Sunday, June 20, 2010
By Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1
Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Members of the Pirates' 1960 World Series championship team stand for the national anthem before the start of the Pirates game against the Cleveland Indians Saturday evening at PNC Park. At the right is Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski, whose ninth-inning home run won the series over the New York Yankees.
Some of them have bridges or streets named after them. Statues have been erected or are on the way. Some have retired numbers.
These boys of summer from 50 years ago may be lions in winter, but they can still generate a buzz in a crowd by stepping onto a baseball diamond.
Eleven members of the Pirates' 1960 championship team, plus the widow and son of Roberto Clemente, returned for a curtain call in pregame ceremonies Saturday night commemorating the golden anniversary of a magic season.
The 1979 Pirates were known by the disco song "We Are Family," but the 1960 team forged an unbreakable bond with each other and the city they represented.
"We were together a couple of weeks ago at a memorabilia show, and it was almost like we had just walked out of the ballpark 50 years ago," said Dick Groat, the team captain who won the National League batting title as well as the MVP award in 1960. "Those are friendships and relationships that will never ever, ever go away. That team had so much character. You don't win a pennant unless all 25 guys contribute.
"It didn't make any difference if it was a pitching performance, base-running or a big hit -- everybody on that club came into their own somewhere along the line to help us win a game."
After rain pushed back the timetable, the former players took up positions on the third-base line for introductions and tributes to the entire team on the scoreboard video screen. They wore their old numbers on new jerseys as did Vera Clemente and her son, Luis.
Theirs is a story that never gets old.
Neither does a curtain call that comes in the form of a standing ovation a half-century after they inspired a city that was in the process of remaking itself.
"It's quite a thrill," said pitcher Bob Friend. "Usually, you play baseball and your career's over, and that's it. You're done. But this team, we're part of history here. It's nice to feel that."
The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Vernon Law, who won 20 games and the Cy Young Award in 1960, not to mention two World Series games.
"It's an honor to be back on the mound again," Law said.
"Maybe they picked me because I'm the only one who can reach home plate," he continued, with a chuckle.
His delivery skipped just short of Paul Maholm's glove. In the old days, announcer Bob Prince would have said The Deacon was trying to get a hitter to chase.
And in all seriousness, Law added, "We had a good group of guys that liked each other. We still like each other. It was a special group."
Their faces were more wrinkled, and the hair was whiter or thinner as they doffed their caps during introductions. But their smiles were as genuine as they were Oct. 13, 1960, when they beat the New York Yankees in the seventh game of the World Series.
In addition to Groat, Friend, Law and the Clemente family, those taking part in the festivities were Joe Christopher, ElRoy Face, Joe Gibbon, Bill Mazeroski, Bob Oldis, Dick Schofield, Bob Skinner and Bill Virdon. Joining them was general manager Joe L. Brown, who at 92 required a wheelchair.
"I've always enjoyed coming back, and, when you come back, you're always reminded of the good days," Virdon said. "When you had a season like we had, when we came back 30 or 40 times to win games that we probably should have lost, there's something special about the club."
In 1960, the average annual income was $5,315, a gallon of gas cost 25 cents, reigning Masters champion Arnold Palmer won the U.S. Open, Chubby Checker released "The Twist," Cassius Clay won an Olympic gold medal as a light heavyweight and "Camelot" opened on Broadway after the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy.
And everyone of a certain age who grew up in and around Pittsburgh can say exactly where they were and what they were doing when Mazeroski's winning home run cleared the brick wall at the 406-mark in Forbes Field, bringing home a World Series title for the first time in 35 years.
Through the years, Mazeroski has been asked every possible question about the details of that moment, and he generated the most interest during a media availability Saturday night.
But, as he noted, "It never gets old."
And, in the hearts of the city, Maz and his teammates never get old, either.
Robert Dvorchak: bdvorchak@post-gazette.com.
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