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In the collection is this 3×5 index card signed by one of the greatest Pirates pitchers of all time, Charles “Babe” Adams. The franchise leader in shutouts, Adams also shares the team mark for wins by a right-handed pitcher.

Since 1900 only Deacon Phillippe has allowed fewer walks per nine innings. To put that into perspective, Greg Maddux one of the most proficient strike throwers of the modern era would have to pitch another 217 consecutive nine-inning games without a walk to lower his lifetime walks per nine innings to Adams’ level.

Babe was also a two-time World Series champion. In post season play he posted a spotless 3-0 record with a 1.33 earned run average. Many believe Adams belongs in the Cooperstown conversation.

Perhaps if Adams had reached the 200-win plateau, he’d have a plaque in the Hall of Fame. His career ended just six wins shy of the mark. Overall Adams went 194-140 with a 2.76 earned run average.

A solid hitter for a pitcher, Adams finished with a .212 lifetime batting average, with three homers and 79 runs batted in. Defensively his .976 fielding percentage was 24 points higher than the league average for pitchers when he played.

Adams’ final game came on August 11, 1926. Two days after that contest, Babe was released, caught in the middle of team friction between manager Bill McKechnie and former Pittsburgh skipper Fred Clarke.

A group of players requested that Clarke, then the team Vice President, not be allowed to sit on the team bench after he openly criticized McKechnie. Adams joined in the chorus in backing their current manager and was released, never to pitch in the big leagues again.