These Hall of Fame players had a "cup of coffee" with the Bucs on their trip to Cooperstown. This information was partly provided by Steve Alvin (salvin@heartland.bradley.edu) on the Pirates e-mail list. His source was Total Baseball. I have added some comments from the 1994 National Hall of Fame and Museum Yearbook (Baseball Hall of Fame).
Index: | Beckley | Bunning | Cronin | Frisch | Galvin | Grimes | Hanlon | Herman | Hoyt | Kelley | Kelly | Klein | Lindstrom | Lopez | Mack | Manush | Maranville | Rickey | Stengel | Vance | Waddel | Willis |
Jim Bunning: #14
Bunning was 224-184 with a 3.27 ERA in 17 seasons with
Detroit, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and the Pirates. He twice
led the league in innings pitched, 3 times in Strikeouts, twice
in shutouts, and lead the AL with 20 wins in 1957. He was a 7-time
All-Star. Although he only had one 20 game season, he added four
19-win seasons, and three more 17-win seasons. He topped 200 K's
in 6 seasons and finished with a career 2,855 strikeouts. For
the Phillies in 1967, he was 17-15 with a career best 2.29 ERA,
while he led the league in innings pitched (302), strikeouts
(253), and shutouts (6). He pitched a no-hitter in both leagues; one of them (6/21/64) was
the first regular-season perfect game since 1922 and
the first in the NL since 1880. He was the first pitcher since Cy Young to record 100
victories in each league. When he retired, his Strikeout total was second only to Walter
Johnson's. He was in Pittsburgh 1968-1969, and was 14-23. The Bucs acquired him from the
Phillies in a terrible trade. On 12/15/67, the Bucs sent the Phils 3B Don Money, P Woodie
Fryman, P
Bill Laxton, and minor league P Hal Clem for Bunning.
Bunning was elected to the US Congress in 1986; I was
serving as a White House Social Aide at the time and had the
privilege to introduce him and the other freshman Congressmen to
President Reagan at a White House reception.
Joe Cronin: He was a rookie with the Bucs and played 38 games in 1926 and 12 in 1927. He was traded to the Red Sox and blossomed into one of the all time great shortstops. He hit .301 over 20 big league seasons. He was an AL All-Star 7 times and was the MVP in 1930 when he hit .346 with 126 RBIs. He topped .300 eight times and had eight 100 RBI seasons.
Frankie Frisch: #35 "The Fordham Flash". A HOF second baseman, Frisch played on eight pennant winners. As a switch-hitter, he compiled 11 straight .300 seasons. In the 1940's, as the Bucs' manager, he had a 539-528 record.
Jim "Pud" Galvin: He pitched before the turn of the century. He spent 1885-1892 in a Pittsburgh uniform. In 14 years, he was 361-309 (128-112 with Pittsburgh). He had seasons of 29-21, 28-21, 23-25, and 23-16. His best seasons were with Buffalo in 1883-84 when he went 46-29 and 46-23. He was baseball's first 300 game-winner and hurled more innings (5959), more complete games (649) than anyone except Cy Young. He pitched in the days of a 2-man rotation and had over 70 complete games in 1883 and 1884.
Burleigh Grimes: He went 3-16 with the Bucs in 1917 and was then traded to the Dodgers. He came back to Pittsburgh in 1928 when he led the NL with 25 wins (25-14), 48 games, 28 complete games, 4 shutouts, and 331 innings pitched. In 1929, he was 17-7 and was traded at the end of the season to the Braves. He was 270-212 over 19 seasons and topped 20 wins five times. He was nicknamed "Old Stubble-beard", because he did not shave on the day he was scheduled to pitch. (still looking for his uniform number)
Ned Hanlon: He Managed the Pirates for portions of the 1889 and 1891 seasons. His managing record with the Bucs was 57-65. He had longer managing stints with Baltimore (1892-1898), Brooklyn (1899-1905), and Cincinnati (1906-1907). He also managed the Pittsburgh club in the Players League in 1890. Additionally, he played for 13 seasons (1880-1892) with Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Hanlon was a .260 career hitter as a major league outfielder. He started his long managing career as a player/manager in Pittsburgh. He is best remembered for travelling the world after the 1888 season and introducing baseball to several countries. Hanlon, who died in 1937 at 79, was credited with bringing squeeze plays, hit-and-runs and the "Baltimore chop" to baseball.
Billy Herman: #11 A second baseman who played in the late-1930's and 1940's with the Cubs and Dodgers, he was known as a master of the hit-and-run. He batted a lifetime .304.
Waite "Schoolboy" Hoyt: #48 He won 35 of his 237 games in 4 seasons with the Bucs. He pitched mostly in relief, winning 15 games in 1934. His ERA was around 3.00 in a Pirates uniform. Hoyt was signed by the Giants when he was 15 years old. He pitched 3 games in the 1921 World Series and had a 0.00 ERA over 27 innings.
Joe Kelley: A left fielder in the dead ball era. He played 56 games for the Bucs in 1892. He hit .391 in 1894 and hit over .300 for 11 consecutive years. He once went 9-9 at the plate during a double header.
George Kelly: Six feet, 3 inch first baseman George "Highpockets" Kelly had six consecutive seasons over .300 and four straight years with over 100 RBIs.
Chuck Klein: # 14 A right fielder. He played 85 games for Pittsburgh in 1939 and hit .300. He hit a lifetime .320 average and smashed 300 Home Runs. In 1930, he hit .386, had 40 Home Runs and 170 RBIs, but he didn't lead the league in any category. He was the NL MVP in 1932 and won the Triple Crown in 1933.
Fred Lindstrom: #12 In 1924, this third baseman became the youngest player in the World Series at the age of 18. He had seven .300 seasons and batted a lifetime .311.
Al Lopez: #12 He made the all star team one year with the Bucs. He caught nearly 2,000 games during his playing career, but he made his mark as a manager. In 1954, his Cleveland Indians won 111 games.
Connie Mack: A catcher in his playing days, he played for and managed the Pirates. The Bucs were 149-134 while Mack was at the helm. He managed the A's for 50 years until he was 88 years old.
Heinie Manush: #36 and #15 Another left fielder. He ended his career in Pittsburgh playing 15 games in 1938 and 10 in 1939. He was a career .330 hitter while batting .378 in 1926.
Walter "Rabbit" Maranville: He played for the Bucs from 1921-1924. Over his 23 year career, he is best known for his years with the Dodgers and his glove work at shortstop. His best offensive years were with the Bucs in 1921 (hitting .294) and 1922 (hitting .295). He played in 2670 games over his career.
Branch Rickey: Rickey was the GM for the Bucs during the 1950's. The 1952 Pirates (42-112) were the worst of their era. It is not surprising that Pittsburgh is not mentioned in his HOF biography. While with St Louis and Brooklyn, he developed vast farm systems. Pirate fans should remember him as the man who was responsible for bringing Roberto Clemente to Pittsburgh.
Casey Stengel: His 54 year career spanned the era from Christy Mathewson to Tom Seaver. Stengle played 14 seasons and hit .284. As a Manager, he won 10 pennants and 7 World Series titles in 12 years.
Dazzy Vance: He won 197 games in 16 seasons. He broke in with Pittsburgh in 1915. He started one game, pitched 3 innings, gave up 3 runs, lost the game, and was traded to the Yankees. He was the league MVP in 1924 and tossed a no-hitter in 1925.
Rube Waddel: He came to Pittsburgh from Louisville in 1900. He went 8-13 for the Bucs in 1900 and 0-2 in 1901. He was then traded to the Cubs in mid-season. He went on to win 191 games in 13 seasons. He led the AL in K's six years in a row, and in 1908, he whiffed 16 A's in a single game.
Vic Willis: Between 1898 and 1910 he was 247-204. In his 4 seasons with the Bucs (1906-1909), he went 23-13, 21-11, 23-11, and 22-11. His career ERA was 2.63.
Thanks to the Pirate team offices for their assistance with some of the uniform numbers.
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