Two completely different Pittsburgh Pirates teams won World Series Championships 11 years apart in 1960 and 1971. On this date in 1959, the Pirates made a trade with the Cincinnati Reds that would serve the Pirates with three contributors to the 1960 title. The Pirates traded power hitting 3B Frank Thomas to the Reds in exchange for 3B Don Hoak, C Smokey Burgess and RHP Harvey Haddix. Three other players also went to the Reds in one of the worst deals in the history of the Reds franchise. Thomas was coming off a solid 1958 season, hitting .281, 35, 109 for the Pirates. He would hit just .225, 12, 47 in his only season with the Reds. The 1959 Pirates would finish just a couple of games over .500, but the 1960 team would win 95 games and the National League Pennant.
The Pirates of 1960 were led by Roberto Clemente, but NL MVP Dick Groat, Hoak (who finished 2nd in the voting) and Bill Virdon had huge roles on that team. Bill Mazeroski, known for his HR in game 7 to win the World Series over the New York Yankees, drove in 64 runs, while 1B Dick Stuart drove in 83 runs and OF Bob Skinner drove in 86. The 1960 Pirates had one of the more balanced lineups, certainly underrated when spoken about with some of the best lineups in the National League such as the Giants, Braves and Dodgers.
The 1971 team was led by OF Willie Stargell, in the prime of his career, and of course Clemente, who hit .341, 13, 83 that season. Top run producers that season included catcher Manny Sanguillen (81), 1B Bob Robertson (72), 3B Richie Hebner (67) and CF Al Oliver (64). Stargell only hit .295, 48, 125 that season, losing out on the NL MVP because Joe Torre managed to hit .363, 24, 137 with 230 hits.
There were few players who were on both teams, as just Clemente and an aging Mazeroski played for both teams. While Mazeroski retired after the 1972 season, the same could not be said for Clemente, who died heroically in a plane crash on 12/31/1972 delivering relief supplies to Nicaragua. The only other tie to both teams was manager Danny Murtaugh, who left after the 1964 season, returning to finish the 1967 season and took over again before the 1970 season. Hoak had been a minor league manager at the time Murtaugh was hired again, and sadly died of a heart attack within days of Murtaugh taking over the team again. Some have said the heart attack may have had to do with Hoak's expectation of getting the MLB job with the Pirates, while other reports say he was chasing his brother-in-law's stolen car when he died at the wheel.
Fellow 1960 World Series Champion Virdon, who was a coach on the Pirates 1971 team, became Murtaugh's successor after the 1971 season, leading the Pirates to a 1972 NL East title. Virdon was out by the end of the 1973 season, with Murtaugh returning to lead team to NL East titles in 1974 and 1975. Murtaugh died after the 1976 season, a season where the Pirates won 92 games and finished 2nd in the division. Ironically, the 1979 Pirates team that won the World Series had two 1960 players, Haddix and Skinner, on their coaching staff.
The Pirates of 1960 were led by Roberto Clemente, but NL MVP Dick Groat, Hoak (who finished 2nd in the voting) and Bill Virdon had huge roles on that team. Bill Mazeroski, known for his HR in game 7 to win the World Series over the New York Yankees, drove in 64 runs, while 1B Dick Stuart drove in 83 runs and OF Bob Skinner drove in 86. The 1960 Pirates had one of the more balanced lineups, certainly underrated when spoken about with some of the best lineups in the National League such as the Giants, Braves and Dodgers.
The 1971 team was led by OF Willie Stargell, in the prime of his career, and of course Clemente, who hit .341, 13, 83 that season. Top run producers that season included catcher Manny Sanguillen (81), 1B Bob Robertson (72), 3B Richie Hebner (67) and CF Al Oliver (64). Stargell only hit .295, 48, 125 that season, losing out on the NL MVP because Joe Torre managed to hit .363, 24, 137 with 230 hits.
There were few players who were on both teams, as just Clemente and an aging Mazeroski played for both teams. While Mazeroski retired after the 1972 season, the same could not be said for Clemente, who died heroically in a plane crash on 12/31/1972 delivering relief supplies to Nicaragua. The only other tie to both teams was manager Danny Murtaugh, who left after the 1964 season, returning to finish the 1967 season and took over again before the 1970 season. Hoak had been a minor league manager at the time Murtaugh was hired again, and sadly died of a heart attack within days of Murtaugh taking over the team again. Some have said the heart attack may have had to do with Hoak's expectation of getting the MLB job with the Pirates, while other reports say he was chasing his brother-in-law's stolen car when he died at the wheel.
Fellow 1960 World Series Champion Virdon, who was a coach on the Pirates 1971 team, became Murtaugh's successor after the 1971 season, leading the Pirates to a 1972 NL East title. Virdon was out by the end of the 1973 season, with Murtaugh returning to lead team to NL East titles in 1974 and 1975. Murtaugh died after the 1976 season, a season where the Pirates won 92 games and finished 2nd in the division. Ironically, the 1979 Pirates team that won the World Series had two 1960 players, Haddix and Skinner, on their coaching staff.
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