirely with the White Sox except for his brief Bucco stint. Hairston has a strong legacy link – his dad Sam, brother Johnny and son Jerry were all big league players.
- 1954 – The Pirates signed young righties Bob Friend, 23, and ElRoy Face, 26 to contracts. Friend was a season away from becoming a rotation anchor and ElRoy was also nearing his era as the Baron of the Bullpen. The pair pitched for 15 seasons as Pirates, with Friend appearing in 568 contests (477 starts) while Face made over 800 outings. They combined for 291 wins, 195 saves and nearly 4,800 innings as a workhorse mound duo through the 50’s & 60’s.
- 1969 – The new Pirates four-field Pirates City complex in Bradenton was open for business and awaiting baptism by some early bird campers, but the anticipation was temporarily delayed as the owners and players banged heads over pension monies. MLB spring training report date was scheduled for the next day, but 400 players or so boycotted the camps for the next 10 days before the owners gave up some ground and accepted many of the MLBPA demands.
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| Luis Figueroa – 1978 Custom Topps (Villa Custom) |
- 1974 – IF Luis Figueroa was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. After playing for the Puerto Rican national team, he was signed by the Bucs in 1997 and played four games with the club in 2001, going 0-for-2. Luis was waived and claimed by the Mets. In 2006-07, he got in 14 games for the Blue Jays and Giants, his only other outings as an MLB player. But he had a long career, playing 16 years of pro ball with campaigns in Puerto Rico, both in the winter league and with their international squad, and then served as a fielding coach in the Yankee org.
- 1980 – The Pirates announced that five-and-10-year veteran OF’er Bill Robinson was traded in principle to Houston for pitcher Joaquin Andujar, but the deal hit a bump a couple of days later when the Astros wouldn’t rework Robinson’s contract and he vetoed the trade. It’s hard to project how the swap would have worked out. Robinson had a strong 1980 campaign and then faded while Andujar wouldn’t hit his prime until 1982, winning 61 games and two All-Star berths between then and 1985 as a St. Louis Cardinal, who got him early in 1981 for Tony Scott.
- 1988 – RHP Jorge Rondon was born in Calabozo, Venezuela. Jorge has spent small parts of three seasons in MLB, with two of his 16 big league outings coming with the Pirates in 2016 after a solid stint at AAA Indianapolis. It didn’t work out so well, with a 17.18 ERA/2.727 WHIP in 3-2/3 IP. He was DFA’ed five days after his call-up and signed with the Chisox, then took his services to Japan for the 2017 campaign. He now pitches in Venezuela
Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2026/02/216-through-1980s-elroy-bob-sign-robby.html
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