50 Fun Facts About Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh's ball club was branded 'Pirates' in 1891 for taking a rival's what?

Second baseman. Philadelphia's Athletics had carelessly left Lou Bierbauer off their reserve list, and when Pittsburgh signed him, an official complaint called the move 'piratical'.

Before becoming the Pirates, Pittsburgh's ball club began play in 1882 under what name?

Alleghenys. The club took the name of Allegheny City, the separate town across the river where it played, which Pittsburgh did not annex until 1907.

Pittsburgh acquired Honus Wagner from which club being eliminated when the NL contracted?

Louisville Colonels. Their owner, Barney Dreyfuss, saw his club was doomed, bought a half-interest in the Pirates and took Wagner and most of Louisville's other stars with him.

The Pirates lost the first modern World Series in 1903 to which team?

Boston Americans. Pittsburgh owner Barney Dreyfuss had issued the challenge himself, to seal the peace between the two leagues, and his club then lost the best-of-nine series five games to three.

The Pirates' first World Series title, in 1909, came against which team?

Detroit Tigers. The series was billed as Honus Wagner against Ty Cobb, and Wagner won the duel, hitting .333 to Cobb's .231 and stealing six bases to his two.

Honus Wagner's nickname was what?

The Flying Dutchman. 'Dutch' was long used in English for Germans, and Wagner, the son of German immigrants, was quick enough to lead the National League in stolen bases five times.

Why do so few copies of Honus Wagner's T206 baseball card exist?

He had the printing stopped. Wagner chewed tobacco and smoked cigars himself but would not lend his picture to cigarette packs, so only the few cards already out ever reached collectors.

The 1925 Pirates were the first to win a best-of-seven World Series after what?

Trailing three games to one. Washington shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh, that season's American League MVP, made a record eight errors, two of them in a rain-soaked Game 7 that Pittsburgh won 9-7.

Which slugger led the NL in home runs in seven straight seasons for Pittsburgh from 1946 to 1952?

Ralph Kiner. The 1952 Pirates still lost 112 games, and when he balked at a pay cut the general manager reportedly told him they could finish last without him, then traded him.

Bill Mazeroski's 1960 World Series-winning homer came off which Yankees pitcher?

Ralph Terry. Two years later he was back on the mound for another one-run Game 7, and this time he shut out the Giants 1-0 and was named World Series MVP.

Bill Mazeroski was renowned defensively for what?

Turning the double-play pivot. He was a shortstop until the Pirates' general manager watched him make the pivot a few times in camp and moved him to second, where his 1,706 double plays remain the record.

Where was Pirates legend Roberto Clemente born and raised?

Puerto Rico. The Brooklyn Dodgers signed him first, but by sending him to the minors they exposed him to that winter's draft, and Pittsburgh, picking first, took him.

Roberto Clemente's final regular-season at-bat, in September 1972, brought which milestone?

His 3,000th hit. A double off the Mets' Jon Matlack, it proved to be the last regular-season at-bat of his life: he died three months later with his career total frozen at exactly 3,000.

Roberto Clemente died on New Year's Eve 1972 flying earthquake relief to which country?

Nicaragua. Told that earlier relief shipments had been stolen before reaching the victims, he boarded the next cargo plane himself, and it crashed into the sea moments after takeoff.

Roberto Clemente shares the outfielders' record of 12 Gold Gloves with whom?

Willie Mays. Each won 12 in a row, and Clemente's arm, strengthened by throwing the javelin at school, made him the terror of National League baserunners.

On September 1, 1971, the Pirates became the first team to field what kind of starting lineup?

All-Black and Latino. It was no staged gesture: manager Danny Murtaugh had long filled out his lineup card without regard to race, and that night's nine won 10-7.

The Pirates beat which team in both the 1971 and 1979 World Series?

Baltimore Orioles. In 1971 the heavily favoured Orioles won the first two games, then lost four of the next five, and in 1979 Pittsburgh beat them in seven games again.

The Pirates' 1970s sluggers, led by Willie Stargell and Al Oliver, were collectively nicknamed what?

The Lumber Company. The name saluted a lineup that hit its way to six division titles and two World Series wins in the space of ten seasons.

Which disco hit did the 1979 Pirates adopt as their theme song?

We Are Family. The Sister Sledge hit suited a clubhouse where captain Willie Stargell handed out gold stars for teammates to wear on their caps after a big play.

Which three awards did Willie Stargell alone win in one season?

MVP, NLCS MVP, World Series MVP. He did it in 1979, sharing the regular-season award in the MVP vote's only tie, then decided Game 7 of the World Series with a two-run homer.

The Pirates' black and gold team colours were taken from what?

The flag of Pittsburgh. Black and gold are the city's official colours, and the Pirates dropped a patriotic red, white and blue to adopt them.

After the National League's 1976 centennial, only the Pirates kept wearing which throwback item?

Pillbox caps. Pittsburgh wore the flat-topped throwbacks for another decade, and they became the display board for the gold stars Willie Stargell awarded his teammates.

Which Pirates pitcher said he was under the influence of LSD when he threw a no-hitter in 1970?

Dock Ellis. He had lost track of the days and thought he was not pitching, then walked eight San Diego batters, hit another and still won 2-0 without allowing a hit.

The Great Pierogi Race at Pirates games features Sauerkraut Saul, Cheese Chester and whom?

Jalapeño Hannah. She joined in the first few years after the race began in 1999 with three runners, and the pierogies have since travelled to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers' racing sausages.

Which outfielder did the Pirates draft in 1985 and lose to free agency after 1992?

Barry Bonds. He won two MVP awards in Pittsburgh before signing with San Francisco, and the Pirates then went 20 years without a winning season.

The Pirates were one out from the 1992 World Series when which slow-footed Brave scored the winning run?

Sid Bream. One of the slowest runners in baseball, he had been a Pirate himself until 1990, and he slid home safely on a close play at the plate.

Which manager ended the Pirates' record run of 20 straight losing seasons in 2013?

Clint Hurdle. His 2013 club won 94 games and a wild-card playoff, ending the longest run of losing seasons in major North American team sports, and he was voted NL Manager of the Year.

Which Pirate won the 2013 NL MVP as the club finally returned to the playoffs?

Andrew McCutchen. Pittsburgh had drafted the centre fielder in 2005, deep in its losing years, and his MVP season carried the club to 94 wins and its first playoff berth in 21 years.

PNC Park, the Pirates' home since 2001, stands in which Pittsburgh neighbourhood?

North Shore. Fans walk over from downtown on the Sixth Street Bridge, which is closed to cars on game days and was renamed for Roberto Clemente when the park itself took a bank's name.

PNC Park's 21-foot wall, a nod to Roberto Clemente's number, stands in which field?

Right field. Clemente patrolled it for the Pirates for 18 seasons, so the wall there rises 21 feet, with the out-of-town scoreboard built into it.

Which manager of the 1979 champion Pirates had been acquired from Oakland in a trade for a catcher?

Chuck Tanner. Oakland's owner demanded both catcher Manny Sanguillén and $100,000 for his manager, Pittsburgh paid up, and Sanguillén was back with the Pirates within two years.

At which ballpark, the Pirates' home from 1909 to 1970, did Bill Mazeroski hit his 1960 Series-winning homer?

Forbes Field. It was named for John Forbes, the British general of the French and Indian War who gave Pittsburgh its name in 1758.

Which multipurpose venue did the Pirates share with the Steelers from 1970 to 2000?

Three Rivers. The concrete bowl was imploded in 2001, once the Pirates and the Steelers each had a new park of their own standing a short walk away.

The Pirates have held spring training since 1969 in which Florida city, home of LECOM Park?

Bradenton. Its ballpark opened in 1923 and is the oldest still used for spring training, and because it had no lights until 2008, every game there for 85 years was played by day.

Which pitcher, drafted first overall in 2023, started the 2024 All-Star Game as a rookie for the Pirates?

Paul Skenes. He spent two seasons at the Air Force Academy, where he won the Olerud Award as college baseball's best two-way player, before a transfer to LSU made him a full-time ace.

The 1953 Pirates were the first major-league team to permanently adopt which gear?

Batting helmets. The general manager who ordered every Pirate to wear one also owned a stake in the company that made them, and within three years the National League required head protection for every batter.

Through 2025, which NL Central rival had the Pirates met six times in the postseason?

Cincinnati Reds. Five of the meetings were League Championship Series between 1970 and 1990, and the Reds won four of them before Pittsburgh took the 2013 wild-card game.

From 1970 to 1980, the Pirates and which rival won every NL East title but one?

Philadelphia Phillies. The Pennsylvania neighbours shared a division until 1994, when realignment moved Pittsburgh to the new NL Central and cut their meetings to two series a year.

Which Pirates pitcher won two complete games in the 1971 World Series, including the deciding Game 7?

Steve Blass. Only two years later he abruptly lost the ability to throw strikes and was out of the majors by 1975, a collapse so famous that the affliction is still called Steve Blass disease.

Which Pirate was named MVP of the 1979 All-Star Game?

Dave Parker. He won it with his arm, not his bat, throwing out one runner at third base and then the would-be go-ahead run at the plate.

Entering 2026, the Pirates' all-time wins exactly equalled their losses at about what number?

10,900, or 10,910 to be exact. The franchise began 2025 twenty games above .500, then went 71-91, exactly twenty under, to stand level after 144 seasons.

Which Pirates pitcher threw 12 perfect innings in a 1959 game and still lost?

Harvey Haddix. He retired 36 Milwaukee batters in a row, then lost in the 13th after an error ended the perfect game and a drive over the fence, later scored as a double, brought in the only run.

Which Cubs ace shut out the 98-win Pirates in the 2015 National League wild-card game?

Jake Arrieta. He went all nine innings and struck out 11, so a Pittsburgh club with the second-best record in baseball was knocked out after a single game.

Which executive was brought in during the early 1950s to rebuild the Pirates into the 1960 champions?

Branch Rickey. The man who had invented the farm system and signed Jackie Robinson could not win in Pittsburgh, where his clubs finished last four times in five years before his young players matured.

Who was the Pirates' star third baseman of the 1920s?

Pie Traynor. Widely regarded as the best third baseman of his era, he stayed a Pittsburgh favourite long after retiring, spending 21 years as a local radio sports director.

Pirates outfielders Paul and Lloyd Waner, both Hall of Famers, shared which pair of nicknames?

Big Poison and Little Poison. The names are said to come from a Brooklyn fan's way of saying 'big person' and 'little person', and no two brothers have matched their 5,611 combined hits.

Most of Pittsburgh's National League stars jumped in 1890 to which Players' League club?

Pittsburgh Burghers. Stripped of its stars, the National League club went 23-113, still the worst season in franchise history, and got its players back when the rebel league folded after a single year.

Who became MLB's first African-American manager on September 21, 1963, filling in for Danny Murtaugh?

Murtaugh himself fielded the first all-minority starting lineup in MLB history on September 1, 1971.

Which South African became the first player from continental Africa in the majors when the Pirates promoted him in 2017?

Gift Ngoepe. He had spent more than eight years in Pittsburgh's farm system, and his debut fell, by South African time, on Freedom Day, the anniversary of the country's first all-race election.

Which Pirates broadcaster, the voice of the club from 1948 to 1975, was nicknamed 'The Gunner'?

Bob Prince. The nickname is usually put down to his rapid-fire delivery, and in May 1985, a decade after his firing, he was back on the Pirates' radio team for a few innings, five weeks before he died.