Pittsburgh Pirates Titles

<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I>100 Things Pirates Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die</I> is a must-read for all true fans. With listings ranked in importance from one to 100, the book includes everything from Bill Mazeroski’s World Series–winning homerun in 1960 and PNC Park, arguably baseball’s finest stadium, to legendary broadcaster Bob Prince. This guide touches upon all of the team’s nine National League pennants and five World Series titles, as well as legendary players such as Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Barry Bonds, and Andrew McCutchen. Packed with personalities, places, events, and facts, <I>100 Things Pirates Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die</I> is the perfect tool for Pirates fans to take their team spirit to a whole new level.

The 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates advanced to the postseason for the first time in 20 years. Loyal fans who stood by their team through two decades of losing seasons, including late-season collapses in 2011 and 2012, finally have reason to be optimistic. They can celebrate the team’s amazing season as manager Clint Hurdle led Andrew McCutchen, a recovered Jason Grilli, Garrett Jones, and the rest of the Bucs in their attempt to reach the World Series. This full-color pictorial keepsake is packed with unique stories and images from Pittsburgh’s largest daily newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

<DIV><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>Exploring a pitching career that began with a complete-game victory over Hall of Famer Don Drysdale in 1964 and ended when he could no longer control his pitches, this book details the life of Pittsburgh Pirates great, Steve Blass. This insider's view of the humorous and bizarre journey of a World Series champion pitcher turned color commentator will delight Pirates and baseball fans alike. Recounting his first years in the Major Leagues and his battle with the baffling condition that would ultimately bear his own name, Steve Blass tells the story of his life on and off the field with a poignant, dazzling wit and shares the life of a baseball player who had the prime of his career cut short.</DIV>

A century of Pittsburgh’s rich sports history is celebrated through 50 greatest moments in this volume, culled from the coverage by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Among the storied past of athletics in the Pennsylvanian city, this collection highlights such events as the Pirates at the World Series; Steelers' Super Bowls; the Penguins with their back-to-back Stanley Cups; the era when Carnegie “Tech,” Duquesne, and Pitt were all playing college bowls; and boxing title bouts fought by Harry Greb, Teddy Yaroz, and Billy Conn. These moments and others from the wide spectrum of franchises and Hall of Fame athletes in Pittsburgh’s history are celebrated in a commemorative format that illustrates why Pittsburgh has earned the title of the “Best Sports City” more than once and why “City of Champions” has come to describe the town time and time again.

Genuine fans take the best team moments with the less than great, and know that the games that are best forgotten make the good moments truly shine. This monumental book of the Pittsburgh Pirates documents all the best moments and personalities in the history of the team, but also unmasks the regrettably awful and the unflinchingly ugly. In entertaining—and unsparing—fashion, this book sparkles with Pirates highlights and lowlights, from wonderful and wacky memories to the famous and infamous. Such moments include the final homerun hits of the 1960 World Series by Hal Smith and Bill Mazeroski as well as the drug scandal of the early 1980s. Whether providing fond memories, goose bumps, or laughs, this portrait of the team is sure to appeal to the fan who has been through it all.

<DIV>Most fans know Ralph Kiner as the New York Mets&#39; long-tenured color commentator, but as a player he was one of the most feared hitters in the game; this autobiography allows Kiner to reveal his life story and to share his learned opinion about many topics affecting the game today.</DIV>