The Cool Post: 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates

It’s hard to believe this organization used to matter once. From Bill Mazeroski’s World Series winning home run against the Yankees in 1960 through the “We Are Family” iteration in ’79, the Pirates won seven division titles and three world series championships.

A perennial contender for almost two decades, they dished up a litany of the sport’s finest during that time; from Mazeroski to Clemente, Vern Law to Willie Stargell and Dave Parker. But it was their last ride that produced one of the coolest teams to ever grace the diamond.

Willie Stargell was the ringleader of the ’79 Pirates. A gentle giant of a man excepting when he dug into the batter’s box. His bat resembled a redwood and his swing possessed the certainty of a guillotine. It was Stargell’s cool demeanor that kept the ship from sinking when the Pirates were languishing in fourth place in the NL East on July 10th of that season. They would go 58-26 the rest of the season to overtake the Expos for the division title.

The Pirates were the last of the Mohicans when it came to cool nicknames, and they had them in bunches. There was Bill “Bulldog” Madlock, Dave “The Cobra” Parker, Phil “Scrap Iron” Garner, John “The Candyman” Candelaria, Tim “Crazy Horse” Foli, Bert “Frying Dutchman” Blyleven, Mike “The Hitman” Easler and of course, “Pops” Stargell. The Bucs had a penchant for cold beer celebrations, practical jokes and coming through in the clutch. And these cats did the seemingly impossible; they made those old Halloween costumes with the pill box caps out of the 1920’s look cool. 

After winning the division, they officially put an end to the Cincinnati Reds dynastic run as the “Big Red Machine” by eliminating them in the NLCS. The Baltimore Orioles were a different story altogether. They were a team on the come with MVP runner-up Ken Singleton, power hitting first baseman Eddie Murray and the best pitching staff in baseball led by ace Mike Flanagan and anchored by Jim Palmer. Baltimore had won an MLB best 102 games during the regular season before dispensing of the Angels in the ALCS. With home-field advantage in the World Series, they were the prohibitive favorites. And when they took a three games to one lead on the Pirates, Baltimore began planning for a victory parade.

The Pirates had other plans.

Champions are forged through adversity, and this club had seen its fair share by the time they made it to October. They overcame a slow start and injuries thanks to a few key trades and the steady hand of their skipper Chuck Tanner. And it was during a rain delay against the Padres on June 1st at the old Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh that they found their jam. We Are Family was booming over the PA system and Willie Stargell decided it would become the team’s clubhouse song. History filled out the scorecard from there.

From 3-1 down, the Bucs hit the gas. They performed a disco high wire act with tomorrow and next season in the balance and they aced every square inch of it. They utilized a magical blend of thunder and lightning and when the smoke had cleared, the Pirates had won three straight games, the final two in Baltimore, to bring the World Series trophy home to Pittsburgh.

That was the ’79 Pittsburgh Pirates. An odds be damned band of pirates with the hard wired focus of a hired assassin and the tireless guile of a prizefighter hell bent on using every single minute of every single round in order to raise the belt. All that and the best damn clubhouse song?

It really wasn’t fair.

Sister Sledge- We Are Family