When The Bucs Won It All: The 1979 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates

The 1970s were both successful and tragic for the Pittsburgh Pirates. They won five NL Eastern Division crowns and the 1971 World Championship, but lost the great Roberto Clemente in a plane crash and pitcher Bob Moose in a car accident during this time. By the end of the 1970s, the Pirates were a good team but no longer considered favorites to win a World Series. Thanks to a fantastic finish in 1978, the Pittsburghers gained new hope for the 1979 season. As intriguing as the season was, it wasn’t until the evening of August 25th that the Pirate fans really started to believe ＂it＂ could happen.

The history of that magical ball club is covered here, from how the 1979 world champion team was built, to a thorough look at the season and post season, to how ＂The Family＂ finally fell. Also included are biographical sketches of all players who appeared on the team’s roster that year and a section of complete statistics.

SABR member Bill Ranier is a clinical social worker at Mercy Behavioral Health in Pittsburgh. He lives in Robinson Township, Pennsylvania. Dave Finoli is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research as well as the National Football Foundation. He works in retail management and lives in Monroeville, Pennsylvania.