Storied Franchise

 

Baseball fans have been treated to a rare occurrence this year: the resurgence of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They’ve been challenging for the lead in the NL Central Division all season in a tightly contested three team race with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds. Now they are in sole possession of first place.

The Pirates are indeed a storied franchise. First known as the Pittsburgh Alleghenies, their nickname was changed to the Pirates for their propensity for stealing players from other teams. Their logo -- a gruff, buccaneer -- reflects their personnel plundering ways. It’s evolved over the years but is still one of the very best in all of sports. It drew me in as a kid, though I was a staunch Yankee fan at the time.

The Pirates played in the first World Series, seven in all, and won five world championships. Not bad for a small market team in one of the great small towns in the country. Now they have a chance to get back to the big dance again after a 21-year hiatus from the playoffs. 

Two of their championship years truly stand out for me: 1960 and 1979. In the ‘60s Series they defeated a superior New York Yankee team in a seven game thriller. Bill Mazeroski’s ninth inning homer off pitcher Ralph Terry provided the winning 10-9 margin. In the ‘79 Series, led by Willie Stargell and down 3 games to 1 to the Baltimore Orioles, the Pirates battled back to take the series in stunning fashion. And who can forget their official battle cry that championship year: Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.”   

The Pirates can also boast of having 37 Hall of Fame members who have donned the black and gold at one time or another, including charter member Honus Wagner, who’s best remembered for his rarified baseball card which  trades in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. And one of the greatest humanitarians of all time, Roberto Clemente, who lost his life on New Year’s Eve, 1972, trying to get relief supplies to Nicaragua after that Central American country was ravaged by an earthquake.

Everyone loves an underdog. This year it’s the Pirates -- hope they make it. Go Buccos!