A look back at events that you’ve either forgotten about or never heard of in the first place.
June 9, 1914
Pittsburgh Pirates great Honus Wagner becomes the second member of Major League Baseball’s 3,000-hit club when he doubles off Philadelphia’s Erskine Mayer. Or, as the Atlanta Constitution reported the next day: “Hans Wagner makes his 3,000th Bingle.”
June 9, 1946
In a game against the Pirates at Forbes Field, New York Giants manager Mel Ott makes history when he is ejected from both games of a double-header. The New York Times calls the episode “side-splitting.”
June 9, 1984
In the first round of the NHL draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins select Mario Lemieux. Spoiler alert: He turned out to be really good.
June 10, 1890
Jocko Fields, of the Pittsburgh Burghers, hits the first home run in Pittsburgh’s Exposition Park. The Burghers played in the lone season of the Players’ League.
June 10, 1985
“The Gunner,” legendary Pittsburgh Pirates announcer Bob Prince, dies from complications of pneumonia at age 68.
June 12, 1970
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis throws his infamous no-hitter while high on LSD. While some players dispute that Ellis could have accomplished this feat while high on acid, Ellis mostly stuck to the story over the years.
June 12, 2006
Months after his first Super Bowl championship, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, while motorcycling, is involved in a crash on Second Avenue, at the foot of the 10th Street Bridge. Roethlisberger was not wearing a helmet, nor did he have a valid motorcycle license.
June 13, 1972
After six years in the American Basketball Association, the Pittsburgh Condors are disbanded by the league. Apparently naming a sports franchise after an endangered species can be bad luck.
June 13, 1975
The Pittsburgh Penguins declare bankruptcy, and the Civic Arena is padlocked by the IRS.
June 14, 1927
The Oakmont Country Club hosts its first U.S. Open.
June 15, 1987
Pittsburgh Pirate Jim Morrison is caught stealing home twice … in the same inning.
