Reunion of Pirates' 1971 World Series champions brings back memories

As Al Oliver looked around the room at his old teammates wearing their white home jerseys and gold hats, he recognized how many members of the 1971 World Series champions were missing.

The remaining Pittsburgh Pirates were determined to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the world champions by honoring the memories of those who have passed, from Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell to Bruce Kison and Rennie Stennett.

“It’s always great to see the guys again,” said Oliver, their starting center fielder. “Things haven’t changed. Although we’ve lost a lot of good players — a lot — we seem to be able to pick up the pieces. I feel good about that, that we’re able to move forward.”

“It’s good to be able to pick up right where we left off because a lot of times that doesn’t happen. But when you play on winning teams, these things do happen. You have that camaraderie.”

The Pirates honored their 1971 World Series team Saturday night at PNC Park before their game against the New York Mets, giving fans a chance to stand and cheer again for a team that beat the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in seven games.

“It’s extremely important,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I think we should embrace all of our championships here. You have players who are able to talk about what it’s like to be at the top of the mountain. We have guys in our room that have played in the playoffs or coached in the playoffs or won a World Series, but when you have a guy that’s been in your organization that’s done it, it’s special and we definitely need to embrace that.”

Pirates announcer Greg Brown introduced a team that made major history when it started the first all-minority lineup on Sept. 1, 1971, against the Philadelphia Phillies at Three Rivers Stadium with a lineup of Stennett, Gene Clines, Clemente, Stargell, Manny Sanguillen, Dave Cash, Oliver, Jackie Hernandez and Dock Ellis.

“We were a diverse ballclub that got along extremely well,” Oliver said. “It was just great to have played on those teams. We were a very diversified team that came together for one common cause, and that was to bring a world championship back to Pittsburgh.”

With a lineup featuring five All-Stars, the Pirates won 97 games to clinch the NL East division title, then beat the San Francisco Giants in the NL Championship Series. But they entered the World Series as underdogs against the Orioles, whose starting rotation had four 20-game winners: Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar and Pat Dobson.

Even so, the Pirates boasted the bats of Stargell (48 home runs, 125 RBIs) and Clemente, who batted .341 in the regular season.

“We believed we could beat anybody,” said Gene Clines, who platooned with Oliver in center. “We couldn’t have cared less. Four 20-game winners, it didn’t matter. But that made it even more rewarding because we were counted out right from the beginning, and we were the only ones that believed in our ourselves.”

Still, the Pirates lost the first two games of the series in Baltimore, 5-3 and 11-3. As the series shifted to Pittsburgh for the next three games, things did not look good.

“After we lost Game 2, we went back in the clubhouse, and Clemente was livid,” Clines said. “Everybody was counting us out, and Clemente said, ‘We’re going to go back to Pittsburgh and we’re going to beat their (butts) three games in a row.’ ”

Catcher Milt May remembers the message Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh told the team after they lost the first two games: “Guys, we’re going to win this thing.”

In Game 3, Steve Blass tossed a three-hitter, and Bob Robertson missed a bunt sign and hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to lead the Pirates to a 5-1 victory. Before a Game 4 crowd of 51,378 at Three Rivers — the first night game in World Series history — May came in to pinch hit for rookie pitcher Bruce Kison with the score tied at 3-3 in the seventh and looped a single to right to score Robertson.

The Pirates held on for a 4-3 win to even the series.

“I had one at-bat in the first game and hit a hard grounder to first that Boog Powell made a good play on so I already had one plate appearance under my belt,” said May. “To contribute like that is probably the single highest moment of my career. It’s tough to beat that one.”

The Pirates won two of the next three games to take the series. Blass pitched a game four-hitter in the 2-1 win in Game 7, and made an iconic image by jumping into Robertson’s arms in celebration.

It was a special moment for Clemente’s son, Roberto Jr., who laughs that the Pirates’ victory was so unexpected that MLB presented his father, who batted .414 and got a hit in every game to win World Series MVP, with an 1972 Dodge Charger in Orioles orange.

“This was a special team, no doubt,” said Roberto Clemente Jr., who was 5 years old at the time. “When Dad asked the team to at least carry the team to the World Series, he said, ‘Get me there, and I will take care of business.’ And he definitely did that. There is a love affair with the city, the fans and this team in particular, and it shows. It’s something I cherish. Every time it happens, the connection gets stronger.”

Margaret Stargell feels the same way about representing her late husband for the Pirates’ World Series reunions, giving her an opportunity to hear the memories that he loved to share.

“It’s always incredible for me to come back and see the players that Willie played with, to hear their stories and remember the stories that he would tell because he loved his teammates,” Margaret Stargell said. “It’s a bittersweet time when I come back, but it’s also incredible just to have those memories. It makes me feel good to know that he is now and will forever be remembered.”