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THE PITTSBURGH DRUG TRIALS
Matthew Garringer
October 09, 2023
Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The newsletter that drops into your inbox like a Verlander off-speed pitch.
Verlander ages like fine wine
— Shit Bsb Players Say (@ShitBsbPlyrsSay)
4:43 PM • Oct 8, 2023
Let's dive in.
Today's story is about two guys who accidentally became the most popular cocaine dealers for the Pittsburgh Pirates 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.”
Let's rewind a bit 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.
This day in #PGHistory: The Pirates have a final tryout to decide who will be their first mascot. (1979)
The competition was won by Kevin Koch, who served as the Pirate Parrot for six years, until it was discovered he had involvement with the "Pittsburgh Drug Trials".
— Pittsburgh Clothing Company (@PGHClothingCo)
4:15 PM • Mar 12, 2018
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; even the big leagues.
The Pittsburgh players started relying on their friends, Shiffman and Koch, to pick up their blow for them when they needed it.
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, 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.
Giphy
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, Keith Hernandez, and 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.
Shiffman came out a changed man - behind the walls of prison, he’d found God, and came back into the world with a new sense of compassion and forgiveness.
He 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.
You might know Jamie Cooper 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:
Razor's career was relatively dull one.
One game, one inning, and one hit - that’s it.
He did have a very good minor league career though; in 1914 he even had a 27-win season.
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