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8/20 Through the 1960s: Big Bob Gem, Extra Extras, Batfest, Dirty Dozen, Game Days, Ump ER, No To Union, Bobby-Cozy, HBD Al, Bull & Robert

Thursday, August 20, 2026 7:33

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1869 – RHP Robert Gibson was born in Duncansville, Pennsylvania, near Altoona. He tossed in the show in 1890, working a game for the Chicago Colts (a shutout) and then finishing up with three more starts with the Alleghenys, doing not so well with an 0-3/17.25 line, while also playing a little outfield. He did better at forging a career after he hung up the spikes, though – the Washington & Jefferson grad worked for Allegheny County/US Magistrate as an attorney, then was appointed as a Federal judge for the Western District in 1922, and became the chief judge, a position he filled (the last year was as an appointed senior judge) until his 1949 death. He’s buried in Homewood Cemetery.

1880 – OF Lewis “Bull” Smith was born in Plum, West Virginia. He was raised in an orphanage but overcame that humble beginning to become a West Liberty and later WVU multi-sports star & grad, leaving school with a law degree. Bull played sparingly in the MLB, with his 13-game 1904 season as a member of the Pirates his longest stay, hitting .143 (he got one-game cups of coffee with the Cubs in ‘06 and the Senators in ‘11). Baseball wasn’t his only strong suit, though – he was also a halfback for the Canton Bulldogs in 1905-06, playing in the NFL’s forerunner, the Ohio League. He managed and played locally at Clarksville & Charleston after his big league days. He later became a lumberman and school teacher. Bull passed away in 1928 in Charleston.

1883 – According to Charlton’s Baseball Chronology, after the Eclipse-Pittsburgh game at Exposition Park (won by Louisville, 8-2), Allegheny OFs Billy Taylor and Mike Mansell‚ along with 2B George Creamer, were each fined $100 and suspended indefinitely for drunkenness.

1903 – The Pirates set a record for futility in the first inning of a twin bill at the Polo Grounds, committing six errors (they would boot eight balls during the game) and allowing seven runs to the NY Giants in a 13-7 loss. But they came back in the nitecap behind Deacon Phillippe, who tossed a five-hit, 4-1 winner against NY, backed by Fred Clarke’s home run and a mere two errors. The split kept the Pirates five games ahead of the G-Men in the NL pennant race.

1908 – Hall of Fame catcher Al Lopez was born in Tampa. He caught seven years (1940-46) for the Pirates, hitting .254 with a rep as one of the finest defensive catchers in baseball and earning a 1941 All-Star berth. After his playing days, Lopez found success as a manager of the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox (2,414 wins), and was elected into the Hall in 1977.

Al Lopez – 1977 TCMA

1912 – Umpires William Brennan (twisted knee) and Clarence “Brick” Owens (foul to the chest) were both out of action by the second inning and transported to St. John’s Hospital, leaving no one to call the game, but the twin bill at Forbes Field nevertheless went on. Pirates manager Fred Clarke selected 1B Ham Hyatt to decide the bases while Brooklyn skipper Bill Dahlen chose C Eddie Phelps to make the calls at the plate. The Pirates took the opener 3-2, but the Dodgers came back to run away with the nightcap 9-1 as Hyatt and Phelps passed their test of fire and also arbitrated the second match. Both of the original men in blue were pretty banged up – Brennan ended up with torn ligaments in his knee and Owens tore ligaments in his rib cage.

1913 – The Pirates traded P Howie Camnitz and 3B Bobby Byrne to the Philadelphia Phillies for third baseman Albert “Cozy” Dolan and cash. Camnitz and Byrne were at the end of their effective careers (Bryne had a strong 1914 before fading), and Dolan was traded at the end of the year, so even though a couple of big names were involved, it ended up a minor deal. Cozy was banned from baseball in 1924 as a coach after being involved with a bribe offer during a heated pennant race. He didn’t get his nickname by being cozy with the bookies, though, but rather from a namesake baseball predecessor, Patrick “Cozy” Dolan. Fortunately for league scorekeepers, there was a five-year break between Patrick’s last game and Albert’s MLB debut.

1939 – Pittsburgh dropped its 12th straight game by a 9-5 score to the Cubs in the first game of a doubleheader at Forbes Field. Bob Klinger took the loss. The streak was the longest in Bucco history (although the Alleghenys had a couple of longer runs and it’s been topped several times since) and the longest in the majors for the year. But they finally got back on the right side of the ledger by taking the second game 5-0, which was called after six innings following a 40-minute rain delay. Max Butcher claimed the win, backed by Elbie Fletcher’s two-run homer and two-hit afternoons by Johnny Rizzo and Fern Bell.

1945 – The Pirates hit two homers (Babe Dahlgren, Pete Coscarart), two triples (Lee Handley, Jim Russell) and two doubles (Tommy O’Brien, Johnny Barrett) to romp over the Brooklyn Dodgers 11-1 at Ebbets Field. The Bucs scored three times in the first inning and five more times in the ninth while Preacher Roe scattered eight hits. O’Brien and Frankie Gustine led the lumber parade with three hits each. Da Bums had two noteworthy sidebars: they committed seven errors during the game (although just two runs were unearned), and 17-year-old Dodger SS Tommy Brown became the youngest player to hit a MLB home run.

Tommy O’Brien – 1943 photo via Out Of The Ball Park

1946 – The Pirates voted against recognizing the American Baseball Guild as their bargaining agent by a 15-3 count with 10 abstentions in a pregame Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board election. They then whipped the Brooklyn Dodgers, 10-0, at Forbes Field behind Nick Strincevich’s four-hitter. Elbie Fletcher banged a three-run homer and Jim Russell had three hits that chased four Buccos home to give Strincevich plenty of breathing room.

1947 – It wasn’t a very good day for pitchers as Pittsburgh bludgeoned its way to a 16-10 win over Boston at Braves Stadium. 19 players banged out 34 hits – and oddly enough, not one of them cleared a fence. The leader of the pack was the Pirates’ Jim Russell, who went 5-for-6 with a double and triple, five RBI and three runs scored. Jimmy Bloodworth wasn’t far behind, going 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs. The offensive onslaught wasn’t all on the hurlers; the two teams combined to commit six errors, allowing 10 unearned runs to score.

1953 – The Pirates used four Philadelphia Phillies errors to beat Robin Roberts 5-2 at Connie Mack Stadium, ending his 15-game winning streak against them. It took a little help: four of the Bucco runs were unearned gifts. The winner was 19-year-old Jim Waugh, who tossed a six-hitter.

1961 – The Cubs and Pirates tied an NL record by playing their third straight extra-inning game at Wrigley Field. Chicago took this one 1-0 when Billy Williams singled home the winning run with two outs in the 11th, making Bob Friend a loser to Don Cardwell; both pitchers went the distance. The clubs had split the first pair; all three games went 11 innings.

1969 – Bob Veale tossed a four-hitter with one walk and 10 Ks to defeat the Houston Astros and Denny Lemaster 1-0 at Forbes Field. The big lefty allowed just one runner beyond first during the contest. The match’s only run scored in the eighth, when back-to-back Astro errors and a successful bunt set the table for Roberto Clemente’s game-winning sac fly. It also capped a four contests long complete games streak (he went the distance nine times in 34 starts) and was part of an eight-game winning streak for Veale.

Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2026/08/820-through-1960s-big-bob-gem-extra.html

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