In 1956, the Pirates were coming off seven consecutive losing seasons. Dale Long was their 30 year-old left-handed first baseman. For a stretch of 10 days, the longtime minor-leaguer became a major baseball story.
Long had gotten off to a good start that season. He was the Pirates' cleanup hitter and entered May 19 with a slash line of .384/.438/.657. On the 19th, the Pirates took a 5-2 lead into the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Forbes Field. With two out, Roberto Clemente punched a single to left off southpaw Jim Davis. Long took a ball, then hit the next pitch into the right field upper deck. The Bucs won, 7-3.
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