Time for a Quiz! 1939 Pittsburgh Pirates Team Photo

Time for a Quiz! 1939 Pittsburgh Pirates Team Photo



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1939 Pittsburgh Pirates Hall-of-Famers Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to see photos in full size and to start Photo Gallery:

 

Time for a Quiz!

Thanks to our friend Jay Gauthreaux for finding and posting this neat team photo of the 1939 Pittsburgh Pirates. This team finished 68-75, good for sixth place in the National League. Possibly they were still reeling after losing the 1938 pennant to the Cubs on the famous “Homer in the Gloamin’” hit by Gabby Hartnett off Pirate pitcher Mace Brown, who is in the photo.

As the won/lost record indicates, this team did not have a good year. They scored 666 runs while giving up 721. Offensively, they hit .276, good for third in the eight-team National league. The problem was pitching, as the team posted a 4.15 ERA, seventh in the league. They drew only 376, 734 fans for the entire season.

Now here’s the quiz:

Most of the players in the photo are pretty obscure, but I count at least six, possibly seven Hall-of-Famers. How many of them can you pick out? Give it a shot before checking out the identifications below.  

As always with identifications of players in old photos, if anyone notices an identification that doesn’t seem right, please indicate. We always strive for accuracy and welcome corrections or additions.  

Here’s what I came up with:

Top row, L-R: Pie Traynor, Ray Berres, Unknown (might be Chuck Klein), Heine Manush, Johnny Rizzo, Maurice Van Robays (?), Woody Jensen, Rip Sewell, Bill Swift, Joe Bowman, unknown civilian. Middle, L-R: Unknown civilian, Mace Brown, Bob Elliott, Fern Bell (?), Ray Mueller, Russ Bauers, Cy Blanton, Bill Clemsen, Waner, Bill Klinger, Unknown, Gus Suhr. Front, L-R: Lee Handley, Red Juelich, Jim Tobin, George Susce, Pep Young, Waner, Honus Wagner, Arky Vaughan.

Hall-of-Famers: Pie Traynor, Chuck Klein, Heine Manush, Lloyd Waner, Paul Waner, Honus Wagner, Arky Vaughan.

 

Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: Featured photo found and posted by Jay Gauthreaux: https://www.facebook.com/jay.gauthreaux.7

Statistics: From the 1939 Pirates page on Baseball Reference.

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I'm a baseball historian who also enjoys writing. My forte is identifying ballplayers in old photos, and my special interest is the Dead Ball Era.

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