1947 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1947 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 66th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 61st in the National League. The Pirates finished tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for eighth and last in the league standings with a record of 62–92.

1947 Pittsburgh Pirates
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Location
Forbes Field (since 1909) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] (since 1907)
Other information
Owner(s)	Frank E. McKinney, John W. Galbreath, Bing Crosby, Thomas P. Johnson
General manager(s)	Roy Hamey
Manager(s)	Billy Herman, Bill Burwell
Local radio	WWSW Rosey Rowswell, Jack Craddock
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Offseason

• October 2, 1946: Steve Nagy was purchased by the Pirates from the Brooklyn Dodgers.[2]
• Prior to 1947 season (exact date unknown)
  • Joe Muir was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.[3]
  • Tod Davis was returned by the Pirates to the Hollywood Stars after the expiration of their minor league working agreement.[4]

Regular season

• June 24: Against the Pirates, Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers stole home plate for the first time in his career.[5] The Pirates catcher was Dixie Howell.

Season standings

National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Brooklyn Dodgers	94	60	0.610	—	52–25	42–35
St. Louis Cardinals	89	65	0.578	5	46–31	43–34
Boston Braves	86	68	0.558	8	50–27	36–41
New York Giants	81	73	0.526	13	45–31	36–42
Cincinnati Reds	73	81	0.474	21	42–35	31–46
Chicago Cubs	69	85	0.448	25	36–43	33–42
Philadelphia Phillies	62	92	0.403	32	38–38	24–54
Pittsburgh Pirates	62	92	0.403	32	32–45	30–47

Record vs. opponents

1947 National League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	12–10	13–9	13–9	13–9	14–8	12–10	9–13
Brooklyn	10–12	—	15–7	15–7	14–8	14–8	15–7	11–11–1
Chicago	9–13	7–15	—	12–10	7–15	16–6–1	8–14	10–12
Cincinnati	9–13	7–15	10–12	—	13–9	13–9	13–9	8–14
New York	9–13	8–14	15–7	9–13	—	12–10	15–7–1	13–9
Philadelphia	8–14	8–14	6–16–1	9–13	10–12	—	13–9	8–14
Pittsburgh	10–12	7–15	14–8	9–13	7–15–1	9–13	—	6–16–1
St. Louis	13–9	11–11–1	12–10	14–8	9–13	14–8	16–6–1	—

Game log

1947 Game Log: 62–92 (Home: 32–45; Away: 30–47)
April: 8–5 (Home: 3–2; Away: 5–3) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 15 @ Cubs 1–0 Sewell (1–0) Borowy — 29,427 1–0 2 April 17 @ Cubs 7–1 Roe (1–0) Wyse — 9,749 2–0 3 April 18 Reds 12–11 Ostermueller (1–0) Beggs Bonham (1) 38,216 3–0 4 April 19 Reds 6–1 Strincevich (1–0) Lively — 21,891 4–0 5 April 20 Reds 5–13 Blackwell Bahr (0–1) — 4–1 6 April 20 Reds 7–3 (6) Sewell (2–0) Erautt — 40,784 5–1 7 April 23 @ Cardinals 8–5 Bahr (1–1) Burkhart — 6,832 6–1 8 April 24 Cubs 5–6 Borowy Roe (1–1) Kush 6,889 6–2 9 April 26 @ Reds 2–3 Gumbert Nagy (0–1) — 11,316 6–3 10 April 27 @ Reds 1–6 Walters Sewell (2–1) — 6–4 11 April 27 @ Reds 1–2 (12) Hetki Ostermueller (1–1) — 36,961 6–5 12 April 29 @ Phillies 6–2 Bahr (2–1) Raffensberger — 7,386 7–5 13 April 30 @ Phillies 11–4 Bonham (1–0) Hughes — 6,576 8–5
May: 9–12 (Home: 7–4; Away: 2–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 14 May 6 @ Braves 0–6 Sain Higbe (0–1) — 29,631 8–6 15 May 7 @ Braves 2–3 Karl Behrman (0–1) — 11,175 8–7 16 May 8 @ Braves 5–12 Beazley Strincevich (1–1) — 4,560 8–8 17 May 10 Cardinals 3–0 Ostermueller (2–1) Dickson — 12,579 9–8 18 May 11 Cardinals 6–10 (10) Hearn Nagy (0–2) — 9–9 19 May 11 Cardinals 3–3 (7) — 29,315 9–9 20 May 15 Dodgers 7–3 Bahr (3–1) Lombardi Bonham (2) 13,471 10–9 21 May 16 Dodgers 1–3 Branca Higbe (0–2) Casey 34,184 10–10 22 May 17 Dodgers 4–0 Ostermueller (3–1) Melton — 17,673 11–10 23 May 18 Giants 7–6 Singleton (1–0) Trinkle — 12–10 24 May 18 Giants 6–11 (7) Thompson Strincevich (1–2) Ayers 32,996 12–11 25 May 20 Braves 4–3 (10) Bonham (2–0) Karl — 37,175 13–11 26 May 22 @ Cardinals 1–4 Pollet Higbe (0–3) — 14,035 13–12 27 May 23 @ Cardinals 0–2 Munger Roe (1–2) — 12,722 13–13 28 May 25 @ Cardinals 5–10 Brazle Behrman (0–2) — 13–14 29 May 25 @ Cardinals 2–1 Ostermueller (4–1) Hearn — 26,817 14–14 30 May 26 @ Reds 5–1 Higbe (1–3) Walters Herring (1) 19,967 15–14 31 May 27 @ Reds 1–6 Blackwell Bahr (3–2) — 2,974 15–15 32 May 28 Cubs 7–6 Herring (1–0) Kush — 30,339 16–15 33 May 30 Cubs 2–1 (10) Roe (2–2) Erickson — 17–15 34 May 30 Cubs 2–5 Borowy Higbe (1–4) — 37,451 17–16 35 May 31 @ Giants 9–10 Trinkle Herring (1–1) — 32,905 17–17
June: 8–21 (Home: 2–9; Away: 6–12) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 36 June 1 @ Braves 0–2 Sain Bahr (3–3) — 17–18 37 June 1 @ Braves 7–8 (10) Cooper Bagby (0–1) — 30,656 17–19 38 June 2 @ Braves 4–3 Sewell (3–1) Johnson Herring (2) 5,831 18–19 39 June 3 @ Dodgers 6–11 Barney Higbe (1–5) Casey 18–20 40 June 3 @ Dodgers 7–8 Barney Roe (2–3) — 27,244 18–21 41 June 4 @ Dodgers 4–9 Branca Singleton (1–1) — 32,287 18–22 42 June 5 @ Dodgers 0–3 Taylor Ostermueller (4–2) — 24,977 18–23 43 June 6 @ Phillies 3–4 Schmidt Herring (1–2) — 12,421 18–24 44 June 8 @ Phillies 2–5 Leonard Strincevich (1–3) — 18–25 45 June 8 @ Phillies 5–4 Bonham (3–0) Donnelly — 18,551 19–25 46 June 9 @ Giants 10–13 Jansen Herring (1–3) — 13,069 19–26 47 June 10 @ Giants 2–3 (12) Thompson Bonham (3–1) — 39,690 19–27 48 June 11 @ Giants 8–7 Ostermueller (5–2) Beggs Higbe (1) 13,222 20–27 49 June 12 Cubs 3–7 Erickson Bahr (3–4) Schmitz 32,132 20–28 50 June 13 Braves 2–6 Barrett Sewell (3–2) — 6,314 20–29 51 June 15 Braves 4–13 Spahn Strincevich (1–4) — 20–30 52 June 15 Braves 3–12 Sain Roe (2–4) — 29,062 20–31 53 June 18 Giants 5–12 Jansen Ostermueller (5–3) — 3,661 20–32 54 June 19 Giants 12–2 Higbe (2–5) Cooper — 8,779 21–32 55 June 20 Phillies 6–0 Bonham (4–1) Rowe — 27,683 22–32 56 June 21 Phillies 1–5 Leonard Bagby (0–2) — 11,144 22–33 57 June 22 Phillies 3–4 (13) Jurisich Higbe (2–6) Mauney 25,392 22–34 58 June 24 Dodgers 2–4 Branca Ostermueller (5–4) — 35,331 22–35 59 June 25 Dodgers 2–6 Taylor Higbe (2–7) — 10,313 22–36 60 June 26 @ Cubs 8–0 Bonham (5–1) Lade — 10,654 23–36 61 June 27 @ Cubs 12–8 Bagby (1–2) Lee Higbe (2) 9,725 24–36 62 June 28 @ Cubs 2–6 Meyer Roe (2–5) — 24–37 63 June 28 @ Cubs 5–6 Lade Wolff (0–1) — 37,111 24–38 64 June 29 @ Cubs 10–4 Higbe (3–7) Passeau — 27,385 25–38
July: 15–18 (Home: 8–9; Away: 7–9) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 65 July 1 Cardinals 1–2 Hearn Bonham (5–2) — 37,844 25–39 66 July 2 Reds 6–8 Gumbert Ostermueller (5–5) — 23,384 25–40 67 July 3 Reds 7–3 Bagby (2–2) Hetki — 8,610 26–40 68 July 4 @ Reds 0–8 Blackwell Roe (2–6) — 26–41 69 July 4 @ Reds 4–6 Gumbert Bahr (3–5) — 19,282 26–42 70 July 5 Cubs 3–4 Lade Sewell (3–3) — 12,340 26–43 71 July 6 Cubs 6–2 Bonham (6–2) Erickson Higbe (3) 27–43 72 July 6 Cubs 10–0 Ostermueller (6–5) Meyer — 25,776 28–43 73 July 10 @ Phillies 2–7 Leonard Bagby (2–3) — 12,044 28–44 74 July 10 @ Phillies 1–2 Hughes Higbe (3–8) — 12,044 28–45 75 July 11 @ Phillies 7–2 Bonham (7–2) Schanz — 12,670 29–45 76 July 12 @ Phillies 2–4 Rowe Sewell (3–4) Donnelly 8,035 29–46 77 July 13 @ Giants 6–3 Ostermueller (7–5) Cooper — 30–46 78 July 13 @ Giants 1–3 Jansen Roe (2–7) — 30,166 30–47 79 July 14 @ Giants 1–5 Hartung Higbe (3–9) — 8,631 30–48 80 July 15 @ Dodgers 12–4 Roe (3–7) Taylor — 31–48 81 July 15 @ Dodgers 9–3 Bagby (3–3) Hatten — 25,594 32–48 82 July 16 @ Dodgers 6–10 Behrman Bonham (7–3) Taylor 27,756 32–49 83 July 17 @ Dodgers 7–1 Queen (1–0) King — 9,133 33–49 84 July 18 @ Braves 2–1 Higbe (4–9) Voiselle — 19,628 34–49 85 July 19 @ Braves 0–2 Sain Roe (3–8) — 22,584 34–50 86 July 20 @ Braves 9–1 Ostermueller (8–5) Spahn — 15,675 35–50 87 July 21 Phillies 1–8 Leonard Wolff (0–2) — 12,631 35–51 88 July 23 Phillies 6–2 Bonham (8–3) Jurisich — 27,563 36–51 89 July 24 Phillies 8–6 Sewell (4–4) Schmidt — 12,631 37–51 90 July 24 Phillies 3–2 Higbe (5–9) Rowe Roe (1) 15,433 38–51 91 July 25 Dodgers 1–4 Taylor Queen (1–1) — 42,014 38–52 92 July 26 Dodgers 4–6 Casey Strincevich (1–5) — 17,606 38–53 93 July 27 Dodgers 4–8 Behrman Ostermueller (8–6) Casey 38–54 94 July 27 Dodgers 4–11 (7) Gregg Higbe (5–10) — 42,716 38–55 95 July 29 Braves 6–5 Bonham (9–3) Voiselle — 20,186 39–55 96 July 30 Braves 5–3 Higbe (6–10) Barrett — 12,672 40–55 97 July 30 Braves 5–8 Wright Roe (3–9) Karl 12,672 40–56
August: 14–18 (Home: 5–6; Away: 9–12) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 98 August 1 Giants 1–2 Koslo Queen (1–2) — 28,855 40–57 99 August 2 Giants 2–10 Jansen Wolff (0–3) — 40–58 100 August 2 Giants 5–4 Ostermueller (9–6) Iott — 19,196 41–58 101 August 3 Giants 8–11 Kennedy Roe (3–10) Trinkle 41–59 102 August 3 Giants 6–6 (8) — 26,490 41–59 103 August 4 Reds 4–7 Walters Bonham (9–4) Gumbert 19,883 41–60 104 August 5 Reds 12–4 Queen (2–2) Lively Higbe (4) 6,229 42–60 105 August 6 @ Cubs 7–2 Wolff (1–3) Erickson — 9,086 43–60 106 August 7 @ Cubs 3–0 Higbe (7–10) Borowy — 7,766 44–60 107 August 8 @ Cardinals 0–6 Munger Ostermueller (9–7) — 21,872 44–61 108 August 9 @ Cardinals 5–4 Higbe (8–10) Pollet — 20,320 45–61 109 August 10 @ Cardinals 0–5 Dickson Roe (3–11) — 45–62 110 August 10 @ Cardinals 5–7 Burkhart Bonham (9–5) Dickson 25,482 45–63 111 August 11 @ Reds 3–8 Walters Wolff (1–4) — 12,832 45–64 112 August 12 @ Reds 3–2 (12) Lyons (1–0) Peterson — 5,730 46–64 113 August 13 Cubs 10–2 Queen (3–2) Erickson Bonham (3) 5,111 47–64 114 August 14 Cardinals 5–3 Ostermueller (10–7) Dickson — 19,197 48–64 115 August 15 Cardinals 4–7 Munger Bonham (9–6) Wilks 35,344 48–65 116 August 16 Cardinals 12–7 Bagby (4–3) Burkhart — 6,435 49–65 117 August 17 Cardinals 5–6 Hearn Higbe (8–11) Brazle 36,000 49–66 118 August 19 @ Braves 5–7 Lanfranconi Lyons (1–1) — 23,192 49–67 119 August 20 @ Braves 16–10 Ostermueller (11–7) Sain — 24,638 50–67 120 August 21 @ Giants 1–4 Hartung Higbe (8–12) — 20,700 50–68 121 August 22 @ Giants 7–8 Trinkle Lyons (1–2) Beggs 8,773 50–69 122 August 23 @ Giants 11–10 Bagby (5–3) Beggs Higbe (5) 51–69 123 August 23 @ Giants 4–0 Roe (4–11) Hansen — 32,211 52–69 124 August 24 @ Dodgers 1–3 Branca Bonham (9–7) Casey 33,207 52–70 125 August 25 @ Dodgers 10–11 King Higbe (8–13) Casey 52–71 126 August 26 @ Dodgers 16–3 Ostermueller (12–7) Gregg — 24,069 53–71 127 August 27 @ Phillies 3–4 Leonard Queen (3–3) — 7,537 53–72 128 August 28 @ Phillies 0–7 Rowe Singleton (1–2) — 8,202 53–73 129 August 30 @ Cubs 8–5 Bonham (10–7) Erickson Roe (2) 27,523 54–73 130 August 31 @ Cubs 3–6 Lade Strincevich (1–6) — 22,925 54–74
September: 8–18 (Home: 7–15; Away: 1–3) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 131 September 1 @ Cardinals 5–6 (10) Dickson Ostermueller (12–8) — 54–75 132 September 1 @ Cardinals 2–8 Hearn Roe (4–12) — 30,095 54–76 133 September 3 Reds 6–13 Blackwell Higbe (8–14) — 37,299 54–77 134 September 4 Reds 5–7 Gumbert Queen (3–4) — 3,682 54–78 135 September 6 Cubs 7–6 (10) Sewell (5–4) Erickson — 6,037 55–78 136 September 7 Cubs 3–4 Lade Higbe (8–15) — 11,930 55–79 137 September 8 Giants 8–10 Trinkle Bagby (5–4) — 3,936 55–80 138 September 9 Giants 1–3 Hartung Roe (4–13) — 20,008 55–81 139 September 10 Giants 2–3 Jansen Queen (3–5) — 3,557 55–82 140 September 11 Braves 4–3 (13) Higbe (9–15) Sain — 7,010 56–82 141 September 11 Braves 10–8 Singleton (2–2) Lanfranconi — 7,010 57–82 142 September 12 Braves 4–3 Sewell (6–4) Barrett — 21,012 58–82 143 September 13 Braves 1–8 Johnson Roe (4–14) — 10,721 58–83 144 September 14 Phillies 3–7 Leonard Bonham (10–8) — 58–84 145 September 14 Phillies 7–9 Rowe Queen (3–6) — 24,279 58–85 146 September 15 Phillies 12–2 Higbe (10–15) Hughes — 2,833 59–85 147 September 16 Phillies 1–2 Donnelly Queen (3–7) — 2,568 59–86 148 September 17 Dodgers 2–4 Gregg Ostermueller (12–9) Behrman 33,916 59–87 149 September 18 Dodgers 8–7 Higbe (11–15) King — 15,440 60–87 150 September 21 @ Reds 1–3 Blackwell Higbe (11–16) — 60–88 151 September 21 @ Reds 11–7 (8) Nagy (1–2) Gumbert — 15,975 61–88 152 September 23 Cardinals 4–8 Hearn Ostermueller (12–10) Wilks 10,330 61–89 153 September 24 Cardinals 1–5 Munger Roe (4–15) — 11,658 61–90 154 September 25 Cardinals 3–15 Dickson Higbe (11–17) — 7,155 61–91 155 September 25 Cardinals 1–3 Staley Nagy (1–3) — 7,155 61–92 156 September 28 Reds 7–0 Bonham (11–8) Lively — 33,704 62–92
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie Bold = Pirates team member

Notable transactions

• July 23, 1947: Frank Thomas was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.[6]
• September 23, 1947: Joe Grace was selected off waivers by the Pirates from the Washington Senators.[7]

Roster

1947 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 36 Jim Bagby 24 Ed Bahr 18 Hank Behrman 35 Tiny Bonham 25 Ken Gables 20 Ken Heintzelman 27 Art Herring 13 Kirby Higbe -- Lee Howard  2 Al Lyons 28,40 Cal McLish 19 Hugh Mulcahy 28 Steve Nagy 21 Fritz Ostermueller 23 Mel Queen 29 Preacher Roe 30 Rip Sewell 26 Elmer Singleton 22 Nick Strincevich 23 Lou Tost 32 Roger Wolff		Catchers  1 Dixie Howell 31 Roy Jarvis 10 Clyde Kluttz 1,2 Bill Salkeld 14,42 Billy Sullivan Infielders  8 Eddie Basinski 2,19 Jimmy Bloodworth  9 Pete Castiglione  6 Billy Cox  3 Elbie Fletcher  5 Hank Greenberg 16 Frankie Gustine 11 Billy Herman 19,42 Gene Mauch  7 Whitey Wietelmann		Outfielders  4 Ralph Kiner 12 Culley Rikard 17 Jim Russell 15 Wally Westlake 14 Gene Woodling Other batters 18 Al Gionfriddo		Manager 39 Bill Burwell 11 Billy Herman Coaches 39 Bill Burwell 37 Johnny McKee 38 Zack Taylor 33 Honus Wagner

Player stats

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Dixie Howell	76	214	59	.276	4	25
1B	Hank Greenberg	125	402	100	.249	25	74
2B	Jimmy Bloodworth	88	316	79	.250	7	48
3B	Frankie Gustine	156	616	183	.297	9	67
SS	Billy Cox	132	529	145	.274	15	54
OF	Ralph Kiner	152	565	177	.313	51	127
OF	Wally Westlake	112	407	111	.273	17	69
OF	Jim Russell	128	478	121	.253	8	51

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Billy Sullivan	38	55	14	.255	0	8
Billy Herman	15	47	10	.213	0	6
Al Gionfriddo	1	1	0	.000	0	0

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Mel Queen	14	74	3	7	4.01	34

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Ed Bahr	19	82.1	3	5	4.59	25
Hank Behrman	10	24.2	0	2	9.12	11
Steve Nagy	6	14	1	3	5.79	4

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Jim Bagby	37	5	4	0	4.67	23

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Indianapolis Indians	American Association	Jimmy Brown
A	Albany Senators	Eastern League	Pinky May
B	York White Roses	Interstate League	Ed Turchin
B	Selma Cloverleafs	Southeastern League	Carl Fischer and Boom-Boom Beck
C	Keokuk Pirates	Central Association	Frank Oceak
C	Uniontown Coal Barons	Middle Atlantic League	Alex Stutzke
C	Fargo-Moorhead Twins	Northern League	Bruno Haas
C	Riverside Dons	Sunset League	Norm DeWeese and Jack Rothrock
D	Rehoboth Beach Pirates	Eastern Shore League	Gordon McKinnon and Doug Peden
D	Leesburg Pirates	Florida State League	Wilbur Good, Jr.
D	Tallahassee Pirates	Georgia–Florida League	Phil Seghi
D	Bartlesville Oilers	Kansas–Oklahoma–Missouri League	Charles Marleau
D	Salisbury Pirates	North Carolina State League	Edgar Leip
D	Hornell Pirates	PONY League	Art Doll

Notes

1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. Steve Nagy at Baseball-Reference
3. Joe Muir at Baseball-Reference
4. Tod Davis at Baseball-Reference
5. Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 167, Jonathan Eig, Simon & Schuster, 2007, New York, ISBN 978-0-7432-9461-4
6. Frank Thomas at Baseball-Reference
7. Joe Grace at Baseball-Reference

References

• 1947 Pittsburgh Pirates team at Baseball-Reference
• 1947 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.