On September 14, 1957, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs split a double-header at Wrigley Field. Jim Brosnan (the author) lost the first game for the Cubs, but came back to win the second. For the Bucs, both decisions went to “O’Brien.” Eddie O’Brien pitched a complete game to win the opener. His brother Johnny O’Brien lost the second game in relief.
The O’Briens were twins, the first (I believe) to play together on the same major league team. But neither was really a pitcher. Instead, they were 5’9″ infielders. Eddie pitched five times in his career (out of 232 games) and this was his only start and his only win. Johnny pitched 25 times (out of 339 total games) and had a career record of 1-3.
The O’Briens were basketball stars at the University of Seattle, and had led that team to a victory over the Harlem Globetrotters, then a legitimate basketball power. I understand that Bing Crosby, who followed University of Seattle basketball, got them their try-outs with the Pirates, in whom he owned an interest.
Johnny O’Brien later went into Seattle politics, serving as a King County Commissioner.
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