"- INTRODUCTION

There has been a Pittsburgh club in the National League since 1887. Pittsburgh s team

was originally known as the Alleghenies. The Alleghenies played in the American

Association from 1882 86. They remained the Alleghenies in the National League until

1891 when they signed second baseman Lou Bierbauer as a free agent. Bierbauer had

jumped to the Players League from Philadelphia of the American Association in 1890.

When the league disbanded, the Athletics expected Bierbauer to return to them. When

he signed with Pittsburgh, the signing was called "Piratical" and the team has been

known as Pirates ever since.

In their 93 National League seasons, Pittsburgh has had some good teams, and some

bad teams but rarely dull teams. When almost all the Alleghenies jumped to the Players

League in 1890, a rag-tag collection of has beens and never-weres managed to win just 23

games. In 1900 Barney Dreyfuss bought the Pirates and brought along Honus Wagner

and Fred Clarke from his old Louisville club. The Pirates improved dramatically in

1900 and won pennants in 1901, 1902, 1903, and 1909. They had to wait another 16 years

before reaching the World Series in 1925. The Pirates became the first team in history to

rebound from a 3- l deficit as they defeated Washington in the seventh game of the series

for their second World Championship, their last for 35 years. After winning another

National League pennant in 1927, the team slowly declined and was sold to a syndicate

including John Galbreath and singer-actor Bing Crosby. The Pirates reached rock

bottom in 1952, losing 112 games with what some experts believe was the worst team in

baseball history. When Joe L. Brown became General Manager in 1955, the Pirates

began moving back toward the top. Brown s trades built the 1960 World Champions.

There was another drought, marked by great hitting and not so great pitching. In 1970

the Pirates won a divisional title and became the World Champions again in 1971,

beating Baltimore in a seven game series marked by the brilliant play of Roberto

Clemente. The Pirates were the National League s most successful team in the seventies

and capped the decade with another World Championship. They became the only team

to come back from a 3-1 deficit twice in the series, led by the inspirational play of Willie

Stargell.

In this mini-history, the great moments in Pittsburgh s National League history are

listed. When the date of birth of a player is the event, his name is listed, followed by the

letter "B," then (in parentheses) by his position and the years he appeared in an

Alleghenies or Pirates uniform. The managers and coaches are also listed along with

their years in Pittsburgh. The team s All-Time roster is included to provide an alphabet-

ical listing of all the players and includes the number of games each participated in with

Pittsburgh. The pitchers are listed separately with their won-lost records as members of

the Pittsburgh National League club. The Pirates yearly leaders are listed to acknowl-

edge the performances of the great players in the team s history. Separate sections on

trades and the Pirates post-season competition are also included.

This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History is hoped to bring back fond memories of past

events and players remembered by long time Pirates fans. It is also hoped to entertain

and enlighten newer Pirates fans and baseball fans in general to the club s long, usually

successful, history and rich heritage.