Willie Stargell
As one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history, Pirates slugger Willie Stargell epitomized the great Pittsburgh teams of the 1960s and ’70s.
Wilver Dornell Stargell was born in Earlsboro, Okla., in 1940 but spent much of his childhood in Alameda, Calif. Stargell signed with the Pirates at age 18 and would play his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career with the Bucs.
Standing a robust 6 feet 2 inches tall, Stargell was best known for hitting prodigious home runs. At one time, he held the record for the longest home run in nearly half of the National League parks. Stargell’s intimidating stance in the batter’s box — in which he used a windmill motion with his bat during the pitcher’s windup — struck fear in the hearts of opposing teams.
In the late 1970s, the team captain originated “Stargell Stars,” embroidered gold stars affixed to the Pirates’ pill box-style hats that teammates earned after playing a particularly good game.
The 1979 season proved to be Stargell’s finest, as he earned an amazing trifecta of MVP honors during the regular season (shared with Keith Hernandez), the National League Championship Series and the World Series. As the patriarch and affable leader during the ’79 championship season, Stargell urged the team to adopt the Sister Sledge tune “We Are Family” as its theme song.
Stargell finished his career in 1982 with a .282 batting average, 475 home runs and 1,540 runs batted in. He earned seven trips to the AllStar Game and helped the Pirates capture six National League East titles along with two World Series in 1971 and 1979. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.
Today, “Pops” is remembered with a larger-than-lifesize statue outside PNC Park and a U.S. Postal Service stamp with his likeness.
Visitors can learn more about Stargell and the Pirates’ championship tradition at the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center. Information: www.heinzhistorycenter.org.