In 1971, the Pirates beat the Orioles in seven games. There was a rematch in the 1979 World Series, and one that followed a familiar script—the Pirates fell behind early in the Series and rallied to win a Game 7 on Baltimore’s home field.
The 1979 MLB season was marked by a return to form from teams that dominated the early part of the decade, along with one newcomer. The Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds had all won multiple division titles and at least one World Series title in the period covering 1970-76. All three continued to field good teams in the ensuing three years, but they had been displaced by others in their division. In 1979, they returned to the October stage.
The city of Pittsburgh was already riding high in the early part of 1979. In January of that year the Steelers became the first NFL team to win three Super Bowls, defeating the Dallas Cowboys 35-31. The baseball Pirates had contended to the season’s penultimate day the previous fall and were one of the National League’s model franchises in the 1970s. Little did the good people of Pittsburgh know that even better times were still ahead and it would be the Pirates and Steelers leading the way.