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1952 Pittsburgh Pirates Season
The 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the team's 71st season in Major League Baseball, and their 66th season in the National League. The Pirates posted a record of 42 wins and 112 losses, their worst record since 1890, and one of the worst in major league history. Offseason The Pirates were led in 1952 by 70-year-old general manager Branch Rickey and 60-year-old manager Billy Meyer. Meyer had led Pittsburgh to a last-place finish in the National League in 1950. After Rickey was installed as general manager, the Pirates were second-to-last in 1951. Tension was high as the two-year contract of their star slugger, Ralph Kiner, expired before the 1952 season. Kiner was the premier power hitter in baseball, having won the previous six National League home run titles.Finoli, p. 112. Rickey voiced what he viewed as inconsistent levels of commitment by Kiner when talking to the media. Kiner received permission to instead negotiate directly with owner John W. Galbreath and agreed to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forbes Field
Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League (NFL) franchise. The stadium also served as the home American football, football field for the University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Panthers football, "Pitt" Panthers from 1909 to 1924. The stadium was named after its adjacent street, Forbes Ave., itself named for British general John Forbes (British Army officer), John Forbes, who fought in the French and Indian War and named the city in 1758. The US$1 million ($ million today) project was initiated by Pittsburgh Pirates' owner Barney Dreyfuss, with the goal of replacing his franchise's then-current home, Exposition Park (Pittsburgh), Exposition Park. The stadium was made of concrete and steel, the first such stadium in the N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Manager (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, the general manager (GM) of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players. Roles and responsibilities The general manager is normally the person who hires and fires the coaching staff, including the field manager who acts as the head coach. In baseball, the term ''manager'' used without qualification almost always refers to the field manager, not the general manager. Before the 1960s, and in some rare cases since then, a person with the general manager title in sports has also borne responsibility for the non-player operations of the ballclub, such as ballpark administration and broadcasting. Ed Barrow, George Weiss and Gabe Paul were three baseball GMs noted for their administrative skills in both player and non-player duties. History and evolution In the first decades of baseball's post-1901 modern era, responsibilities for player acquisition fell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Service
Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a specific amount of military service from every citizen, except for special cases, such as limitation determined by a military physical or religious belief. In the United States, a mental disorder does not necessarily disqualify a recruit so long as no treatment had been given within 36 months. Most countries that use conscription systems only conscript men; a few countries also conscript women. For example, Norway, Sweden, North Korea, Israel, and Eritrea conscript both men and women. However, only Norway and Sweden have a gender-neutral conscription system, where men and women are conscripted and serve on equal formal terms. Some nations with conscription systems do not enforce them. Nations which conscript for military service typically ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danny O'Connell
Daniel Francis O'Connell (January 21, 1929 – October 2, 1969) was an American infielder in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates (; ), Milwaukee Braves (– 57), New York/San Francisco Giants (– 59) and Washington Senators (– 62). During his MLB career, he was listed at tall and weighed . He threw and batted right-handed. As a member of the San Francisco Giants, O'Connell scored the first run in the first big-league baseball game played on the West Coast on April 15, 1958. After drawing a base on balls against Don Drysdale of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third inning, he advanced to third base on another walk and a single before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jim Davenport. The Giants won, 8–0. Career O'Connell was a native of Paterson, New Jersey. He initially signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and played four years in their farm system. He was sold to the Pirates after the 1949 season while still a minor leaguer, and called up in mid-July 1950. He proceede ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vern Law
Vernon Sanders Law (born March 12, 1930) is an American former baseball pitcher who played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played in 1950–51 and 1954–67. He batted and threw right-handed and was listed at and . Law signed for the Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1948 and played for three of their minor league affiliates until 1950, when he was promoted to the major leagues. Playing career Law was born on March 12, 1930, in Meridian, Idaho. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates before the 1948 season and spent 1948 and 1949 in the minor leagues. Law made his major league debut for the Pirates in 1950. He played one season and then served in the military from 1951 to 1954. Upon returning to the major leagues, he eventually earned a spot in the Pirates' starting rotation. He shared the NL Player of the Month award in August 1959 (4-0, 1.94 ERA, 25 SO) with Willie McCovey. In 1960, he had a win–loss record of 20-9 with a 3.0 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. When the Dodgers signed Robinson, it heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. During his 10-year MLB career, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored. Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship. In 1997, MLB retired his uniform number 42 across all major league teams; h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clyde Sukeforth
Clyde Leroy Sukeforth (November 30, 1901 – September 3, 2000), nicknamed "Sukey", was an American professional baseball catcher, coach, scout and manager. He was best known for signing the first black player in the modern era of Major League Baseball (MLB), Jackie Robinson, after Robinson was scouted by Tom Greenwade in the Negro leagues. Eye injury impaired playing career Sukeforth was born in Washington, Maine. After two years at Georgetown University, followed by a year in the New England League with the Nashua Millionaires and the Manchester Blue Sox, he was acquired by the Cincinnati Reds in . Sukeforth batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and was listed as tall and during his active career. He appeared in 486 games over all or parts of ten big-league seasons (1926–34 and 1945), compiling a batting average of .264 with 326 hits, two home runs and 96 runs batted in. His best year in the Major Leagues was , when he batted .354 for the Reds with 84 hits in 84 game ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honus Wagner
Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (; February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955), sometimes referred to as "Hans" Wagner, was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wagner won his eighth (and final) batting title in 1911, a National League record that remains unbroken to this day, and matched only once, in 1997, by Tony Gwynn. He also led the league in slugging six times and stolen bases five times. Wagner was nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman" due to his superb speed and German heritage. This nickname was a nod to the popular folk-tale made into a famous opera by the German composer Richard Wagner. In , the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Wagner as one of the first five members. He received the second-highest vote total, behind Ty Cobb's 222 and tied with Babe Ruth at 215. Most baseball historians consider Wagner to be the greatest shortstop ever and one of the greatest players ever. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Baseball Hall Of Fame And Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-related artifacts and exhibits, honoring those who have excelled in playing, managing, and serving the sport. The Hall's motto is "Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations". Cooperstown is often used as shorthand (or a metonym) for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, similar to "Canton" for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The Hall of Fame was established in 1939 by Stephen Carlton Clark, an heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune. Clark sought to bring tourists to a city hurt by the Great Depression, which reduced the local tourist trade, and Prohibition, which devastated the local hops industry. Clark constructed the Hall of Fame's building, and it was dedicated on June 12, 1939. (His gran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Major League Baseball Annual Home Run Leaders
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit so far that the batter is able to circle all the bases ending at home plate, scoring himself plus any runners already on base, with no errors by the defensive team on the play. An automatic home run is achieved by hitting the ball on the fly over the outfield fence in fair territory. More rarely, an inside-the-park home run occurs when the hitter reaches home plate while the baseball remains in play on the field. In Major League Baseball (MLB), a player in each league wins the home run title each season by hitting the most home runs that year. Only home runs hit in a particular league count towards that league's seasonal lead. Mark McGwire, for example, hit 58 home runs in 1997, more than any other player that year. However, McGwire was traded from the American League's (AL) Oakland Athletics to the National League's (NL) St. Louis Cardinals midway through the season and his individual AL and NL home run totals (34 and 24, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Kiner
Ralph McPherran Kiner (October 27, 1922 – February 6, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster. An outfielder, Kiner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955. Following his retirement, Kiner served from 1956 through 1960 as general manager of the Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres.Weber, Bruce"Ralph Kiner, Slugger Who Became a Voice of the Mets, Dies at 91" ''The New York Times''. February 6, 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2016. He also served as an announcer for the New York Mets from the team's inception until his death. Though injuries forced his retirement from active play after 10 seasons, Kiner led all of his National League contemporaries in home runs between 1946 and 1952. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975. After his death, baseball writer Marty Noble named Kiner "one of baseball's genuine and most charming gentlemen". Early life Kiner was born in Santa Rita, New Mexico, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
