The Pirates had won three straight division titles in the old NL East from 1970 through 1972, with a World Series title in 1971 included. In 1973, Pittsburgh contended to the final day of the season, but that was a sub-.500 team kept in contention by an entire division that played mediocre baseball. The 1974 […]
The 1973 Pittsburgh Pirates came into the season looking for a fourth straight division title and to win their second World Series title in that same time period. The Pirates did indeed contend in ’73. But it took a mediocre division to keep them in the race, and in the end, they still came up […]
The Pirates were riding high, having won a dramatic World Series in 1971. Pittsburgh had won the NL East each of the last two years. Even with a managerial change—Bill Virdon took over for Danny Murtaugh, who retired upstairs to the front office–the 1972 Pittsburgh Pirates were more of the same. They ran away with […]
The 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates were coming off a season where they won a division title and reached the National League Championship Series. In this ’71 season, the Pirates were even better—they again reached the postseason. This time, they won the NLCS. And at World Series time, the great Roberto Clemente secured his baseball legacy in […]
The city of Pittsburgh saw some great baseball (as well as some great football) at old Three Rivers Stadium. On the diamond, they won nine division titles and two World Series championships. The 2000 Pittsburgh Pirates season would be the last year of baseball for the artificial turf facility. The ’00 Pirates didn’t resemble those […]
1984 marked the end of a long run of baseball success in Pittsburgh, as the Pirates had their first losing season in a full 162-game schedule since 1968. The 1985 Pittsburgh Pirates slammed the door on anyone who doubted that an era was over–the franchise suffered its worst season in over thirty years on the […]
Where the 1984 Pittsburgh Pirates were at in the historical arc of their franchise was a pertinent question coming into the season. They won the World Series as recently as 1979. Their only losing season since 1968 was in the strike-shortened year of 1981. They had been in first place as late as September in […]
The Pirates came into 1983 just four years removed from a memorable World Series championship run. In two of the previous three years they had been in first place as late as September before coming up short. The 1983 Pittsburgh Pirates continued that pattern. They were competitive and they gave fans hope, but they came […]
The strike year of 1981 hadn’t gone well in Pittsburgh After a decade of contending teams, including a recent World Series title in 1979, the Pirates were looking to get back in the hunt. For the most part, they did. But an August fade set a tone that the 1980s would not be as positive […]
The 1981 Pittsburgh Pirates were just two years removed from winning the World Series and ending a decade of tremendous success. Just one year earlier they had been in first place in early September before a late fade did them in. The 1981 team struggled to find its footing early, were interrupted by a players’ […]
The Pittsburgh Pirates were the NL East’s flagship franchise of the 1970s. They won the division six times in that decade. Nine times they won at least 88 games. Two World Series trophies came to the Steel City—a pair of triumphs over the nearby Baltimore Orioles, including one to end the decade in 1979. The […]
The city of Pittsburgh owned the National League East in the early 1970s. They won five division titles between 1970-75, including a 1971 World Series title. But in the latter part of the decade, things changed. The Pirates continued to play good baseball, winning 90-plus games, even as they changed managers from Danny Murtaugh to […]