The Herd Chronicles

Happy Birthday Casey Lawrence. His 323 career strikeouts with the Herd rank first in the team’s modern era. He was the #Bisons’ Pitcher of the Year in 2022. Has pitched in the big leagues for the #BlueJays, Mariners, and Cardinals. @caseylawrence

Happy Birthday Rubén Tejada. He played in 54 games for the 2011 #Bisons. Played in 663 major-league games with the Mets, Cardinals, Giants, and Orioles. #Buffalo

Clarence Huber was born #OTD in 1895. He hit .334 with 9 HRs and 91 RBIs for the 1927 International League Champion #Bisons. #Buffalo

Happy Birthday Eric Bell. He went 13-9 with a 3.90 ERA in 28 games (24 starts) for the 1995 #Bisons.

Pumpsie Green was born #OTD in 1933. He played for #Buffalo from 1963-65. Hit .308 with 17 HRs and 67 RBIs for the 1963 #Bisons. In 1959, he was the first African American to play for the Boston Red Sox.

Happy Birthday Jon Niese. He had a 3.82 ERA in 16 starts for the 2009 #Bisons. Pitched in 211 big-league games with the Mets and Pirates. #Buffalo

Happy Birthday to five time National League All-Star and Montreal #Expos great Steve Rogers. He made four starts for the #Bisons in 1985, the final season of his career. Rogers won 153 games in a 13-year major-league career.

Frank Wills was born #OTD in 1958. He had a 3.34 ERA in 36 relief appearances for the 1987 #Bisons. Pitched in 154 big league games and was on the 1989 A.L. East Champion #BlueJays.

Happy Birthday Dwight Smith Jr. He hit .271 in 193 games for #Buffalo. He played in the majors with the #BlueJays and Orioles. #Bisons

Jake Gettman was born #OTD in 1875 in Russia. He played eight seasons with the #Bisons and led the team in batting three times. Hit .343 for the Herd in 1902. #Buffalo

Happy Birthday Je’Von Ward. He slashed .254/.322/.486 with 11 HR and a .807 OPS in 59 games for the 2026 #Bisons.

Andy Cohen was born #OTD in 1904. He hit .353 with 14 HRs and 118 RBIs for the 1927 #Bisons. Hit .294 in 101 games for the 1929 NY Giants. #Buffalo

Happy Birthday Tom Romano. He played outfield for the Herd for two seasons. Hit .264 in 79 games in 1988. Played seven games in the major leagues with the Montreal Expos. #Bisons

Sandy Griffin was born #OTD in 1858 in Fayetteville, NY. He played in five seasons with #Buffalo. Hit .349 for the 1893 #Bisons.

Happy Birthday Chris Colabello. He played in 63 career games for the Herd. Hit .337 in 23 games for #Buffalo in 2015. #Bisons #BlueJays

Happy Birthday Rafael Belliard. He hit .274 in 40 games for the 1982 #Bisons. Had a 17-year major-league career and played on the 1995 World Series Champion Atlanta Braves.

Heinie Smith was born #OTD in 1871. He spent five seasons as the #Bisons second baseman. Hit .277 for the Herd in 1906. Coached and managed in the majors, the Bisons, and at the University at #Buffalo.

Happy Birthday Junior Ortiz. He led the Eastern League with a .346 batting average, hit 12 HRs and had 78 RBIs for the 1980 #Bisons. Played in 13 major-league seasons. #Buffalo

Happy Birthday Dave Johnson. He went 15-12 with a 3.51 ERA for the 1988 #Bisons. Pitched in the majors with Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Detroit.

Happy Birthday David Riske. He appeared in 72 games with #Buffalo. Had a 0.65 ERA in 23 relief appearances for the 1999 #Bisons. Had 15 saves for the Herd in 2001.

Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Bunning was born #OTD in 1931. He went 8-5 with a 3.77 ERA for the 1955 #Bisons. He won 224 major-league games, was a nine-time All-Star, and threw a perfect game and no-hitter. Went on to be a U.S. Senator and Congressman from Kentucky.

Happy Birthday Ben Francisco. He played in four seasons with the Herd. Hit .318 for the 2007 #Bisons to win the International League batting crown. I spoke with him when he was inducted into the #Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame: www.herdchronicles.com/single-post/...

Happy Birthday Alen Hanson. He played for the 2019 #Bisons and played in 216 career major-league games with the Pirates, White Sox, Giants, and Blue Jays.

Happy Birthday Keith Osik. He played in 83 games for the 1994 #Bisons and then went on to play 456 games in a 10-year major-league career with the Pirates, Brewers, Orioles, and Nationals. #Buffalo

#OTD in 1976, former #Bisons catcher Johnny Bench hit two home runs to lead the Reds to a 7-2 win over the New York Yankees in Game Four of the World Series and complete Cincinnati’s sweep. Bench hit .533 in the four games and was named the World Series MVP.

Happy Birthday to New York Mets strategy coach Danny Barnes. He made 35 career appearances out of the #Bisons bullpen. He had a 0.35 ERA in 25 2/3 IP for the Herd in 2016. #Buffalo

Andy Marte was born #OTD in 1983. He played two seasons with the Herd. Hit .267 with 16 HRs and 60 RBIs for the 2007 #Bisons. #Chacaron

Happy Birthday to two-time American League MVP Juan González. He played in five games for the 2005 #Bisons and went 6-for-21 (.286) with an RBI. He played in 17 major league seasons, slashing .295/.343/.561 with 434 career home runs. #Buffalo

Happy Birthday J.A. Happ. He made four starts for the #Bisons in his career. He pitched in 354 games over 15 major-league seasons.

Happy Birthday José Bautista. He played in three rehab games for the 2016 #Bisons. The #BlueJays legend hit 344 home runs in 1,798 career major-league games.

Happy Birthday "Dirty Al" Gallagher. He managed the #Bisons to a 74-65 record in 1983, good for third place in the Eastern League. #Buffalo

Happy Birthday Tommy Thompson. He hit .263 with 8 HRs and 46 RBIs for the 1986 #Bisons. #Buffalo

Happy Birthday Terry Clark. He went 7-3 with a 2.85 ERA in 25 games (10 starts) for the 1997 #Bisons. #Buffalo

Connie Morgan was born #OTD in 1935. She played second base for the Indianapolis Clowns in the mid-1950s, when they were based in #Buffalo.

Happy Birthday José De La Torre. He had a 2.98 ERA in 36 relief appearances for the Herd in 2010 and a 0.89 ERA in 15 games out of the #Bisons bullpen in 2011. #Buffalo

Dan Stearns was born #OTD in 1861 in #Buffalo. He played multiple seasons with the Herd, including for the National League #Bisons in 1880, when he was just 18-years-old. Played in seven major league seasons

Happy Birthday Charlie Montoyo. He managed the #BlueJays when they played in #Buffalo in 2020 and 2021. He was also involved in a significant play in #Bisons history. I spoke to him in 2021 about his Buffalo memories: www.herdchronicles.com/single-post/...

Woody Abernathy was born #OTD in 1908. He hit .323 with 21 HRs and 74 RBIs for the 1938 #Bisons. Read more about him, and his amazing comeback after being hit in the head with a pitch, in this article by @seankirst: buffalonews.com/sports/baseb...

Happy Birthday to Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández. He played in 49 career games for the #Bisons. He also played in #Buffalo with the 2020 and 2021 #BlueJays.

Wyman Andrus was born #OTD in 1858. He hit .253 with 18 triples and 45 stolen bases for the 1889 #Bisons. #Buffalo

Happy Birthday Julian Merryweather. He didn’t allow a run in 13 trips out of the #Bisons bullpen in 2022. Also pitched in #Buffalo for the 2020 and 2021 #BlueJays. He’s pitched in 152 major-league games.

Hall of Famer Oscar Charleston was born #OTD in 1896. He played in #Buffalo for Negro League teams that barnstormed through the city. Also managed the Indianapolis Clowns in 1954 when they were based in the Queen City.

Happy Birthday Midre Cummings. He hit .292 with 11 HRs and 43 RBIs in 109 career games with the Herd. Played in 11 major-league seasons. Scored the tying run in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2001 World Series for the Diamondbacks. #Bisons

Walter Blair was born #OTD in 1883. He caught for Buffalo’s Federal League team in 1914 and 1915. Played seven seasons in the major leagues with #Buffalo and the New York Highlanders (Yankees).

Happy Birthday Sean Smith. He went 9-7 in 24 games (21 starts) for the 2007 #Bisons.

Frankie Hayes was born #OTD in 1914. He hit .293 with 12 HRs and 52 RBIs for the 1935 #Bisons. Went on to be a six-time A.L. All-Star. Holds MLB consecutive games record for a catcher, appearing in an incredible 312 straight games from 1943 to 1946.

Al Smith was born #OTD in 1907. He went 16-2 with a 3.26 ERA for the 1939 #Bisons. The lefty is best known for being the starting pitcher who helped snap Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak in 1941. #Buffalo

Pete Hill was born #OTD in 1882. The Baseball Hall of Famer starred for various Negro League teams in the early 1900s. Lived the latter part of his life in #Buffalo, playing semipro ball for Pete Hill’s Colored Stars & the Buffalo Red Caps. Read more here: sabr.org/bioproj/pers...

#OTD in 1881, future Hall of Famer Pud Galvin threw a no-hitter in the #Bisons 8-0 win over the Philadelphia Athletics in an exhibition game. #Buffalo

Will White was born #OTD in 1854. He had a 2.33 ERA in 20 starts for the 1889 #Bisons. Won 229 major-league games. Brother of Baseball Hall of Famer Deacon White. He’s the founder of #Buffalo Optical on Delaware Avenue and is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetary