Six former Pittsburgh Pirates born on this date.
Colin Moran, first baseman for the 2018-21 Pirates. He was a first round draft pick of the Miami Marlins in 2013, taken sixth overall out of the University of North Carolina. Moran went right to Greensboro of the Low-A South Atlantic League after signing, where he hit .299 in 42 games, with 19 runs, 13 extra-base hits, 23 RBIs and a .796 OPS. He went to the Arizona Fall League after the 2013 season, where he hit .230/.323/.264 in 22 games, with seven runs, three doubles and ten RBIs. Moran split the 2014 season between Jupiter of the High-A Florida State League and Corpus Christi of the Double-A Texas League. The split came from a mid-season trade with the Houston Astros, with Moran getting a bump in competition immediately after the deal. He had a .735 OPS at the lower level in 89 games, and a .760 OPS in 28 games at the higher level after the trade. While the improvement is a good sign, he was also going from a pitcher-friendly league to a league that favored hitters. He combined to hit .296 over 117 games, with 46 runs, 27 doubles, seven homers, 55 RBIs and a .741 OPS. He spent the entire 2015 season with Corpus Christi, where he hit .306 in 96 games, with 47 runs, 25 doubles, nine homers, 67 RBIs and an .840 OPS. He played 117 games for Fresno of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League during the 2016 season, when he had a .259 average, 50 runs, 18 doubles, ten homers, 69 RBIs and a .697 OPS. Those numbers were coming in a hitter-friendly league, so they were a bit disappointing overall. Moran got a call to the Astros for a brief time in May of 2016, then returned in late September. He hit .130/.200/.174 in 26 plate appearances over nine games.
Moran had a .308 average, 53 runs, 15 doubles, 18 homers, 63 RBIs and a .916 OPS in 79 games with Fresno during the 2017 season. He did well in his chance that year with the Astros, hitting .364/.417/.818 over seven games, but his time ended early due to fouling a pitch off of his face. He was one of four players acquired by the Pirates from the Astros in exchange for pitcher Gerrit Cole after the 2017 season. Moran took over the third base job for the Pirates in 2018, when he hit .277 over 144 games, with 49 runs, 19 doubles, 11 homers, 58 RBIs and a .747 OPS. He batted .277 over 149 games in 2019, with 46 runs, 30 doubles, 13 homers, 80 RBIs and a .751 OPS. Moran moved over to first base during the shortened 2020 season, where he hit .247/.325/.472 in 52 games, with 28 runs, ten doubles, ten homers and 23 RBIs. He missed almost two full months in 2021 due to a wrist injury. He batted .258 over 99 games, with 29 runs, 12 doubles, ten homers, 50 RBIs and a .724 OPS. The Pirates let him go after the 2021 season with one year still left before he would have reached free agency.
Moran signed with the Cincinnati Reds in March of 2022, then spent about the same amount of time in Triple-A and the majors. He had a .249 average, 21 runs, 11 doubles, seven homers, 26 RBIs and a .724 OPS in 53 games with Louisville of the International League that year. He hit .211/.305/.376 in 42 games with the Reds, collecting 11 runs, three doubles, five homers and 23 RBIs. He was released on September 8th, then signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners in January of 2023. Moran played for Tacoma of the Pacific Coast League during the 2023 season, where he hit .257/.361/.397 over 40 games, before being let go in July. He’s a .265 hitter in 502 games over seven big league seasons, with 167 runs, 75 doubles, 50 homers and 239 RBIs. He has one big league steal in four attempts. Moran comes from a great baseball family, with his brother Brian pitching parts of three seasons in the majors, his uncle Rich Surhoff pitching one year in the majors for two teams, and his other uncle BJ Surhoff playing 19 years in the majors.
Vance Law, infielder for the 1980-81 Pirates. He’s the son of all-time Pirates great Vern Law, making them one of 26 groups of relatives to play for the Pirates. The younger Law played parts of two seasons for the Pirates before they traded him to the Chicago White Sox prior to the 1982 season. The Pirates drafted him in the 39th round of the 1978 draft out of BYU. Despite the long wait in the draft, his wait to get to the majors was very short. Law debuted with the Pirates on June 1, 1980, not even two full years to the day that he was drafted. He played one game in the Gulf Coast League, then 60 games for Salem of the Class-A Carolina League during the 1978 season. He hit .319 in those 61 games, with 48 runs, 22 extra-base hits, 30 RBIs, 42 walks and a .904 OPS. The Pirates had him at Portland of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League to start the 1979 season, where he batted .310 in 131 games, with 62 runs, 16 doubles, eight triples, 52 RBIs and a .772 OPS. Law batted .295 over 96 games at Portland in 1980, with 59 runs, 33 extra-base hits and 54 RBIs. He finished with an .816 OPS and more walks (43) than strikeouts (33). The Pirates had him up in early June, late July and mid-September, getting him into a total of 25 games during those three stints. He hit .230/.260/.311 in 78 plate appearances, with 11 runs, four extra-base hits and three RBIs. Law saw slightly more big league time during the strike-shortened 1981 season, beginning the year with the Pirates before the strike, then rejoining them when the rosters expanded in September. He hit .134/.157/.164 in in 71 plate appearances over 30 games for the 1981 Pirates, with one run, one extra-base hit (a triple) and three RBIs. He put up a .277 average, 55 runs, 28 extra-base hits, 43 RBIs and an .802 OPS in 88 games with Portland. He hit .184/.211/.241 in 55 games for the Pirates.
After being traded to the White Sox on March 21, 1982, Law started a string of eight straight seasons with 112+ games played. He spent three years with the White Sox, the next three seasons with the Montreal Expos, followed by two years with the Chicago Cubs. Law hit .281 over 114 games for the 1982 White Sox, with 40 runs, 20 doubles, five homers, 54 RBIs and a .712 OPS. He followed that up with .243 average during the 1983 season, when he had 55 runs scored, 30 extra-base hits, 42 RBIs, 55 walks and a .673 OPS in 145 games. He was more of a utility player in 1982, but the 1983 season saw him get most of his time at third base. He batted .252 over 141 games in 1984, with 60 runs, 18 doubles, a career high 17 homers, 59 RBIs and a .713 OPS. He was traded to the Expos for pitcher Bob James in December of 1984. Law hit .266 for the 1985 Expos, with ten homers and 52 RBIs in 147 games, while seeing most of his playing time at second base. He set career highs that year with 75 runs scored, 30 doubles, 86 walks and a .773 OPS. His stats dropped off greatly in 1986, as did his playing time. He batted .225 over 112 games that year, with 37 runs, 17 doubles, five homers, 44 RBIs and a .623 OPS that was 150 points lower than the previous season. Law rebounded during the 1987 season by putting up a .273 average over 133 games, with 52 runs, 27 doubles, 12 homers, 56 RBIs and a .769 OPS. He became a free agent after the season, then signed with the Cubs.
Law was an All-Star in 1988, when he hit .293 over 151 games, with 73 runs scored, 29 doubles, 11 homers, a career high 78 RBIs and a .770 OPS. He batted .235 over 130 games in 1989, with 38 runs, 22 doubles, seven homers, 42 RBIs and a .651 OPS. He spent the 1990 season in Japan, where he batted .313 over 122 games, with 69 runs, 24 doubles, 29 homers, 78 RBIs and a .931 OPS. He finished his career with the 1991 Oakland A’s, where he batted .209 in 74 games, with 11 runs, seven doubles, nine RBIs and .579 OPS in 157 plate appearances. He also spent a brief time with Tacoma of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League that season, where he hit .200/.325/.215 in 18 games. Law was a .256 hitter in 1,212 games over 11 big league seasons, finishing with 453 runs, 193 doubles, 71 homers and 442 RBIs. He played 700 games at third base, 391 at second base, 109 at shortstop, 58 games at first base and 14 in the outfield, split over all three spots. He even pitched seven times in the majors, giving up three earned runs in eight innings. He made three appearances during both the 1986 and 1987 seasons.
Chuck Hiller, second baseman for the 1968 Pirates. He signed with the Cleveland Indians prior to the 1957 season as a 22-year-old amateur free agent. His first year was spent playing for Cocoa of the Class-D Florida State League, where he hit .293 over 133 games, with 99 runs, 41 extra-base hits, 51 RBIs, 78 walks and an .828 OPS. He moved up to Minot of the Class-C Northern League in 1958, where he batted .281 over 120 games, with 89 runs, 43 extra-base hits, 58 RBIs, 90 walks and an .842 OPS. The San Francisco Giants selected him in the minor league draft after the 1958 season ended. Hiller played the 1959 season for Eugene of the Class-B Northern League. He hit .341 that year in 139 games, with 92 runs, 46 extra-base hits, 77 RBIs, 57 walks and a .918 OPS. He skipped a level to Double-A in 1960, playing for Rio Grande Valley in the Texas League, where he batted .334 in 144 games, with 89 runs, 47 doubles, 74 RBIs, 17 steals, 58 walks and an .848 OPS. He started and finished the 1961 season in the majors with the Giants, though he still spent most of the second half of the season with Tacoma of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. Hiller had a .324 average, 54 runs, 15 doubles, five homers, 32 RBIs and an .846 OPS in 73 games with Tacoma that year. He batted .238 in 70 games for the Giants, with 38 runs, 12 doubles, two homers, 12 RBIs, 32 walks and a .649 OPS.
Hiller was an average player during his big league career, who had one big season. He helped the 1962 Giants to the World Series by hitting .276 over 161 games, with 94 runs scored, 27 extra-base hits, 48 RBIs, 55 walks and a .675 OPS. That season was worth 2.8 WAR, while the rest of his career combined had him at -0.1 WAR. In the only postseason appearances during his career, he batted .269 in the World Series, with four runs, three doubles, a homer, five RBIs and an .845 OPS. He hit .223 during the 1963 season, with 44 runs, 18 extra-base hits, 33 RBIs and a .561 OPS in 111 games. His playing time really dropped in 1964, when he hit .180 over 80 games, with a 21 runs, ten extra-base hits, 17 RBIs and a .487 OPS. Hiller was sold to the New York Mets one month into the 1965 season. He was 1-for-7 with a homer in seven games before the trade. He batted .235 in 107 games that year, with 25 runs, 11 doubles, six homers, 21 RBIs and a .610 OPS. He spent all of 1966 in New York, seeing more time off of the bench than as a starter. He hit .280 over 108 games, with 25 runs, 12 extra-base hits, 14 RBIs and a .683 OPS. The Mets traded Hiller to the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1967 season. He combined to hit .186/.218/.227 over 102 plate appearances that year, but he did much better with the Phillies (.302 average in 31 games) than the Mets (.093 average in 25 games). He finished the year with four runs, four doubles and five RBIs.
Hiller’s stay in Pittsburgh was brief. He joined the Pirates as a Rule 5 draft pick in the winter of 1967, despite the fact that he already had seven seasons of big league experience. He batted .385/.385/.462 in 13 plate appearances over 11 games (one start), which were spread out from mid-April to early June. That ended up being his last stint in the majors. Hiller finished the 1968 season in the minors with Columbus of the Triple-A International League, where he hit .275 over 87 games, with 33 runs, 15 extra-base hits, 36 RBIs and a .696 OPS. The Pirates dropped him from the 40-man roster on October 22nd by assigning his contract to Columbus, but he decided to retire from baseball as a player. He went right to managing, spending the 1969 season at the helm of Salem in the Carolina League, which was a Class-A affiliate of the Pirates. He moved on to a job with the New York Mets in 1970, then ended up managing off and on in the minors until 1986. He left the Pirates due to a disagreement in pay, saying that he was promised a promotion/raise, but the Pirates had a policy at the time that all minor league managers under Triple-A made $10,000 a season. He left the Pirates for a Triple-A job with the Mets. He hit .243 during his eight seasons in the majors, with 253 runs, 76 doubles, 20 homers and 152 RBIs in 704 games.
Jim Russell, outfielder for the Pirates from 1942 until 1947. The Pirates acquired him via the minor league draft in 1941, then they traded him for a key piece to two of their World Series championships in 1947. Russell began his minor league career in 1938 at 19 years old, playing for two teams (Beaver Falls and Butler) in the Class-D Pennsylvania State Association. His stats are incomplete from that year, but he’s credited with a .320 average and 31 extra-base hits in 77 games. He played for Mayfield of the Class-D Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League in 1939, where he hit .333 over 115 games, with 32 doubles, nine triples and seven homers. He played 109 games total during the 1940 season, splitting his time between Youngstown of the Class-C Middle Atlantic League and St Joseph of the Class-C Michigan State League. Russell finished the year with a .267 average, 20 doubles, two triples and 17 homers. He spent most of the 1941 season with Meridian of the Class-B Southeastern League, where he had a .363 average, 52 doubles, eight triples and ten homers in 125 games. He also played 24 games that year for Memphis of the Class-A Southern Association, where he had a .383 average and 14 extra-base hits, finishing the year with 62 doubles, ten triples and 12 homers.
The Pirates selected Russell in the October 1941 minor league draft. He spent most of the 1942 season with Toronto of the Double-A International League (highest level of the minors at the time), where he hit .295 over 99 games, with 54 runs, 23 extra-base hits, 40 RBIs and a .790 OPS. He played five games with the Pirates that season after joining the club in September. Despite going 1-for-14 at the plate during his first big league trial, he was a regular for the next five seasons. He hit .259 during the 1943 season, with 79 runs, 34 extra-base hits, 44 RBIs, 77 walks and a .712 OPS in 146 games. He spent most of his time on defense in left field. He received mild MVP support in 1944 (finished 29th in the voting), when he set career highs with a .312 average, 109 runs scored, 34 doubles, 14 triples, 79 walks and an .859 OPS. He also had eight homers and 66 RBIs in 152 games. He hit .284 during the 1945 season, with 88 runs, 24 doubles, 71 walks and career highs of 12 homers and 77 RBIs. He finished that year with an .810 OPS in 146 games. Russell batted .277 for the 1946 Pirates, with 68 runs, 29 doubles, six triples, eight homers, 50 RBIs, 67 walks and a .765 OPS in 146 games. He hit .253 during his last year for the Pirates, with 68 runs, 39 extra-base hits, 51 RBIs, 63 walks and a .723 OPS in 128 games.
Russell was part of the five-player deal with the Boston Braves that brought Danny Murtaugh (the player) back to Pittsburgh after the 1947 season. Russell hit .277 during his six years in Pittsburgh, with 414 runs, 127 doubles, 47 triples, 40 homers, 288 RBIs and 358 walks in 723 games. He hit .264 over 89 games during his first year in Boston, with 44 runs, 18 doubles, nine homers, 54 RBIs and a .771 OPS. He played 130 games in 1949, the only time he broke the century mark in games while outside of Pittsburgh. He hit .231 that year, with 57 runs, 22 doubles, eight homers, 54 RBIs, 64 walks and a .684 OPS. He was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers on Christmas Eve in 1949. Russell hit .229 during the 1950 season, with 37 runs, eight doubles, ten homers, 32 RBIs, 31 walks and a .755 OPS in 77 games. He was in the minors for most of 1951, putting up a .286 average, 55 runs, 25 doubles, nine homers, 67 RBIs, 78 walks and an .880 OPS in 110 games for Montreal of the Triple-A International League. He then served as a bench player late in the year for the Dodgers, getting just one start one start. He went 0-for-13 with four walks in 16 games. Russell played a total of ten seasons in the majors, hitting .267 in 1,035 games, with 554 runs, 175 doubles, 51 triples, 67 homers and 428 RBIs. Despite having just 59 stolen bases in his big league career, he led the National League in caught stealing three times with the Pirates. After his final big league game, he spent another two years in the minors with Portland of the Pacific Coast League before retiring. He had a .252 average, 66 runs, 21 doubles, seven homers, 43 RBIs and .710 OPS over 142 games in 1952. That was followed by a .262 average, 61 runs, 21 doubles, six homers, 37 RBIs and a .709 OPS over 142 games in 1953. Russell was featured here in an Obscure Pittsburgh Pirates article that covers his career in detail.
Carmen Hill, pitcher for the Pirates for parts of eight years from 1915 until 1929. He pitched a total of 26 games during his first five seasons with the Pirates. He then broke out for 22 wins during the 1927 season, helping the Pirates to the World Series. That was followed up by a 16-win season in 1928. He won a total of 11 games over his other eight seasons in the majors. He is known for being one of two players to wear glasses during his early time in the majors. He debuted in pro ball at 18 years old in 1914, where he is credited with six games for Warren of the Class-D Interstate League. The Pirates purchased his contract on March 3, 1915. They had him report to Spring Training, where he made a great impression, though he was still sent to the minors on April 3rd. It was said during Spring Training that Hill possessed a very deceptive curveball, along with good velocity on his fastball and a solid changeup. He moved up to Youngstown of the Class-B Central League, where he had a 19-12, 2.29 record and a 1.15 WHIP in 291 innings during the 1915 season. He was going to remain with that team until the end of the season, but the Pirates were desperate for pitching at the time, so they recalled him on August 20th. Hill debuted in the majors four days later at 19 years old, making three starts and five relief appearances for the 1915 Pirates. It was an outstanding first look, as he posted a 1.15 ERA, 24 strikeouts and a 1.17 WHIP in 47 innings. Despite the success, it didn’t guarantee him anything for the following season.
Hill pitched twice in relief for the Pirates early during the 1916 season, allowing ten runs in 6.1 innings. He then spent the rest of the year in the minors, where he had a 14-16, 1.92 record and a 1.26 WHIP in 258 innings for Rochester of the Double-A International League (highest level of the minors at the time). He was sold to Rochester on May 20th, though the Pirates still held an option on him. The Pirates released Hill outright to Birmingham of the Class-A Southern Association on January 1917, as partial payment for Hall of Fame pitcher Burleigh Grimes. Hill spent the entire 1917 season with Birmingham, where he posted a 26-12, 2.19 record and a 1.06 WHIP in 320 innings. He was reacquired by the Pirates on August 15, 1917, though he was allowed to stay in Birmingham until the end of the season. He reported to Pittsburgh with 17 games left on the schedule, but didn’t appear in any games before the year ended. Hill went to Spring Training with the Pirates in 1918, where a back injury sidelined him for a month. He ended up being sent back to Birmingham on April 5th. He stayed there for two months, going 7-9 in 130 innings, with 39 strikeouts and a 1.25 WHIP. He finished his 1918 minor league season with Kansas City of the Double-A American Association, where he had a 3-1 record over five appearances. He rejoined the Pirates on July 27, 1918 for the last two months of the war-shortened 1918 season. He posted a 1.24 ERA and an 0.94 WHIP in 43.2 innings. Despite the success, he was used sparingly as a reliever in 1919. Hill got into four games total for the Pirates between May and early July, giving up six runs and 12 hits in five innings. He spent the rest of the year at Indianapolis of the American Association, where he had a 14-9, 2.92 record and a 1.32 WHIP in 182 innings.
Hill played in an outlaw league in 1920, then served a one-year suspension (the entire 1921 season) before he was allowed back into pro ball. He had a 15-12, 3.26 record and a 1.33 WHIP in 210 innings with Indianapolis during the 1922 season. The New York Giants purchased his contract from Indianapolis in late August of 1922. He pitched 28.1 big league innings that season, posting a 4.67 ERA, a 1.34 WHIP and a 5:6 BB/SO ratio. That was followed by four seasons back in Indianapolis, before rejoining the Pirates. Hill won a total of 81 minor league games during the 1922-26 seasons. Despite that impressive win total, he had a rough 1923 season that helps explain his absence from the majors during that stretch. He had a 12-21, 4.93 record and a 1.53 WHIP in 263 innings during the 1923 season. He had a 17-14, 3.97 record and a 1.37 WHIP over 213 innings in 1924. That was followed in 1925 by a 16-15, 3.91 record and a 1.19 WHIP over 251 innings. Before joining the 1926 Pirates, Hill had a 21-7, 3.24 record and a 1.26 WHIP in 264 innings for Indianapolis during the 1926 season. The Pirates paid $40,000, plus added two players to be named later, to acquire Hill on August 31, 1926. He made six starts for the 1926 Pirates, going 3-3, 3.40 in 39.2 innings, with a 1.29 WHIP and a 9:8 BB/SO ratio. He had his first full-time big league job in 1927, when he responded in a big way during that opportunity.
Hill went 22-11, 3.24 in 277.2 innings in 1927, finishing seven in the league with his career high 95 strikeouts. He made 31 starts and 12 relief appearances, while winding up the year with a 1.22 WHIP, 22 complete games, two shutouts and three saves (not an official stat at the time). He received mild MVP support, finishing 23rd in the voting. Hill started game four of the 1927 World Series against the all-time great New York Yankees club. He left after six innings with a 3-3 tie, in what ended up as his only postseason game of his career. Hill had a strong 1928 season as well, going 16-10, 3.53 in 237 innings, with 73 strikeouts and a 1.31 WHIP over 31 starts and 16 complete games. His effectiveness quickly dropped off in 1929, when the Pirates lost him on waivers in August to the St Louis Cardinals. He had a 4.41 ERA, a 1.68 WHIP and a 43:29 BB/SO ratio in 87.2 innings over 30 games (four starts) that season. Most of that time came with the Pirates, where he had a 3.99 ERA in 79 innings. Hill played his final games in the majors during the early part of the 1930 season, pitching 14.2 innings over the first month with the Cardinals. He allowed 12 runs on 12 hits and 13 walks during that time. He then finished his pro career two years later in the minors. He had a rough go to finish out the 1930 season, putting up a 6.05 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP in 128 innings for Minneapolis of the American Association. He rejoined Rochester of the International League in 1931, 15 years after first playing there. He had an 18-12, 3.03 record and a 1.15 WHIP over 220 innings in 1931. He split his final season of pro ball between Minneapolis and Columbus of the American Association, posting a combined 12-13 record in 183 innings. He won 190 games in the minors, not including his outlaw league stats. His final big league stats show a 49-33, 3.44 record in 787 innings over 85 starts and 62 relief appearances, with 264 strikeouts, a 1.32 WHIP, 47 complete games, five shutouts and eight saves.
Bobby Cargo, shortstop for the 1892 Pirates. His minor league records are spotty before his brief big league time. They show that he played two games in 1887 at 18 years old for Steubenville of the Ohio State League. His next minor league game was just that, one game for Easton of the Eastern Interstate League in 1890. He pitched against the 23-113 1890 Alleghenys in a postseason exhibition game on October 15, 1890 and lost 16-2. He played for the East End Gym team in Pittsburgh in 1891, which was a great amateur/semi-pro team at the time, with many future/former MLB players seeing time with the team over the years. Cargo joined the Pirates in October of 1892, after playing for the Wilkes-Barre/Pittsburgh team of the Pennsylvania State League. He also spent part of that year with Missoula of the Montana State League. His only records show a .333 average, one double and two triples in 87 at-bats during his time with Wilkes-Barre/Pittsburgh. Before Cargo’s first big league game, Pirates manager Al Buckenberger said that he had received numerous requests and recommendations to give Cargo a tryout, so he did just that. The Pirates were short-handed with starting shortstop Frank Shugart being suspended at the end of the season, after asking for some time off.
Cargo played just two games with the Pirates, and he showed some rookie jitters during his second game. His debut on October 6th was in the second game of a doubleheader that was called after seven innings due to darkness. Cargo only got to play at the end of that game because Duke Farrell suffered a hip injury in the sixth inning. Cargo went in to play shortstop, while shortstop Doggie Miller moved over to cover third base. Cargo had one chance in the field and didn’t get to bat. Farrell started the next day, but the injury he suffered the previous day forced him out of the game in the second inning. Cargo replaced him in the batting order, once again going to shortstop while Miller slid over to third base. Cargo went 1-for-4 at the plate with a single, while making a total of four errors in ten chances (one source says five errors in 11 chances). He’s currently credited with 12 innings in the field, but all records from the day show that he played nine innings on defense total. In fact, those nine innings that Cargo played were the only nine innings all season that Duke Farrell didn’t play. It was announced on October 17, 1892 that Cargo signed an 1893 contract with the Pirates, but then he was released during Spring Training on April 11, 1893, just 16 days before Opening Day. He was reportedly set to receive $175 per month salary for the season. The same day that he was signed to an 1893 deal, the Pirates played an exhibition game against a picked nine of current/former big league player in a benefit for Pud Galvin, who was retiring from baseball that season. Cargo played shortstop for the Pirates that day, where he had three hits and no errors, while doing his batting against former Pittsburgh pitching great Ed Morris.
The ironic part about Cargo’s fielding woes in the majors was that he was known for his strong glove. Despite being just 23 years old, the Pittsburgh, PA. native never played in the majors again. Outside of his minor league play, he was well-known in Pittsburgh for his play with local amateur/semi-pro teams. He lasted until 1903 in the minors. He was scheduled to play in Atlanta for the 1904 season, but he contracted pneumonia shortly before Opening Day, then passed away at the age of thirty-five. Until recent research solved the mystery, his actual birthday was unknown. He now has an October 1, 1868 birthday listed.
Cargo played for three teams in 1893, seeing time with Buffalo of the Eastern League, plus Altoona and Johnstown in the Pennsylvania State League. He had a combined .331 average in 74 games, with 74 runs, 25 doubles, seven triples and five homers. He has no pro records from 1894, when he played with Oil City of the independent Iron and Oil League. He came back in 1895 with Carbondale and Lancaster of the Pennsylvania State League, which was a Class-B league that season. The limited available stats show that he hit .299 that year, with 53 runs in 68 games. Cargo played for five teams in 1896, not staying anywhere for more than 39 games. He saw time back in Carbondale and Pottsville in the Pennsylvania State League, as well as Newark and Wilmington of the Class-A Atlantic League (highest level of the minors at the time) and Millville in the Class-D New Jersey League. He’s credited with a .315 average over 72 games (doesn’t include his Millville time), with 64 runs, 17 doubles, eight triples, seven homers and six steals. He only played for two teams in 1897, getting into 42 games with Newark, while also playing for Canandaigua of the Class-C New York State League (no stats available). He hit .256 for Newark that year, with 26 runs, 14 extra-base hits and 11 steals. The next three seasons have no stats available. He played with Canandaigua in 1898, then New Castle of the Class-B Interstate League in 1899-1900. He was back at the highest level in 1901, when he put up a .250 average and 33 extra-base hits in 138 games for Toledo of the Western Association. Cargo’s last two seasons were spent with Nashville of the Class-A Southern Association, where he had a .285 average and 27 extra-base hits over 102 games in 1902. He finished up with a .256 average over 114 games in 1903.
