Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The newsletter that takes the wildest stories from baseball history and boils them down into an email you can read in five minutes or less.

Let's dive in.

Today's story is about two guys who accidentally became the most popular cocaine dealers for the Pittsburgh Pirates and others in the early 80's.

You don't hear about this story too much these days, probably because the MLB wants to forget it ever happened.

The Pittsburgh drug trials in ‘85 shocked the world, implicating over 20 players, and suggesting that almost half the league was on the “booger sugar.”

No joke, they even made a 30-for-30 about this shit.

Let's take it back so you can understand the context here.

Dale Shiffman and Kevin Koch were best friends.

The two always had big leagues dreams, but never quite made it to the show.

In ‘79, Kevin became the Pirates mascot, and his buddy Dale, a freelance photographer and lifelong Bucs fan, was right there by his side.

That same year, the Pirates won the World Series.

Throughout the season, Koch & Shiffman had become part of the family, hanging with the players on and off the field; they even partied together.

As we know, the drug of choice in the 80's was cocaine, and it was EVERYWHERE.

Somewhere along the way, the Pittsburgh players started relying on their friends, Shiffman and Koch, to pick up their blow for them.

Initially, they didn't think of themselves as dealers, they were just helping out some friends.

Dale would get the product, Kevin would deliver it.

These guys were legit slangin' coke in the clubhouse.

Most of the players were just having a good time, but some developed full-blown addictions.

In his testimony, Tim Raines even said that he used to carry a glass vile of coke in his back pocket during games, which is why he'd always slide head first.

Shiffman & Koch eventually supplied dozens of players around the league.

But in ‘84, the shit hit the fan.

The FBI received a tip about a drug deal involving a Pirates player.

They flew down to Pittsburgh, and upon arriving, one of the first interviews they did was with Rod Scurry - the player who Shiffman and Koch had provided the most cocaine to.

Scurry flipped like a gymnast and at the conclusion of that interview, the feds had a list of dealers and players who were involved.

FBI Agent Wells Morrison conducted the interviews.

He said with each player they spoke to, the list of people involved in the scandal grew.

They knew they had a bigger problem on their hands.

At a certain point, the FBI approached Koch and let him know that the jig was up.

He could still save himself, if he was willing to wear a wire and set up his friend.

Koch agreed.

Shortly after, the FBI arrested Shiffman and charged him with 111 counts of cocaine trafficking.

In exchange for immunity, several players testified openly at the trials, including: Dave Parker, Lonnie Smith, and Keith Hernandez among others.

In total, 21 players were implicated, but not a single one saw the inside of a jail cell.

Matter of fact, after paying fines, and doing some community service, no one even missed a game.

Basically, every person involved in the situation saved themselves, and Shiffman took the fall for everyone.

He was sentenced to 12 years, but was released after two a changed man.

Inside the walls of prison, Dale Shiffman found God, and came back into the world with a new sense of compassion and forgiveness.

Shiffman and Koch rekindled their friendship, and they still share their love for baseball.

They just don't hang out with their buddies from the Pirates anymore.

It Was All A Dream Scene

Today's email is brought to you by the one-and-only, Jamie Cooper.

You might know him from the world-famous Greatest All Stars Dream Scene, but he is also the man behind the Yankees Dream Scene, and the Phillies Dream Scene.

One thing I love about Jamie’s work is his attention to detail.

Dozens of stories are woven into the fabric of his art, and each piece is like a good book - you find something new every time you look at it.

If you want to own an epic piece of baseball history, we’ve got the hookup.

Use the code DEADLEGENDS to get $15 off of your purchase of ANY print on Jamie’s website.

Strange Names

If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Nelson Hawks, aka “Chicken,” played 14 years of pro ball, but only spent two seasons in the big leagues.

In ‘21, he joined Babe Ruth and the Yankees, hitting .288 with a couple dingers that year.

Then he played for a few other minor leagues teams until ‘25 when he reappeared for the Phillies.

Again, Hawks raked, hitting .322 and even breaking up a no hitter that year.

For some reason, he never stuck around for more than one season both times that he made it to the majors, but he ended with great lifetime numbers.

The Dead Legends Archive

If you like this story, check out some of our past favorites:

• The Laundry: George Brett injures himself in the stupidest way possible

• The Kissing Bandit: How a stripper became a baseball icon

• The Bullet: Hazing saves a rookie from a gunshot wound

That's it for today. Tomorrow we're back at it like a bad habit. See ya!

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