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7/20 Through the 1970s: Rennie Red Hot, Gems, Presto Ward, Slugfest, Local Rivals, Walkoff, Game Days, HBD John, Heinie & Harry

Monday, July 20, 2026 7:33

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1880 – RF Harry Cassady was born in Bellflower, Illinois. Out of Illinois Wesleyan, he got into 22 games in the show; 12 of them were with the 1904 Pirates, hitting .205 in 44 at bats. Cassady went on to spend three years in the American Association (1905-07) and then six seasons with Denver of the Western Association (he was a much better hitter in the high minors, batting .288), retiring after the 1912 campaign at age 31. He passed on in 1969 at the age of 88.

1882 – Nearly 3,500 fans watched the Pittsburgh Alleghenys earn the first home walkoff win in franchise history when they defeated the Cincinnati Red Stockings 3-2 at Expo Park. On the wrong end of a pitching duel and down 2-1 in the ninth inning, Billy Taylor drilled a one-out, game-tying homer. Rudy Kemmler’s single became the game-winning run when Chappy Lane’s two-out rap sent him home. Denny Driscoll got the win with a complete game three-hitter.

1894 – Cincinnati defeated Pittsburgh 7-6 in 10 innings when George “Germany” Smith homered with two outs. Pirate OF Elmer Smith was prevented from retrieving the game-winning hit in the field-level left field bleachers, as permitted per Cincinnati’s League Park ground rules, by zealous Reds fans defending the ball. One of them allegedly pulled a revolver on Smith after he wrestled with several other rooters in an attempt to reach the ball, per Charlton’s Baseball Chronology. The Pittsburgh Press just diplomatically reported that Germany “…drove one into the seats.” It was the NL’s first extra-inning game of the year.

1901 – Hall of Fame LF Heinie Manush was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Manush spent the last two years of his career (1938-39) in Pittsburgh as a pinch hitter, getting just 28 PA (four hits, three walks) before being released, ironically enough for another future HoF’er, Chuck Klein. He was a .330 hitter during his 17-year career with 1,183 RBI and 1,287 runs scored.

Heinie Manush – 1940 Play Ball

1905 – Club baseball was serious biz (especially for the men in blue) back in the day, like the big rivalry game between the local nines of the Western Union and the Postal Telegraph Co, played at Bedford Park in the Hill District. The Pittsburgh Press description: “The rival managers had bowed gravely to each other as befitted the leaders of baseball gladiators. The umpire had made his will and left it with his wife…it was time to play. There was some terrible slugging (and) thus the battle went on until the 11th inning…” Then a couple of spectators got into a brawl, the ballplayers intervened, and a riot ensued as bricks flew (“The women screamed and fled”) until police calmed things down. The game was called a draw, and the Press reported that “…the umpire has sent word to the managers of the two clubs that if there is another game to be played, he wants time to take out an accident insurance policy and get it mentioned in his will.”

1946 – RHP John Lamb was born in Sharon, Connecticut. John came from a Northeast prep powerhouse, Housatonic Valley HS, which produced several players including the Pirates Steve Blass (John was his brother-in-law) and Tom Parsons; Pittsburgh had a bit of an edge as their coach, Ed Kirby, was also a part-time Buc scout. He was signed out of high school in 1964 and debuted in 1970, working parts of three seasons (1970-71, 1973) with a slash of 0-2-5/4.07, and was part of the Bucs triple mound entree of Moose, Veale and Lamb. It’s hard to tell where his career may have gone if he hadn’t suffered a brutal camp accident – in 1971, he fractured his skull when a Dave Cash liner found him during spring training. He missed most of the year, spent ‘72 in the minors and his last MLB season was 1973. He went on to be a high school coach.

1950 – It was the classic slugfest as the Philadelphia Phillies banged out a double, triple, and three homers on their way to eight runs; the Bucs answered with six two-baggers and a long ball of their own to outlast the Brotherly Love gang by a 10-8 score at Forbes Field. Six Pirates had multi-hit games, with three collecting a trio of knocks (Ted Beard, Gus Bell and Danny O’Connell) while Ralph Kiner went long and doubled with Stan Rojek and Johnny Hopp joining the two-hit parade. Murry Dickson, who followed Cliff Chambers and Vern Law, tossed the final 2-2/3 frames scorelessly to get the win while the Phils used five hurlers, with the Buccos scoring off four of them.

Murry Dickson – 1950 photo/TSN

1950 – The Bucs purchased 3B Bob Dillinger, a 1949 All-Star, from the Philadelphia Athletics for $40,000 and he became the sixth player to start at the hot corner for Pittsburgh in four months. A good contact man (he ended his career with a .306 BA), he batted .288 for the Pirates during the dog days, but after a slow start in 1951, Pittsburgh sold him to the White Sox in May. That was his last MLB campaign; he finished out by playing four years in the PCL.

1955 – The bench to the rescue: the Bucs were down 3-0 in the seventh inning when pinch hitter Preston Ward smacked a three-run dinger off the Milwaukee Braves’ Ray Crone at Forbes Field. Another bat called off the bench, Jack Shepard, singled off Dave Jolly with the bases loaded in the final frame to earn the Pirates and Dick Littlefield a 4-3 comeback win.

1955 – The Pirates established the first MLB baseball academy in Venezuela. Led by Cuban Lázaro Salazar, it was located in Caracas at the El Paraíso National Stadium, now known as Brígido Iriarte. The Pirates only operated the baseball school for a year, but had a team in the VSL until they pulled out in 2011, presumably because of the political climate, and played in the DSL.

1959 – As part of the Hall of Fame ceremonies, the Pirates played the Kansas City Athletics in Cooperstown. The game only lasted until the sixth; a rainstorm washed out the rest of the contest with the score tied, 5-5. The Bucs were in second place going into the exhibition; they returned to action the next day, lost nine straight matches and dropped 12-of-13. They straightened up in August and finished 78-76 on the year with their eye on the prize in 1960.

Joe Gibbon – 1961 Topps

1961 – Joe Gibbon tossed a four-hitter with nine whiffs as the Bucs beat the Chicago Cubs at Forbes Field, 4-0. The big blow was Bill Mazeroski’s two-run single in the fourth inning. Gibbon’s win was a rare ray of sunshine for the Pirates – the club had lost three games prior to the win, and would drop six more afterward. The defending champs ended up in sixth place with 75 wins.

1968 – Bob Veale spun a five-hitter and Matty Alou produced both runs as the Bucs eased by Phil Niekro and the Braves 2-1 at Atlanta Stadium. Alou tripled and scored the first run when the throw caromed off his leg, then singled home Maury Wills with the game winner, with both hits coming with two strikes. Alou and Wills each had two hits to snap Niekro’s four-game win streak.

1973 – The Bucs tied the first game of a twin bill against San Diego in the eighth inning and went on to win 5-4 in 10 frames at Three Rivers Stadium. Rennie Stennett went 4-for-5 with a walkoff homer to end the overtime clash. The Pirates had an easier time with the Padres in the second game, winning 7-0. Stennett had three more hits, including another homer, and Jim Rooker tossed a six-hit complete game with eight whiffs to complete the sweep of the Friars.

1974 – Willie Stargell homered in the 11th inning to give the Pirates a 7-6 win over the Braves at Atlanta Stadium. Pops also cranked out a double and single, scoring three times with two RBI. Richie Zisk added three hits and three runs chased home. Bruce Kison started and was chased in the second inning, but John Morlan, Ramon Hernandez and the eventual winner, Dave Giusti, tossed 9-1/3 IP of one-run, five-hit ball. The game started off with plenty of fireworks – the Bucs scored four runs in the first and the Bravos answered with five in the second.

Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2026/07/720-through-1970s-rennie-red-hot-gems.html

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