Fam-a-lee forever for Pirates as they celebrate 1979 World Series champions

By Kevin Gorman
https://triblive.com/sports/fam-a-lee-forever-for-pirates-as-they-celebrate-1979-world-series-champions/
July 20, 2019


Dave Parker waves to the crowd before the Pirates' 5-1 win over the Phillies on Saturday night. (Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review)

Dressed in black jerseys with gold trim and gold pillbox baseball caps with black stripes, the 1979 “We Are Family” Pirates stood triumphantly one more time to cheers in Pittsburgh.

The Pirates celebrated the 40th anniversary of their World Series championship by honoring the players in what manager Clint Hurdle called “a proper and professional way” before they played the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night before a sellout crowd at PNC Park.

If you heard any noise, it was just the boys boppin.

“We’re looking to go out and take 3-1 from somebody,” said right fielder Dave Parker, who popularized that saying on his T-shirt, was introduced last and received a roaring ovation. “You never know how these guys’ heart is. These guys have big hearts. That was reflected 40 years ago. If we had to toe it up right now, it would be reflected right now.”

That was a friendly reminder by Parker the Pirates overcame a 3-1 World Series deficit to beat the Baltimore Orioles in October ’79, staving off elimination to rally and win the next three games and clinch the world championship.

The Pirates haven’t been back to the World Series since, a four-decade drought that was something Parker said he could have never imagined when the charismatic club captured the hearts of the city while disco-dancing to the tune of the Sister Sledge hit.

“It was great. We had fun. Other teams would come in and didn’t know if we were getting ready for a game or a barbecue,” Parker said. “We were a team that had fun, and we threw everything on the field that we could to win.”

Missing were many of the characters who provided the backbone for that bunch, starting with Hall of Fame captain Willie Stargell. The seven-time All-Star first baseman hit 32 of his 475 career home runs to capture NL MVP honors in ’79, and Parker believes the lefty hitters could have had a blast at PNC Park.

“We would’ve capsized some boats,” Parker said. “It’s a great hitters’ park. It’s got a high wall, a lot of doubles, a lot of home runs. We would have loved playing here.”

Outfielder Lee Lacy credited general manager Harding Peterson, who died April 16, as the architect of that team and suggested a statue should be built in his honor.

“He was a great general manager,” Lacy said. “No one has won it here since.”

Pitcher Don Robinson credited Chuck Tanner for fighting to bring him to the big leagues by threatening the Pirates that they could find a new manager if they didn’t. Robinson was 22 when he won Game 2 of the ’79 World Series. Showing the Fam-a-lee spirit they are forever Pirates, Margaret Stargell represented her husband, as did the late pitcher Bruce Kison’s wife, Ann Marie, with his son, Robbie, and daughter, Jennifer.

“A lot of characters and lot of fun — it was an honor and privilege to play with them,” said pitcher John Candelaria, who won Game 6 of the World Series. “It hurts. You remember the guys. They stay in your mind and your heart.”

The Pirates shed some tears but mostly were smiles during their 40th reunion, enjoying every moment of reliving their championship season and being celebrated by the city’s baseball fans once again.

“It’s still a family. It doesn’t matter what ball field or city or country we’re in,” catcher Ed Ott said. “To be around the closest-knit 25 players is a thrill. The camaraderie and friendship we’ve had, we would’ve went to war for each other.”

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email atkgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

ADVERTISEMENT

Categories: Sports | Pirates

MORE PIRATES/MLB STORIES

Joe Musgrove dominates with arm, bat, legs as Pirates top Phillies

Kent Tekulve’s message to Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez came from Hall of Famer

Pirates notebook: Rookie Dario Agrazal provides big boosts to rotation

Bullpen, offense waste strong Jordan Lyles start in Pirates loss to Phillies 

Pirates will skip Trevor Williams (flu) in rotation, Joe Musgrove moved up to start Saturday

Strong spirit still defines ‘We-Are-Fam-a-lee’ Pirates

By Joe Starkey
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/joe-starkey/2019/07/19/Strong-spirit-defines-We-Are-Fam-a-lee-Pirates-Stargell-Tanner-Tekulve-Easler/stories/201907190054
July 19, 2019

If life were a ballgame, most of the 1979 Pirates would be nearing the seventh-inning stretch. Some have been lost along the way, including the patriarch, Willie Stargell. Others have endured major struggles.

Dave Parker, the larger-than-life right fielder, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012. He is 68. Kent Tekulve, the leaner-than-life closer, had a heart transplant in 2014. He is 72.

Which makes you and I how old?

Hard to believe,” Tekulve says, “that it was 40 years ago we were freezing our asses off in Baltimore.”

Father Time has proven to be a tougher foe than those Orioles, but believe me when I tell you this: The ’79 Pirates never, ever go down without a fight. A fair number of them will congregate this weekend at PNC Park for a 40-year reunion, and they remain a feisty, fun-loving crew.

Ten years ago, before the 30-year reunion, I asked manager Chuck Tanner how he was able to keep so many talented players content and engaged.

"I'd tell them, 'We're going to win the pennant, and if you don't want that, get the hell out of here,’” Tanner said. “I managed for the team.”

That’s the other thing about those Pirates — they defined team as well as any champion in baseball history. They truly were a family, personifying the Sister Sledge hit (“We Are Family”) that became their anthem, and they were the only team of the 20th century to win a World Series without either a pitcher who won 15 games or a hitter who knocked in 100 runs.

They were ahead of their time, too. The term “super-utility player” hadn’t been invented, but the Pirates had multiple players who could fit that description. And like today’s managers, Tanner would often go to his bullpen early.

“Look at it this way,” Tekulve says. “We went to the last day (to win the division), so anybody that had anything to do with any oddball win was important. It took every single person.”

Click on the link below to read the rest of the article:

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/joe-starkey/2019/07/19/Strong-spirit-defines-We-Are-Fam-a-lee-Pirates-Stargell-Tanner-Tekulve-Easler/stories/201907190054

Marte, Musgrove lead Pirates past Phillies | Phillies-Pirates Game Highlights 7/20/19

Celebrating the 1979 Pirates, not the generational gap

By Kevin Gorman
https://triblive.com/sports/kevin-gorman-celebrating-the-1979-pirates-not-the-generational-gap/
July 19, 2019

For a 6-year-old Pittsburgh kid who needed nothing more than a ball and a glove to spend a summer day happily, the 1979 Pirates were my glorious introduction to baseball.

With the Pirates winning the World Series and the Steelers on their way to a fourth Super Bowl, Pittsburgh branded itself the City of the Champions. That’s a tag this city still owns, even if Boston has tried to lay claim to the title.

It was an amazing time to be introduced to the sports world, an escape for a steel town that suffered as its mills closed and families had to figure out their future. We could live in the present, enjoying the success of our sports teams and their superstars.

When we played pickup baseball games, using your imagination to create ghost runners, you didn’t just play a position. You became that player. You were Willie Stargell at first base or Dave Parker in right field. You were Phil Garner at second base and Bill Madlock at third. You were John Candelaria starting games and Kent Tekulve closing out a victory in his submarine style.

Actually, that’s not altogether true. You were Pops and Cobra, Scrap-Iron and Mad Dog, Candy Man and Teke. It seemed like everyone had a nickname, so they felt familiar. No wonder we sang along and danced to Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.” That’s what Pirates games felt like: a family reunion.

When the Pirates honor their 1979 World Series champions Saturday at PNC Park, it promises to be a celebration of when they were baseball’s best. But it also will serve as a sad reminder that the Pirates long have lived off their past and that nostalgia only can carry a town and its team for so long.

The Pirates haven’t won a World Series in four decades, a 39-year drought that ranks as the seventh-longest in Major League Baseball. That has caused a generational gap in the city, where almost anyone younger than me has grown up with no memories of the Pirates winning a World Series.

That’s four decades of frustration for Pirates fans, save a pair of three-year stretches from 1990-92 and 2013-15 when they made the postseason. In between, this city endured two decades of losing seasons, a drought of despair in a city of champions.

We’re spoiled like that.

Only the Washington Nationals, founded in 1969 as the Montreal Expos, and the Seattle Mariners, founded in ’77, have gone longer without making a World Series appearance. Everyone else in MLB has at least reached the Fall Classic.

No wonder Pittsburghers have turned their attention — and entertainment dollars — toward supporting the Steelers and Penguins. Since the Pirates last won a World Series, the Steelers have won the Lombardi Trophy three times and the Penguins the Stanley Cup championship five times.

A once-great baseball town has become a football town and a hockey town, even though it has a rich baseball history and one of the best ballparks in America. You could say the same about Boston and Chicago, home to Fenway and Wrigley. The Red Sox went 85 years between winning World Series titles, from 1918 until 2004. The Cubs endured a century-long streak, 107 years from 1908 until 2016.

Yet their fans remained fervent, hopeful even. They celebrated the game, cherished their ballparks and kept their fingers crossed that each year would be the year. Those waits are an eternity compared to the Pirates’ four-decade stretch, but imagine the outcry if this is only halfway to waiting for their next World Series title.

On July 19, the 1979 Pirates were four games out of first place. By the 95-game mark, they were 46-39. These Pirates were 45-50 going into Friday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies, 6½ games out of first, 4½ out of the wild card.

Those ’79 Pirates traded in mid-April for shortstop Tim Foli and in late June for Madlock, a two-time NL batting champion who would win two more in ’81 and ’83. These Pirates only addressed their issues internally, promoting minor leaguers and trading for pitchers Chris Stratton and Yefry Ramirez, both of whom had been designated for assignment. They have done this despite one of baseball’s lowest payrolls.

That the Pirates have neglected to help this team is a shame, especially given that they were in first place in late April. There is more talk of the Pirates being sellers than buyers at the July 31 trade deadline, especially after losing five of six on the road in Chicago and St. Louis after the All-Star break.

This is a fun team to watch and to cover, and the Pirates can only hope that kids today are trying to ring that bell like Josh Bell or become the Nightmare who closes out a game like left-handed flamethrower Felipe Vazquez.

For all of the Pirates’ ownership and front office talk about wanting to win a World Series, they have done little to provide this team the players to be a contender.

That shouldn’t stop fans from celebrating the ’79 Pirates, reveling in the return of the World Series winners.

But we only can dream about what it would be like for the Pirates to celebrate their ’79 champions with another World Series run, for these Pirates to capture the hearts of Pittsburgh kids forever the way their predecessors did 40 years ago. Instead, like ghost runners, the Pirates have left that to our imaginations.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email atkgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Sports | Pirates | Kevin Gorman Columns

MORE PIRATES/MLB STORIES

Bullpen, offense waste strong Jordan Lyles start in Pirates loss to Phillies 

Pirates will skip Trevor Williams (flu) in rotation, Joe Musgrove moved up to start Saturday

Francisco Cervelli works out at PNC Park, Pirates getting him work at many positions

Clint Hurdle hints that Keone Kela’s return to Pirates bullpen is imminent

After day out of lineup and team day off, Josh Bell back hitting cleanup for Pirates on Friday

Being a Pirate fan sucks

By Adam Crowley
https://espnpgh.iheart.com/featured/adam-crowley/content/2019-07-16-being-a-pirate-fan-sucks/
July 16, 2019


Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds (10) is out at second as St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong turns the double play during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, July 15, 2019, in St. Louis. Pirates' Starling Marte was out at first. The Cards won 7-0. (AP)

Being a Pirates fan sucks. Before the seasons starts, every year, I tell you that the Pirates will be in the race at the deadline and then will fall off.

EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR.

And EVERY SINGLE YEAR, there they are!

August 28th 2016: 67-61--No playoffs

July 21st 2017: 49-48--No playoffs

July 31st 2018: 56-52--No playoffs

July 7th 2019: 44-45--Come on...no playoffs.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t excited about the Pirates going into the all-star break. They were hitting the cover off the ball and had just taken four of six from the Cubs and the Brewers. They were one game under .500 and only 2.5 games back in the division. All it took was four games and now they’re 5.5 back and five games under .500.

They suckered me in. They’ve taken more advantage of the added Wild Card than any team in baseball. They’re artificially in the playoff race every single year until the deadline.

They won one of the two Wild Card spots three times.

Bob Nutting is content. Content to spend just enough money to fool you into this being the real deal.

It’s like when a dude gets his wife flowers on their anniversary. You THINK he’s trying, but really he stopped off at Giant Eagle to buy a Hallmark card and some roses after his daily trip to the bar.

It’s bare minimum.

It's like my senior year of high school. I showed up for home room then my buddy Dan and I would sleuth out and go to Pamela’s diner.

Bare. Minimum.

Pirates management does the same thing every year. And if you’re like me, you wind up being happy that the team even has a little bit of a pulse. Forget brain activity. This heaping body of a baseball team is on life support, but it’s still breathing, so hey, it’s better than it used to be.

They’re just good enough to generally NOT SUCK and when summer heats up, we all start flocking to the ballpark enough so that this son of a bitch Bob Nutting makes his NUT.

500ish more people are going through the turnstiles every game than they did last year. And sure, there’s some compelling reasons. Josh Bell had a hell of a first half. Reynolds and Newman are rookies that are hitting. Melky Cabrera is a show by himself.

They count on stuff like that happening EVERY YEAR.

Our friend Mark Madden wrote a piece for the Trib, and we’ve talked about it a lot. The Pirates don’t need to contend until September. They only need to compete until July and then they’ve made their profits.

If they go until late July/early August then they’ve successfully made themselves relevant until Steelers training camp, and if they fade off, you don’t give a rats ass.

I’m tired of predicting the same thing for the Pirates every year, being right, and still getting fooled. It’s like what Red said in Shawshank Redemption: “Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.”

Hope is also contagious. And hope, not winning, is what the Pirates sell us every single year. The promise of something better.

They count on that second wild card keeping them artificially in the race, and as long as they don’t suck, they’ll be close enough to dangle that carrot. They dangle the dream every year and then it gets taken away.

We’re the horse that keeps on trekking because there’s a carrot tied around our neck. Every single season we think that we’re going to get a bite of this damn thing.

Every year we go into it saying that this is going to happen. And then when we’re in it, it’s hard to see the forest through the trees. Because year after year that hope sucks you up.

The management team did JUST ENOUGH to make us believe when they went to the postseason for three straight years. Now there’s another force at play: Nostalgia. It wasn’t that long ago, but remember how great 2013, 2014, and 2015 were?

Pennant races, division rivalry, home playoff games. It’s like cocaine…they say. Man, that first blow and you’re feeeeeeeling great. Then you’re chasing that same feeling, never really to experience it again.

We’re all looking for that high that the team provided us a few years ago. We’re all chasing that feeling.

Before the 2013 season, I never gave them the benefit of the doubt. Neither did you. You never believed. All it took was that taste.

It’s like Flowers for Algernon. I was blissfully happy going to Pirates games as a kid and there was never the promise of something more.

There’s something about going to a game and not having expectations. After you make the playoffs though, you never forget what that feels like. You can’t go back to the time that you were blissfully ignorant. Now you’re chasing the feeling.

Every damn year. Carrot in front of face. Team doing the bare minimum. Hope sucks you in.

They got me again this year. I won't let them get me next year. They will have to be IN THE PLAYOFFS for me to get excited.

Hell, who am I kidding? See you next year on July 4th for the start of the pennant race. I'll repost this piece again on July 15th when it’s all over.

Moran's single in 9th pushes Bucs past Cards | Pirates-Cardinals Game Highlights 7/16/19

Pirates in race to trade deadline, not postseason

By Mark Madden
https://triblive.com/sports/mark-madden-pirates-in-race-to-trade-deadline-not-postseason/
July 15, 2019

Chris Archer (Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports)

This year, like last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates are in the race.

But it’s a different kind of race.

The Pirates’ payroll is $71 million, their lowest since 2012. Given that picayune amount, the Pirates aren’t really trying to contend. But they want to create the illusion of contending so people attend games, buy merchandise and watch games on TV.

It’s working, at some minuscule level.

The Pirates cut payroll by 19% this season, but attendance is up almost three percent. That’s an increase of 518 people per game.

Those 518 people should be fingerprinted and put under observation.

The Pirates’ illusion took a hit when they got swept in three games at Chicago’s Wrigley Field this past weekend. What couldn’t happen, did. The illusion is giving way to reality. That reality dictates that the Pirates will finish around .500 and out of the playoffs. Like last year.

July is the Pirates’ September. They don’t race to the finish. They race to the MLB trade deadline, which is two weeks away.

The goal isn’t to stay in the race. The goal isn’t to build for the future. The goal is profit by way of maintaining the illusion. The Pirates manufacture and sell hope.

Even the slightest attendance increase is found money given how much unearned cash (like revenue sharing) flows into the Pirates’ coffers annually.

When the Pirates got pitchers Chris Archer and Keone Kela at last year’s trade deadline, they were 56-52: Six games behind the division lead, three games out of a wild card.

Before Monday night’s game at St. Louis, the Pirates were 44-48: Five-and-a-half games behind the division lead, three-and-a-half games out of a wild card. It’s almost exactly the same position they were in at last year’s trade deadline.

What should the Pirates do?

Their pitching is despicably bad. Their team ERA is 5.01, up more than a full run from last season. Getting an average starting pitcher in a ho-hum deal would be like slapping a butterfly stitch on a shotgun wound.

Baltimore already moved Andrew Cashner. Kansas City already dealt Homer Bailey. The Pirates won’t get Madison Bumgarner from San Francisco.

Maybe the Pirates shouldn’t have acquired Archer. That was done at least partly for the sake of PR. It led to no good. Archer has been mostly rotten. Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow have done well with Tampa Bay, Glasnow’s arm problems duly noted. That deal might wind up being historically bad.

The Pirates look like sellers.

That wouldn’t be good PR. Trying to maintain positive PR might lead to them standing pat or making a minor transaction.

But if the Pirates could get the rumored package from Los Angeles for closer Felipe Vazquez, they absolutely should make that deal. The Dodgers might part with two big-time prospects. Closers are disposable. The Pirates have proven that again and again.

That’s also the kind of deal GM Neal Huntington is good at making: Trading now for later.

If other teams inquire about outfielder Starling Marte, the Pirates should listen. But Marte is having a very good season and has two more years on his contract (via team option) at relatively affordable prices ($11.5 million, $12.5 million).

It’s difficult to trade Gregory Polanco because his arm is shot. Corey Dickerson and Melky Cabrera are pending free agents, but return for them would be small potatoes. Francisco Cervelli’s concussions make him impossible to dump. Prospects like Cole Tucker and Ke’Bryan Hayes should stay, especially with Meadows and Glasnow gone.

It’s hard to draw a bead on the Pirates because their primary motivation is profit. You need to compete to make more money, but the illusion thereof is doing OK.

The Pirates will either stand pat or make a small get. Vazquez stays.

Huntington said he would “honor” the resiliency of the current roster by adding or keeping it intact.

These Pirates do play hard for 27 outs. But they’re four games under .500. To “honor” that is revelatory about your ambition (or lack thereof).

Categories: Sports | Pirates | Mark Madden Columns

MORE PIRATES/MLB STORIES

Tim Benz: Pirates better off ‘living in the past’ than the present

Pirates score twice in the ninth, beat Cardinals 3-1

Pirates farm report for July 16, 2019

Josh Bell wins Pirates’ Heart and Hustle Award

Pirates drop 4th straight in shutout loss to Cardinals

NHL Tonight: Cullen retires after 21 seasons in the NHL Jul 10, 2019

Retiring Matt Cullen: Penguins Stanley Cup runs were ‘the best years’

By Jonathan Bombulie
https://triblive.com/sports/penguins-matt-cullen-announces-retirement/
July 10, 2019


The Penguins pay tribute to the career of Matt Cullen by presenting him with a plaque and silver stick prior to his 1,500th NHL game

Matt Cullen, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the oldest player to appear in a game for the team, announced his retirement Wednesday at the age of 42.

Cullen made the announcement in a video and essay posted on the team’s website.

“I will spend the rest of my life in awe of how blessed I’ve been,” Cullen said in the video. “It’s hard to believe that this is the end, but here I am.”

Cullen already had played 18 NHL seasons and won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 by the time he signed with the Penguins in 2015, but his time with the team was instrumental in creating his legacy.

The Penguins had gone six years without a championship. General manager Jim Rutherford, about a year into his tenure, was trying to reconfigure the roster into a title contender after a disappointing five-game first-round playoff exit against the New York Rangers.

The marquee move was a trade for Phil Kessel on July 1. The signing of Cullen on Aug. 6 was decidedly under the radar.

Cullen was mulling retirement when Rutherford called.

“I just pinch myself and think about how close it was to not happening,” Cullen wrote. “Those were probably the best years of my whole career and life with the Penguins. Going through all that with (sons Brooks, Wyatt and Joey and wife Bridget) and that group of players, the whole organization, everything was perfect. It was beyond anything I could have ever imagined.”

On the ice, Cullen was a reliable bottom-six center and ace penalty killer who chipped in 29 goals during the championship seasons. Off the ice, he was a respected veteran presence in the locker room.

“Matt was invaluable to us winning championships,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think his play speaks for itself in what he was able to do for us on the ice. We used him in so many situations. I moved him up and down the lineup depending on what the needs were for our team, and he embraced every challenge we gave him.

“As far as what he meant to our team off the ice, I can’t say enough about it. He’s just a great teammate. He’s a great person. We looked at Matt as an extension of our coaching staff, and he helped us in so many ways just keep our finger on the pulse of the team so that we could make the best decisions to try to help this team be successful. I have so much respect for Matt as a player and as a person.”

Even in retirement, Cullen’s legacy will continue to grow as the young forwards he guided with the Penguins see their careers play out.

“He helped us along so much,” winger Bryan Rust said. “He’s such a good guy on and off the ice plus the ability to play so long and have such a long career, it kind of shows you what type of pro he is.”

In his retirement announcement, Cullen wrote he remembered seeing Jake Guentzel play in the Minnesota state high school tournament. With the Penguins, he was a mentor to Guentzel.

“Just the guy he was, how long he’s been in the league, for a guy like me to come up and for him to kind of take me under his wing, I was pretty fortunate to have a guy like him,” Guentzel said. “He didn’t need to, but he went out of his way to help me out. I was pretty lucky.”

Following the back-to-back championships, Cullen played a year in his home state with the Minnesota Wild before returning to the Penguins last season to wrap up a 21-year NHL career.

He finished his career 19th on the NHL’s all-time games played list with 1,516. His final goal came March 31 against Carolina when he was 42 years, 149 days old.

“I felt like it was only right to retire in Pittsburgh with everything that the organization had given me and done for me,” Cullen wrote. “I’m so happy I came back and finished my last year in Pittsburgh. I wouldn’t trade that last year for anything.”

Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jonathan by email atjbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Sports | Penguins

MORE PENGUINS/NHL STORIES

Tim Benz: Mike Sullivan nails Evgeni Malkin’s biggest problem. Now fix it.

First Call: Steelers Hall of Fame locks; 1 prediction has Penguins missing playoffs

Former Penguins center Greg Johnson dies at age 48

Arbitration date set for Penguins winger Zach-Aston Reese

Penguins sign veteran goalie Dustin Tokarski to AHL contract

40 years after historic All-Star Game, Dave Parker battles Parkinson’s, helps at Reds Youth Academy

By Branson Wright, The Plain Dealer

https://www.cleveland.com/sports/2019/07/40-years-after-historic-all-star-game-dave-parker-battles-parkinsons-helps-at-reds-youth-academy.html

July 7, 2019

CINCINNATI, Ohio - The line was drawn three months prior, and Dave Parker responded when Jim Rice sought an advantage in the Major League All Star Game played in Seattle’s Kingdom 40 years ago.

Earlier in 1979, Parker and Rice — standing back to back — graced the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline “Who’s Best?” They were considered the top two players in the game.

Rice, the Boston left fielder, is pictured looking over his shoulder and up at the much taller Parker, the Pittsburgh right fielder who was grinning at the camera.

“In the photo, I held up my [index] finger to let him know he didn’t stand a chance,'' Parker, smiling at the memory, said in a recent interview with The Plain Dealer.

But the competition began before the cover photo shoot. Rice started things off at the introduction.

“He wore some playoff and all-star rings and squeezed my hand really hard,” said Parker. “I told him, ‘I’m going to punch you in the head if you shake my hand like that again.'"

Not only did Parker avenge Rice’s vice grip, but his defensive display in 1979 earned him the All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player Award and helped establish him as one of the best players of that era. It was the first time an outfielder had two assists in an All-Star game, and it wouldn’t happen again until Tony Gwynn did it in 1992.

Parker also is the only position player to win the award mainly because of his defense. He also wasn’t too shabby at the plate that day. He singled, was intentionally walked and drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.

‘Cobra’ still on the prowl

Parker, 68, doesn’t move as swift as he once did in right field. "The Cobra,'' as he was known in his playing days, had two knee surgeries and was diagnosed in 2012 with Parkinson’s Disease, which attacks the brain nerve cells and affects movement. Parker fights the disease daily with exercise and medication.

Some days are good and some days are a challenge for Parker who remains busy as a volunteer at the Cincinnati Reds Urban Youth Academy. It’s across the street from his residence.

Parker, who grew up in Cincinnati and played four years with the Reds, teaches young baseball players the fundamentals of the game.

Parker and his wife, Kellye, are also devoted to theDaveParker39Foundation, which raises money to assist Parkinson’s awareness and programs.

“I’d like to find a cure,” Parker said. “My foundation was created to bring attention to the disease and help fund research.”

Generating attention has been routine for Parker. He’s well equipped to stir awareness for Parkinson’s. His history of memorable performances, particularly the 1979 All-Star Game, is a prime example of Parker rising to the occasion.

“I went into that All-Star game with the attitude of playing hard and the chance to show my talent,” Parker said. “I wanted to be the guy that no one wanted to run against and I wanted to be the guy that would hit . . . I wanted to be number one.”

The Game

All-Star play during those days was more than a midsummer exhibition game. Competition between the two leagues did not have to be manufactured like the rule where the winner of the game (from 2003-2016) determined which league had home field advantage in the World Series.

The competition was so intense that the National League defeated the American League in 1970 when Pete Rose collided into Indians catcher Ray Fosse for the winning run in the 12th inning.

“In the pregame meeting in those days, National League president Warren Giles’ veins would pop out in his head as he told us this game was our chance to show the world the National League was superior,” Rose told The Plain Dealer.

Parker felt it, too.

“We went into those games with the attitude that we were going to kick their butts,” said Parker, who played in six All-Star Games and hit a home run in the 1981 game in Cleveland.

The National League came into 1979 game with seven straight wins and 15 out of the last 16.

Dave Parker accepting the All-Star Game MVP award from Bowie Kuhn

The laser from foul territory

In the seventh inning, with the AL ahead, 6-5, Rice hit a ball to shallow right field. Parker charged and overran the ball. Rice, already at second, went for third.

Wrong move.

Parker recovered, retrieved the ball after a high bounce in and threw a one-hop laser from foul territory to Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Ron Cey, who easily tagged Rice out.

“Parker made a great throw and I wasn’t surprised because I knew he had a terrific arm,” Cey said.

Speed was never Rice’s strength. He had a career-high 10 stolen bases in 1975, but his attempt at third did not surprise Parker.

“I knew Jimmy was going to run because he’s a competitive guy,” Parker said. “But I got a lot of satisfaction nailing him at third. Jimmy and I go way back.”

Nailing Rice at third

Lee Mazzilli’s solo homer tied the score in the eighth. The AL threatened in its half of the inning behind Brian Downing’s leadoff single. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk put two runners on with one out.

Enter left-handed batter Graig Nettles .

“I said ‘Oh [expletive],’ because Parker’s in shallow right field and I knew Nettles would hit the ball to right field, and that wasn’t good,” Downing said.

Right on cue, Nettles popped a one-hop single to right field. Parker charged, caught the ball on a short hop and fired a rope to catcher Gary Carter.

“Parker wasn’t playing that deep and I figured the play home was going to be ugly,” Downing said. “I planned to slide way inside and reach that front tip of the plate."

Carter took the throw on the third base side of the plate. Downing made his slide but Carter’s block and tag completed the incredible play.

“If the throw was just several inches higher or to the other side, I would’ve been safe,” Downing said.

Rose, who watched the play from first base, pointed out the short dimensions [316 feet] in right field.

“Dave had a great arm and his arm looked even better in Seattle because right field isn’t that deep,” Rose said. “But he would’ve thrown those guys out no matter which stadium we were in.”

Joe Morgan scored on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the ninth and the NL won the All-Star Game, 7-6.

This wasn’t the first time Parker’s arm was on display in an All-Star Game, well, sort of. In the 1977 Game at Yankee Stadium, Parker and a collection of golden arms - Ellis Valentine, Dave Winfield and Reggie Smith - put on a show during pregame.

“That was the best contest I’ve been in as far as arms,” said Parker, who won the 1985 Home Run Derby. “Reggie Smith had the strongest arm. He threw balls that exploded. I was probably the most accurate. I had a quick release - scoop it up, take it to may hand and get it off.”

Dave Parker with wife, Kellye, at Reds Hall of Fame Gala, 2014

Hall of Famer?

Winning the All-Star Game MVP was just the start of Parker’s accomplishments that season. He won a Gold Glove and contributed to the “We Are Family” Pirates’ World Series triumph, beating the Baltimore Orioles in seven games.

Parker ended his 19-year career with a .290 batting average, 2,712 hits, 339 home runs and 1,493 RBI. He was a seven-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and two-time NL batting champion. He was the National League MVP in 1978.

His 26 assists in 1977 are still the most by any outfielder in a season since Roberto Clemente’s 27 in ’61.

He also was the first professional athlete to average $1 million a year when he signed a five-year, $5 million contract with the Pirates in January 1979.

Those numbers have not been enough for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. His most votes was in 1998, his second year on the ballot, when he received 116 votes, well short of the 355 needed for election. He was considered by the Modern Baseball Era Committee in 2017, but was not elected.

Parker has been inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s “Hall of Game,” which honors former baseball greats who competed with the same passion, determination, skill and flair exhibited by the heroes of the Negro Leagues.