June 11, 1950: Five-run Phillies’ eighth spoils Vern Law’s major-league debut for Pirates

Plummeting through a disastrous homestand in 1950, the onset of an eight-season purgatory in the lowest rungs of the National League standings, the Pittsburgh Pirates called up Vern Law from their Double-A affiliate in New Orleans. In Law’s first big-league start, on June 11 at Forbes Field, the 20-year-old right-hander outlasted Philadelphia Phillies ace Robin Roberts and took a two-run lead into the eighth inning, but the pennant-bound Phillies turned walks, hole-finding hits, and backup second baseman Jimmy Bloodworth’s bases-loaded double into a five-run rally that defeated Law and the Pirates, 7-6.

Contenders until September in 1948, pesky late-season spoilers in 1949, the 1950 Pirates were a game over .500 and six outs from a second straight shutout in Philadelphia on May 24. But a six-run eighth inning overturned that lead,1 triggering a nine-game slide that curdled into 14 defeats in 15 games. Most of the losing happened during a 17-game homestand, which included sweeps by the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York Giants and dropped Pittsburgh from fifth place to seventh.

Among the Pirates whose stars had faded were pitcher Bob Chesnes, the staff’s leader in wins as a 27-year-old rookie in 1948 but hindered by elbow and shoulder problems afterward.2 Chesnes had a 3-3 record and a 4.97 ERA in 1950 when Pittsburgh sent him to New Orleans on June 4 and promoted Law.3

In his third season as a professional, Law was 6-4 with a 2.67 ERA in 12 Southern Association starts. The Idaho native – signed, reportedly, following future United States Senator Herman Welker’s scouting tip for Pirates co-owner Bing Crosby4 – was scheduled to debut on June 10, in the first game of a homestand-concluding two-game weekend series with the Phillies. But a morning downpour postponed the game, pushing Law’s start to the opener of a Sunday doubleheader.5

The game-day Pittsburgh Press highlighted Law’s background and faith, identifying him as the “only Mormon in the big leagues,” summarizing his teenage path to eldership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and observing that he “doesn’t particularly like Sunday baseball.”6

“But it’s my job now and I’ll certainly do the best I can,” Law said.7

The Phillies – by then commonly known as the Whiz Kids, a nickname coined by sportswriter Harry Grayson two seasons earlier8 – were tied with the Brooklyn Dodgers for second place, one game behind the Cardinals. Leadoff hitter Richie Ashburn greeted Law with a single, but Pirates second baseman Danny Murtaugh, a former Phil, turned Eddie Waitkus’s grounder into a double play, and the top of the first went scoreless.

Roberts entered with a 7-2 record and a 3.16 ERA, bound for the Phillies’ first 20-win season since Pete Alexander won 30 in 1917. Even his lesser efforts – like a 5-run, 13-hit complete-game win over the Cardinals six days earlier – were praised in print as demonstrations of “cool, calm courage seldom equaled by a 23-year-old lad, twirling his second full year in the majors.”9 He had faced the Pirates in his own big-league debut, nearly two years to the day earlier.10

Shortstop Stan Rojek, another bright light of the ’48 Pirates who had struggled since, began the day with a .200 batting average. His low liner in the first inning went past center fielder Ashburn for a leadoff triple.11 One out later, right fielder Gus Bell, batting .333 in his first 11 major-league games after getting promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on May 29,12 singled for a 1-0 Pittsburgh lead.

Law kept the Pirates ahead with two perfect innings. He struck out the side – Andy Seminick, Bloodworth, and Roberts – on 12 pitches in the third,13 charming the 33,217 in attendance.

“The tall Mormon boy had the crowd screaming wildly,” the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph noted.14

Ashburn led off the Phillies’ fourth with a grounder down the first-base line. It took a bad hop off first baseman Johnny Hopp’s chest; Ashburn was safe on the error.15 Law retired Waitkus and Willie Jones before Del Ennis pulled a curveball, just fair, high over the “Greenberg Gardens” wire fence in left field.16 The Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph suggested Ennis’ drive would have been a fly out before Greenberg Gardens chopped 30 feet from left field’s home-run distance in 1947, but his 10th homer of the season gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead.17

Roberts allowed a baserunner in the fourth, then another in the fifth, but nothing came of them. In the sixth, Hopp led off with a walk, and Bell blooped a single into center.18 Pittsburgh’s Ralph Kiner, seeking his fifth straight home-run crown, connected with Roberts’ first pitch and hit it over the Greenberg Gardens fence and off the scoreboard in left for his 12th homer of the season.19 The Pirates led, 4-2.

Once again with the lead, Law recorded two quick outs to begin the seventh, but Seminick’s walk and Bloodworth’s single put two Phillies on base. The pitcher’s spot was due, and manager Eddie Sawyer sent Mike Goliat to hit for Roberts. Law retired Goliat on a comebacker for the third out, preserving the two-run advantage.

Law returned to face the top of the order in the eighth. Ashburn flied out, but Waitkus pulled a double off the screen in right. Jones’s hard grounder to the left side went between shortstop and third to put Phillies on the corners. 20

Jammed by Law’s pitch, Ennis lofted what the Philadelphia Inquirer called “an easy fly to right.”21 It fell into the outfield grass, untouched, between Murtaugh, Hopp, and Bell. Waitkus scored, Jones took third, and Ennis was in with a double. “[O]ne of the luckiest and most devastating hits this season has produced,” remarked the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph.22

Dick Whitman ran for Ennis, and after Law’s first three pitches to Dick Sisler missed the strike zone, Pittsburgh manager Billy Meyer called for an intentional walk.23 Granny Hamner’s fly to center scored Jones with the tying run.

There were two outs, but Seminick walked to load the bases for Bloodworth. The 32-year-old Bloodworth, a Pirate in 1947, had started five games in a row to give regular second baseman Goliat a rest.24 He had doubled on Opening Day – as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, who sold him to the Phillies on May 10 – but 60 plate appearances had come and gone without an extra-base hit since then.25

On a 1-and-1 count, Law threw a high fastball, and Bloodworth ripped it off the fence in left-center.26 Whitman, Sisler, and Seminick scored on the double, and the Phillies had a 7-4 lead.

Sawyer had brought in Jim Konstanty in the seventh, and the Phillies’ fireman set down all six Pirates he faced in the next two innings without a ball leaving the infield. Trying to complete three innings of relief for the first time since going for five against the Giants on May 28, Konstanty faced trouble in the ninth. Wally Westlake singled off shortstop Jones’s glove, and Murtaugh’s one-out double off the right-field wall moved Westlake to third and brought the potential tying run to the plate.27

Meyer went to his bench, pinch-hitting Pete Castiglione for Clyde McCullough. Castiglione’s single scored Westlake. Pitcher Vic Lombardi ran for Castiglione, and Jack Phillips hit for Law. Phillips grounded into a force at second, and Murtaugh scored Pittsburgh’s sixth run. But Earl Turner – batting for Rojek as Meyer’s third straight pinch-hitter – grounded hard to third, and Jones turned it into a game-ending force.28 Konstanty, whose bullpen work in 1950 netted NL MVP honors, escaped with his fifth win of the season.

The Pirates completed the homestand with a 3-14 record, even after winning the nightcap on Kiner’s 12th-inning home run. Still, initial impressions of Law were glowing.

“Rookie Vernon Law exhibited the poise and skill of a tried and true major-leaguer, in his first big-league game, despite the setback,” the Pittsburgh Press observed.29

“I’ve caught a lot of young pitchers breaking in during my time, but Vernon Law is one of the best,” catcher McCullough said. “He has a great curve and a fastball that sails. He knows what he’s doing, too.”30

On July 7, in his fifth start, Law beat the Cardinals, 9-1, for his first major-league victory.31 By then, however, the Pirates had fallen into eighth place for good. Law finished his rookie season with a 7-9 record and a 4.92 ERA; Pittsburgh’s 57-96-1 mark, 33½ games behind the pennant-winning Phillies, was its worst since 1917. From 1950 through 1957, the Pirates came in eighth five times and seventh three times, with a majors-low .369 winning percentage.

Law spent 1952 and 1953 in the US Army, then had a long tenure in Pittsburgh’s rotation. In 1960, when he was the only player remaining from the 1950 Pirates and former teammate Murtaugh was his manager, Law won the major-league Cy Young Award; his 20-9 record and league-best 18 complete games were instrumental in the Pirates’ first World Series championship in 35 years. Law’s 162 wins in his 16-season career, spent entirely with Pittsburgh, ranked sixth in franchise history as of 2025.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Ray Danner and copy-edited by Len Levin. SABR member Kurt Blumenau provided insightful comments on an earlier draft of this article.

Photo credit: Vern Law, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT195006111.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1950/B06111PIT1950.htm

Notes

1 “They needed only six putouts for a victory that would have put them in the National League pennant fight,” lamented the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. “However, they made mistakes that brought the roof down on their heads.” Charles J. Doyle, “Pirates’ Morale Like the Stock Market: Phillies Benefit by Late Mistakes,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, May 25, 1950: 45.

2 Jack Hernon, “A Changed Chesnes Says He’ll Make Good or Else Quit Baseball: Pirate Pitcher Wants to Get in Series So He Can Have Father as Guest; Shoulder Ailment Absent This Spring,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 25, 1950: 10.

3 Jack Hernon, “Chesnes Sent to Minors as Bucs Bring up Rookie: New Orleans Gets Hurler, Sends Star,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 4, 1950: 1.

4 Les Biederman, “The Scoreboard,” Pittsburgh Press, April 25, 1954: 4,1. Welker represented Idaho in the Senate from 1951 through 1957,

5 Charles J. Doyle, “Rain Washes Out Pirates-Phils Game: Vern Law’s Hill Debut Delayed,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, June 10, 1950: 9.

6 Law became an LDS elder when he was ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood at age 19. Les Biederman, “Law and Macdonald Face Phils Today: Vernon, 20-Year-Old Pitcher, Holds Mormon Church Eldership,” Pittsburgh Press, June 11, 1950: 61.

7 Biederman, “Law and Macdonald Face Phils Today.”

8 Harry Grayson (Newspaper Enterprise Association), “Whiz Kids Take Chapman off Spot, Spark Phillies: Hamner Ready to Step in at Second, Short,” Amarillo (Texas) Globe, June 14, 1948: 12.

9 Stan Baumgartner, “Phils Down Cards, 6-5, as Roberts Wins 7th: Phila. Takes 2d, Half Game off Pace; Both Clubs Get 2 in 9th; Ennis Homers,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 6, 1950: 39.

10 On June 18, 1948, Roberts pitched eight innings in a 2-0 loss to the Pirates at Shibe Park. Charles J. Doyle, “Riddle Blanks Phils for 8th Win, 2-0,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, June 19, 1948: 10.

11 Stan Baumgartner, “Bucs Victors, 5-4, in 12 After 7-6 Opener Loss: Homer by Kiner Decides Finale,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 12, 1950: 24.

12 Jack Hernon, “Bucs Hope to Ring Bell from Here in: Rookie Gus up from Indianapolis,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 30, 1950: 24.

13 Les Biederman, “The Scoreboard,” Pittsburgh Press, June 12, 1950: 24.

14 Charles J. Doyle, “Pirates, Indians in Charity Exhibition: Kiner’s Clout Gains Split with Phils,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, June 12, 1950: 18.

15 Jimmy Jordan, “Law Refuses to Alibi, Hopes to Win Next One: Slugger Del Ennis, Ump Babe Pinelli Have Praise for Buc Rookie Hurler,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 12, 1950: 21: Jack Hernon, “Kiner’s 13th Brings Bucs Good Luck: Win in 12th by 5-4 After 7-6 Defeat,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 12, 1950: 18.

16 Jordan, “Law Refuses to Alibi, Hopes to Win Next One”; Charles J. “Chilly” Doyle, “Chillysauce,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, June 12, 1950: 19.

17 Harry Keck, “Sports: Pirate Dreams Come True in Opener Friday,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, April 13, 1947: 2,5; Doyle, “Chillysauce.”

18 Baumgartner, “Bucs Victors, 5-4, in 12 After 7-6 Opener Loss.”

19 Baumgartner, “Bucs Victors, 5-4, in 12 After 7-6 Opener Loss”; Hernon, “Kiner’s 13th Brings Bucs Good Luck.”

20 Hernon, “Kiner’s 13th Brings Bucs Good Luck”; Baumgartner, “Bucs Victors, 5-4, in 12 After 7-6 Opener Loss.”

21 Hernon, “Kiner’s 13th Brings Bucs Good Luck”; Baumgartner, “Bucs Victors, 5-4, in 12 After 7-6 Opener Loss.”

22 Doyle, “Pirates, Indians in Charity Exhibition.”

23 Hernon, “Kiner’s 13th Brings Bucs Good Luck.”

24 Stan Baumgartner, “Phillies Buy Bloodworth from Reds; Rain Halts Game,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 11, 1950: 34; Baumgartner, “Phils Down Cards, 6-5, as Roberts Wins 7th.” In July, the Philadelphia Inquirer summarized the Phillies’ second-base situation: “Neither Mike Goliat nor Jimmy Bloodworth have shown power at bat. … Bloodworth does not possess the speed or stamina to play regularly.” Hank Littlehales, “Phils Lead by ½ Game as Cards Lose Twice: Brooks Rout Birds; Braves Tie for 2d; Yanks Win; Red Sox, Indians Split,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 18, 1950: 29.

25 Baumgartner, “Phillies Buy Bloodworth from Reds; Rain Halts Game.”

26 Baumgartner, “Bucs Victors, 5-4, in 12 After 7-6 Opener Loss.”

27 Hernon, “Kiner’s 13th Brings Bucs Good Luck.”

28 Baumgartner, “Bucs Victors, 5-4, in 12 After 7-6 Opener Loss.”

29 Les Biederman, “Pirates Break Even with Phils and That’s Good,” Pittsburgh Press, June 12, 1950: 24.

30 Biederman, “The Scoreboard.”

31 “The new hero in Pittsburgh baseball today – rookie Vernon Law – could go on to be one of the greatest Pirate pitchers in a quarter of a century,” the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph remarked after Law’s first big-league win. Charles J. Doyle, “Cards, Fans Reeling from Pirate Punch: Vern Law Cops in Big Upset,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, July 8, 1950: 9