Latest / Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History / 1960 - Baseball Clip - The Pirates Sixty Incredible Years - Highlights

Transcript

1960 - Baseball Clip - The Pirates Sixty Incredible Years - Highlights · Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History

0:01
This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons
0:04
.com for more sports history. Hi there everybody,
0:38
I'm Bob Prince, the voice of the Pittsburgh Pirates,
0:40
and we're turning back the years so that you
0:42
can recapture the most exciting moments in Pittsburgh
0:44
baseball just as they happen. It's the 7th and
1:07
deciding game of the 1925 World Series. Darkness,
1:10
rain, and tension by the turn at Forbes Field.
1:12
Last to the 8th, the bases are loaded with Bucks
1:14
and Kai Kai Kyler is at bat. Two out, Kyler hits
1:17
a drive down the right field line. Two runs score
1:20
and the Pirates win 9 -7. Oh, how sweet it was.
1:43
The 1925 Pirates, only team in baseball ever
1:46
to win the series after being down three games
1:49
to one. Impossible? Sure, they're the Impossible
1:52
Pirates, and they played it that way for 60 incredible
1:55
years. They won four National League pennants
1:57
in nine years, from 1901 to 1909 under Barney
2:00
Dreyfus, led by a manager Fred Clark, sparked
2:03
by Honus Wagner, everybody's all -time shortstop,
2:06
Babe Adams, and other greats. They played Boston
2:08
in the very first World Series in 1903. dropping
2:11
that one five games to three. Then they won the
2:15
series in 1909, beating Detroit four games to
2:18
three. And this is how J. Honus Wagner, in the
2:21
twilight of his career as a pirate coach, compared
2:24
baseball as it was played in those days to the
2:27
game of today. Well, it's quite a difference
2:29
now than it seems to players right now. They've
2:33
got a great system. Everybody knows his unions.
2:36
In other words, team works down, put it back.
2:41
The players today, I think, in the minor leagues,
2:45
one thing is you don't get what they used to
2:48
get in the minor leagues. All the minor league
2:50
managers now want players to hit home runs, and
2:53
the fans want a home run header. So they decided,
2:57
the managers in the minor leagues decided that
3:01
they'd keep up the young brothers who could hit
3:03
a long ball. In the old days, they had speed,
3:07
and they'd bummed a whole lot, and they sacrificed
3:10
a whole lot. And being a dead ball, of course,
3:14
the outfielders didn't place a deep. And they
3:16
could fill you out the place, and they should
3:18
have got a good start. And base running, of course,
3:21
is a lost start. There are a few good base runners
3:24
now. They're on the card of that long hit ball.
3:29
And the manager figures, well, we won't send
3:31
them down here. We've got two long ball hitters.
3:33
It's back of them coming up and so far. It was
3:36
a long time, as baseball has measured, before
3:38
the Pirates were to win another pennant after
3:40
their World Series triumph over Ty Cobb and the
3:43
Tigers in 1909. 16 years, to be exact. Meanwhile,
3:47
the cries were, looky, looky, looky, can't get
3:50
them over. And put in Yellow Horse. Yes, Paul
3:53
Long, old buddy, and we weren't old enough to
3:55
worry about it. But the first long dry spell
3:58
ended in 1925 under manager Bill McKechnie. The
4:08
dean of sports editors, Chet Smith, covered that
4:11
1925 series, and this is how he saw it. Walter
4:14
Johnson, the big train they called him, threw
4:16
a five -hitter at the Pirates, and Washington
4:18
won the first game 4 -1. Vic Aldridge then evened
4:21
it 3 -2. Washington took the third game 4 -3,
4:24
and when Johnson came back with a six -hit shutout
4:27
to win 4 -0, it looked like the Pirates were
4:29
dead. They were down three games to one, and
4:32
no team had ever gone on to win the series under
4:34
those odds. But the Bucks did the impossible.
4:37
Dick Aldridge won the fifth game 6 -4, and Ray
4:39
Kramer chucked a six -hitter in the sixth for
4:42
a tight 3 -2 decision to tie the series at three
4:45
apiece. The seventh game was played in horrible
4:50
weather, rained by the buckets full. Aldridge,
4:53
Johnny Morrison, Kramer, and Ruboldham pitching
4:56
for the Bucks, Johnson for Washington. The Pirates
4:59
tied it up at 5 -5 with two runs in the seventh.
5:01
Roger Peckinpah, most valuable player in the
5:04
American League that year, dropped Eddie Moore's
5:06
pop fly. Moore then scored on Max Carey's third
5:09
double of the game. Carey, the pirate captain,
5:12
batted a thumping 4 or 5 -8 for the series. Pytrainer
5:16
tripled a right to score Carey with the equalizer
5:19
and Pye was thrown out at home. Washington scored
5:22
a run in the top of the eighth. It was Peckinpah's
5:24
home run to go ahead 7 -6. Now it was right up
5:27
to the pirates. In the last of the eighth, Glen
5:29
Wright fouled a Joe Judge. With stuffy Guinness
5:32
up and the rain still coming down, Johnson asked
5:35
for sawdust on the mound. He got it. McGinnis
5:39
flied to Sam Rice with two downs, Smith double
5:41
to right. Amel Eady ran for him and then Carson
5:44
Bigby batting for Kramer double to left, scoring
5:46
Eady with the tying run. Moore walked. Kerry
5:49
grounded to Peckinpah, who committed his eighth
5:51
error, a World Series record, which prompted
5:54
the famous baseball writer to select Peckinpah
5:56
as the National League's most valuable player.
5:59
With the bases loaded, Kyler came up. The game
6:01
was delayed until more sawdust could be brought
6:03
out. After falling off three pitches, Kyler,
6:06
with a full count, sliced a drive to right. Three
6:09
runners came across but the ball had lodged in
6:11
a canvas that was used to cover the infield and
6:14
been rolled across the right field line. So it
6:16
was a ground rule two base hit and Kerry had
6:18
to go back to third. Pooch Barnhart flied to
6:21
Harris and the inning was over. Then Oldham came
6:24
in to pitch for the Pirates in the ninth. He
6:26
struck out Rice. Got Bucky Harris, the Washington
6:29
manager to line out to Moore, and Goose Gosling
6:31
was called out on strikes. 5 ,000 fans waited
6:34
outside for Kyler, carted him on their shoulders
6:37
to his home, half a mile from the ballpark. John
6:40
Heidler, the National League president, summed
6:42
it up this way. The Pirates are the greatest
6:45
club I've seen in all of my years of baseball.
6:47
The gamest of all clubs. Just too bad old John
6:51
wasn't around to see the 1960 Pirates. Yes, the
7:09
impossible 1925 Pirates, down three games to
7:13
one and the first team to come on to win the
7:15
series after being that far out of it. Comedian,
7:18
sportsman Joe E. Brown later told an inside story
7:20
about that sensational but soggy finish in the
7:23
rain. He had been criticized by a good friend,
7:26
J .G. Taylor Spink, in the sporting news for
7:28
his part in the movie, Elmer the Great. Spink
7:31
claimed it was just too fantastic to imagine
7:33
a baseball game being played in a driving rain.
7:36
This was Joe Brown's explanation and story he
7:38
told baseball commissioner Ford Frick some years
7:40
later. We got the idea for the game and for the
7:44
conditions in that game from a game played in
7:46
the 1925 World Series between Pittsburgh and
7:49
Washington in Pittsburgh. Very interesting part
7:52
about that Ford was that I was talking to...
7:58
The trainer of the Pittsburgh club, the man who
8:00
was the trainer at that time, or rather the groundkeeper
8:03
out here, and Hannes and a few when they were
8:05
up at San Bernardino a few years ago. Yeah. And
8:08
I said, I remember the game so very well. And
8:11
I remember that in the game, there was so much
8:13
water on the infield. As a matter of fact, they
8:15
had to turn the lights on under the stand to
8:17
get the crowd out. You know, it was late. You
8:19
remember. I know you covered it. Sawdust out
8:21
there. That's right. That's what I'm just going
8:22
to speak about. I told him I said I remember
8:25
when Walter Johnson was out there that for five
8:27
times during the ball game they came out with
8:28
a wheelbarrow full of sawdust and put it on the
8:31
mound so he could stand up the water was around
8:33
the mound and he said yes and I might call your
8:36
attention it's something you don't know that
8:38
every time before I took that wheelbarrow full
8:42
of sawdust out to the mound. I run the hose on
8:44
it. Good. I didn't know that. Yeah. Well, you
8:49
should answer Taylor. Oh, that would go too.
8:51
You know, funny part of it is if we hadn't played
8:52
that game in the rain, that final game of the
8:55
World Series in twenty five, had we not played
8:56
in the rain that day, they couldn't have played
8:58
again for 17 days. We wouldn't have played. I
9:00
remember it very well. Yes. On top of the world
9:02
in 1925, the Pirates plunged a third the next
9:05
year torn by clicks and ascension and manager
9:08
Bill McKechnie walked the plank when the team
9:10
failed to repeat. Donnie Bush took over as manager
9:13
and the Pirates climbed back to the top of the
9:15
National League again in 1927. That was the year
9:32
Charles A. Lindbergh made the first non -stop
9:34
flight across the ocean, and the United States
9:37
sent the Marines to Nicaragua and China. Pirate
9:40
fans wished the New York Yankees had been sent
9:42
there too because that's who the Pirates had
9:44
to play in the 27th series. Pirate hopes were
9:47
high before that series. The Wehner Act, baseball's
9:50
greatest brother act, was rolling in high gear.
9:52
Paul Wehner, big poison, led the league with
9:54
380, and brother Lloyd, little poison, hit 355.
9:58
Pitcher Carl Hubbell, the giant meal ticket,
10:01
later moaned, every time you pitched to the Pirates,
10:04
you got one wainer on base and another at bat.
10:07
Chet Smith, you covered that 1927 series. What
10:10
happened there? Well, the Inks that year had
10:13
a team that was known as Murders Row. Ruth, Gary,
10:16
Musil, and Tony Lozare. They set a league record
10:19
with 110 victories. The Babe hit 3 -5 -6 and
10:23
set the all -time record for home runs, 60. In
10:26
my book, it was the greatest baseball team of
10:28
all time. But actually, it was Yankee pitching
10:31
that won the series. The Yanks swept the first
10:34
three games, and the fourth game has been replayed
10:37
over and over. With the score tied 3 -3 in the
10:40
last to the ninth, Combs walked. Mark Koenig
10:43
butted safely down the third baseline. With Ruth
10:45
up, John Milges let loose a wild pitch, advancing
10:48
the runners. Then Ruth was passed intentionally,
10:51
filling the bases. Lou Gehrig fanned, and so
10:54
did Musel. The crowd cheered Milges. But then
10:57
with Lazari up, another wild pitch by Milges,
11:00
and it was all over. But Johnny Gooch, the catcher
11:04
that day, always said that it wasn't a wild pitch.
11:06
It was a pass ball that lost the series for the
11:09
Pirates. The Pirates were murdered four straight.
11:20
And then it was 33 long and sometimes tortuous
11:24
years before the Pirates were to get back on
11:26
top of the National League again. They managed
11:28
to hang in there in the First Division for 12
11:30
straight years and were mighty respectable, finishing
11:33
in the money 23 of 28 years until the roof caved
11:36
in after World War II. But before the Pirates
11:39
hit bottom, there was a moment of near gold and
11:41
glory in 1938 when Pytrainer pulled a near miracle
11:45
as player manager. This is the way Chet Smith
11:48
saw it. We didn't have a good pirate team in
11:50
1938, just a bunch of try guys who fought their
11:53
way into first place on July 12th, held a five
11:56
-game lead as late as September 8th, and almost
11:59
stole the pennant. The wiener act was fading.
12:02
We had no outstanding nine -inning pitcher, only
12:05
fireman Mace Brown, one of the first great relief
12:07
pitchers. President Bill Benswenger felt so confident
12:11
we would win the pennant that he invested almost
12:13
$40 ,000 in a new press box. Then came that fateful
12:17
afternoon of September 29th, and I'll never forget
12:19
it. With first place at stake and the score tied
12:22
5 -5 with the Cubs in Wrigley Field in Chicago,
12:26
Gabby Hartnett came to bat in the last of the
12:28
night. Brown was pitching. There were two out,
12:31
none on. The count was two strikes, no balls.
12:34
Brown delivered the third pitch, a letter high
12:36
ball that didn't break down in the way as Brown
12:38
wanted it to do. Gabby swung. The ball sailed
12:42
out of Wrigley Field like a trophy looking for
12:44
a museum. You just felt it rather than saw it.
12:47
The Cubs won the game 6 -5 and then went on to
12:50
win the pennant by two games. Suffering catfish,
12:58
that was a heartbreaker. And then, some years
13:01
later, Joey Brown and baseball commissioner Ford
13:04
C. Frick were discussing the 1938 season and
13:07
talking about the great batting stars. Those
13:10
two little fellas that were with this ball club...
13:12
the wainers were great ball greater ballplayers
13:14
and a lot of people appreciate they were ballplayers
13:16
ballplayers they could do everything and and
13:19
seem seemingly i i see those two fellas up at
13:22
the plate both of them had habits one would put
13:25
that bat almost down his back now standing up
13:28
there and he looked as though he'd be the but
13:29
he was ready for that ball when it was pitched
13:31
they lost a pretty tough chance to get into a
13:34
world series when that The big guy came up there
13:37
and he told me himself he never saw that ball
13:40
as it crossed the plate. It started across the
13:42
plate, never did get across, but he hit that
13:45
ball actually blind. You know the funny part
13:47
of it was, Joe, that if Hartnett doesn't hit
13:49
that ball, we've got to call that ball game that
13:51
day. I was out there and I thought the umpires
13:53
carried a little too long anyhow and another
13:55
hitter couldn't possibly have come up. They'd
13:57
had to call that ball game. Ritzburg hates to
13:59
hear you say you thought they carried a little
14:00
too long. We had that Forbes field all set for
14:03
that World Series. Tickets were printed, weren't
14:05
they? You're still looking for a World Series
14:08
button from that, Joe? That's right. That's right.
14:10
But they had them. Well, I was going to send
14:13
one, but I can't get it away from Rosewell. Oh,
14:16
my aching back was a familiar sound. And things
14:19
got so tough for the Bucks of Rosie Rosewell,
14:22
then the voice of the Pirates, that he even talked
14:24
about some other ball clubs. This was one of
14:27
Rosie's favorite stories, told as only he, Rosie,
14:30
could tell it. Thanks a lot, Nachery. Hello to
14:32
you good friends of the air. One of the wise
14:34
sages of another day one time said, there's a
14:36
reason for everything, but everything is not
14:38
reason. How right, how right. But that brings
14:42
me to an odd baseball story. You baseball fans
14:45
who have patiently listened to my rantings for
14:47
so many years may have wondered why I keep constantly
14:50
playing the hunches as the pigeons come and hover
14:53
around my broadcasting booth out of Forbes Field.
14:56
Well, there's a story behind it, and I have to
14:58
roll the curtain back about 14 years to pick
15:00
up the connecting link between the Pigeon and
15:02
my good luck Roman. The World Series in 1933
15:06
was played between the Washington Senators and
15:08
the New York Giants. The Giants caught the first
15:10
two games at the Polo grounds and then moved
15:12
over to Washington. The Senators took the first
15:15
game in the national capital, but the Giants
15:16
took the next two and became world champions.
15:20
Now let me get back to the Pigeon. It was a chilly
15:23
October day when they played that first game
15:25
in Washington, but picking away at the saw directly
15:27
back of shortstop was a slate -colored pigeon
15:30
that refused to move, despite the appeals of
15:33
Joe Cronin, the senator shortstop, and Blondie
15:35
Ryan, the giant shortstop. At the beginning of
15:38
each inning, one or the other of those two defensive
15:40
players would give the bird the bum's rush. But
15:43
just as soon as the pitcher would tow the rubber
15:45
again, back would come Mr. Pigeon and start grubbing
15:48
for worms. The first day, the second day, the
15:52
third day, that pigeon was there. Finally, the
15:55
umpire and the ball players all gave up and refused
15:58
to even try to chase our young -feathered friends.
16:00
But I'll say this, outside of watching the ball,
16:04
strikes, hits, and errors, there never was as
16:07
much competition in a World Series game as that
16:09
pigeon furnished for three days in Washington.
16:12
At changing time in every inning, the fans would
16:15
fasten their attention upon the pigeon playing
16:17
in the back -or -up position at shortstop. And
16:19
the only time that bird would move a wing would
16:22
be when a ground ball was hit past it or when
16:25
the shortstop would back up to take a little
16:27
blooper. Then and then only would it lift itself
16:30
along, only to return again as soon as play had
16:34
resumed. The sequel? Yes, of course, there's
16:38
a sequel. Let me run over hurriedly the details
16:41
of the scoring in the final game. Al Schumacher
16:44
had started for the Giants and Crowder was throwing
16:46
in for the Senators. In the second inning, the
16:49
Giants picked up two tallies when Schumacher
16:51
drove out a single to send Travis Jackson and
16:53
Gus Mancuso over the happy gum. They picked up
16:56
another one in the sixth on a pair of doubles,
16:58
but the Senators went to work in the last half
17:00
of the sixth and tied it up. The game moved into
17:03
the 10th inning. When, with two men away, Lil'
17:05
Malot came up, got ahold of a fast pitch, and
17:07
drove it out of the lot to win the ball game
17:09
in the World Championship for the Giants. Oh,
17:13
yes. What about the pigeon? Well... When the
17:16
last put out was made, Blondie Ryan, the giant
17:18
shortstop, reached in his hip pocket, pulled
17:21
out a handful of corn and dropped it on the ground.
17:24
The pigeon came in a little closer to the infield.
17:26
Blondie stooped over, picked it up, and carried
17:29
it into the giant clubhouse as the good luck
17:32
charmer of the 1933 World Series. Yes, these
17:37
ball players are a superstitious lot. And so
17:41
are some baseball broadcasters. This is Rosie
17:46
Roswell saying goodbye and wishing you well all
17:51
along the way. In 1948, the Pirates made a spasmodic
17:54
lurch into the First Division finishing fourth
17:57
eight and one half lengths back. Billy Meyer
17:59
was named manager of the year and richly deserved
18:02
it. And that was the year the most famous play
18:04
-by -play announcer in the history of baseball
18:06
made his debut. Bing Crosby, Pirate stockholder.
18:10
did it this way under the tutelage of Rosie Roswell
18:12
in April of 1948. Now, Ralph Keiner standing
18:16
by down there waiting for Doy Laid, who's just
18:18
taking over the pitching chores for the Chicago
18:21
club. He's a right -hander, and Ralph Keiner
18:24
will be the first man to face him. Laid last
18:27
year was in there with an 11 and 10 record, 11
18:29
wins and 10 losses. Being even doing a grand
18:31
job, I don't dare trust myself for this. Don't
18:34
you think they're tired of my monotonous delivery
18:36
here? No, they never get tired of that. They're
18:38
right in there, big. Well, I'd like to see Ralph
18:41
improve a little off his showing so far this
18:43
afternoon against Rush. He couldn't do much,
18:46
although he hit a hard smash to left tail, which
18:48
is taken by Averson. He's facing Doyle Layden.
18:52
Maybe he'll do a little better. And he does.
18:53
There goes one. You don't need to raise. Oh,
18:55
and that mini. Darren goes clear out over the
18:59
scoreboard. Over into Shendley Park, a round
19:02
tripper for Ralph Keiner, his first of the 1948
19:05
season. Oh, did he? Let's hope that it's the
19:07
first of 61. home and that'll bring a gallon
19:10
of seal test ice cream on the month to some shut
19:15
in here in Pittsburgh. Ralph is beaming. They'll
19:18
be sending your card along for that. His first
19:21
home run of the 1948 season put the Buccos in
19:24
there created nothing. I just had to take that
19:27
and bing because we got a glad you did a little
19:29
corner on it. He's home run around is really
19:32
beaming the first pitch that Doyle led through
19:34
to him. He hit it right over the fence the scoreboard.
19:40
About 20 foot to the right of the clock and about
19:42
the same height as the top of the clock. I said
19:44
that Pasco hit a hard smash here yesterday for
19:47
the home run. May I tell you something? It was
19:49
a swinging bunt compared to this that Ralph just
19:52
hit. The wind is blowing against us this afternoon
19:55
when you hit the left field. The hardest smash
19:57
I've seen in this park. I guess he hit a few
20:00
last year just as hard. When he hit that, I know
20:03
it was a home run. No question. That was hit
20:05
with what they call authority. A real hard hit
20:08
ball. First pitch to Doyle -Lort laid through
20:10
to him. He combed right over the left field,
20:12
over the clock, over everything. And that was
20:14
the only time anyone ever took a mic away from
20:17
Bing Crosby. By the way, there was a second baseman
20:20
in that game, and this is what Bing had to say
20:22
about him. It's a ground ball to Danny Muratoy.
20:24
Takes it on the big hop, tosses it to third.
20:26
That's all. And thank you, ladies and gentlemen,
20:29
for putting up with my announcing. I know it's
20:31
not much good. Clutz has run out to... Grab Riddell
20:34
and gives him a big hug and a kiss. With a beautifully
20:36
pitched two hit game. Rip Sewell gets up out
20:39
of the dugout and goes over to Elmer Riddell
20:43
and puts his arms around him and gives him a
20:44
big hug. Wonderful pitch game. Lots of control.
20:47
Lots of stuff on the ball. Confident all the
20:49
time. Handled beautifully by Klutz and some wonderful
20:52
plays in back of him. Particularly by Rojek and
20:54
Gustin. And Danny Murtaugh who drove in the first
20:57
run. Friends it's been a real pleasure to appear
21:00
here on this broadcast with Rosie and Bob Prince.
21:02
I'm going east. I hope to get back for some of
21:05
the home games which start the 1st of May. I
21:08
hope to be able to see you then and to talk to
21:09
you over this microphone. I know you'll excuse
21:11
my deficiencies as a radio broadcaster for baseball,
21:14
but Rosie seems to think I bring them luck up
21:16
here, and if I do, I'm only too willing to appear
21:18
and contribute whatever I can to the color out
21:21
here at Forbes Field. In 1949, the Pirates fell
21:24
back into the Second Division and finished sixth.
21:27
There were some changes made in the five -year
21:28
program. The rookie tryout camp was launched
21:31
in 1950. Here's how Frank McKinney explained
21:34
the changes. Well, as we indicated when we first
21:37
took over the Pittsburgh ball club three years
21:39
ago, we launched into what we thought would be
21:44
a five -year program. At that time, as you recall,
21:47
Pittsburgh had little or no farm system. This
21:50
is a game whereby you've got to develop your
21:53
own talent. Certainly, you can't buy star ball
21:56
players. Nobody will sell you their stars. All
21:59
you can hope to get is... shall I say, cast -offs.
22:05
We immediately launched into the development
22:07
of a farm system which under normal circumstance
22:10
would take four or five years. This year we took
22:14
the cream of our crop, so to speak, from our
22:16
13 farm clubs and had them out here in the hopes
22:20
that by schooling them they could advance for
22:23
perhaps one classification in their development
22:26
program. There were about 70 ballplayers in camp,
22:31
and I was agreeably surprised to learn to see
22:34
that most of them had grown at least two or three
22:37
inches in height since a year ago. And in my
22:41
opinion, there are about at least six or seven
22:43
that will be ready for Pittsburgh within the
22:46
next year to 18 months. Well, now, Frank, of
22:48
course, everybody in Pittsburgh has been tremendously
22:51
interested in this bonus pitcher, young Lefty
22:54
Pettit. When you met him, I presume you... shook
22:57
hands with him gingerly for fear he would damage
23:00
him in some way, and I heard a remark that you
23:03
said that if he didn't look good to you when
23:04
you got there, you probably would shoot a couple
23:06
of scouts. At least I thought you might have
23:08
been quoted that way, whether that was correct
23:09
or not, I don't know. How did Pettit impress
23:11
you, Frank? Pettit has the all -year marks of
23:14
being a major league pitcher. He has the poise,
23:16
he has the physical ability, he has the stamina.
23:20
In my opinion, the only thing he lacks is experience.
23:23
I saw him pitch three innings Sunday. And with
23:26
the possible exception of being a little stage
23:29
fright, he had all the earmarks of being a left
23:33
-handed feller in my opinion. I think we're in
23:36
for one of the most interesting years that we've
23:39
had thus far. By that I don't mean, and I'm not
23:42
claiming to win any pennants, but I think definitely
23:45
we're a first division ball club. I still will
23:47
stand by my statement of asking the fans of Pittsburgh
23:51
to bear with us for five years. at the end of
23:54
five years or within the next two years. I'm
23:58
definitely sure that we will have a one, two,
24:00
three ball club. By that, I don't mean this coming
24:02
year. But again, at the end of our five -year
24:06
probationary period, so to speak, I think we
24:09
will be able to give a good accounting of ourselves.
24:20
But the luck of the pirates was running all bad
24:22
at that point. Paul Pettit came up with a sore
24:24
arm and $100 ,000 went down the drain. The pirates
24:27
finished last that year for the first time since
24:30
the First World War. Late in 1950, John Galbraith
24:34
took over and brought in Branch Ricky Sr., the
24:36
creator of the farm system, as general manager.
24:39
But for eight agonizing years, the Bucks finished
24:42
last or next to last. They tried everything from
24:45
the youth movement to midget short stops and
24:48
even left -handed catchers. Ralph Keiner's home
24:51
runs weren't enough to stem the tide of losses,
24:53
even though he led the National League seven
24:55
times, hit a pirate high of 54 in 1949, and racked
24:59
up an all -time pirate career total of 301. Joey
25:04
Brown provided some comic relief during the dark
25:06
days with this advice to the home run champion.
25:09
I've got to help that boy. That boy needs help.
25:11
Come here, Mr. Keiner, if you don't mind, old
25:14
boy, come here. I've got to... I want to help
25:15
you. I want to help you with your hitting. You've
25:17
got to pay more attention to Brown from now on.
25:20
You've got to watch that first ball. Don't stare
25:22
at the pitcher a little bit more. You're not
25:24
staring him enough. Now, do you see what the
25:26
St. Louis Browns are doing? You've got to do
25:28
that too. I could do that with you. Do you mind
25:30
if I mesmerize you slightly? Are you going to
25:32
go in today? I will if you can give me the...
25:34
Are you going... No, well, I could give you...
25:36
I can't play today. Well, never mind the swollen
25:37
wrist. Let's get a swollen batting average. I
25:39
mean, something... Forget about this kind of
25:41
thing. I can do it to you, see, if you'll just
25:43
pay attention. Look me right in the eye. Yes,
25:45
you see, now we've got it. No, no, no, no, don't
25:47
laugh. No, no, no, let's go back again. This
25:49
time, don't laugh. Look me right in the eye.
25:52
Good, I've got you. I've got you. It's 61 this
25:55
year. Really, it is. No, no, if you just pay
25:57
attention, keep your mind on it. We'll do it.
25:59
Don't just relax all the time, completely. I'm
26:02
letting you ladies and gentlemen listening to
26:04
this. You're very lucky. They're fortunate people,
26:06
you know. Yes, they are. I'm taking this boy
26:09
now, and you pay attention to me, Ralphie. Oh,
26:11
let's not fiddle around. Look me smack dab and
26:14
you've got it. And along about the same time,
26:58
during this period of fitful transition, there
27:00
was a fellow whose career was to take a different
27:02
turn. Danny Murtaugh, second baseman, double
27:05
play and double talk artist, and manager -to
27:07
-be. Here's Murtaugh doing a play -by -play of
27:10
a pirate game in the twilight of his playing
27:12
career. Here comes Ralph Keiner up to the plate.
27:16
Needless to tell you folks that he's our home
27:18
run hitter. Here comes the first pitch and as
27:20
usual was high and wide where Ralph can't get
27:23
to it. You booted it again, Dan. Barty's just
27:26
sticking his nose in again. Go ahead, Dan. By
27:28
golly, Ralph was telling me yesterday he felt
27:30
a little nervous walking up to that plate and
27:32
I asked him how do you think that pitcher felt.
27:36
There's another pitch coming down there and Ralph
27:38
found it behind the plate. I might say that Ralph's
27:41
been hitting that ball real good this spring.
27:43
He's hit about two dozen over that left field
27:45
wall and it's 350. I just soon did not hit too
27:48
many in spring training. Remember every time
27:50
he does and he has a good season with home runs?
27:52
Here comes the next pitch up, Bob, and it's a
27:55
curve ball on the outside corner of the plate.
27:57
But it was too low, I believe, and he called
27:59
it a ball. Lon's a pretty good umpire. You know
28:01
that? Warnock came behind that plate. Gee, if
28:04
he doesn't know balls and strikes after all those
28:06
years of pitching, nobody will, huh? By God,
28:08
he should know. There's another pitch high and
28:10
inside. It's three and one. I don't think the
28:12
fans like it. No, it doesn't sound like they
28:15
like it in that background, does it? Hear him
28:16
yellin'? By golly. I'll tell you one thing, here's
28:19
the only man in baseball hittin' and got seven
28:21
outfielders. Look at that, look at that infield,
28:24
how they play him. All back in the grass. Uh
28:28
-oh. He fouled that one off for strike two, his
28:31
count is now three balls and two strikes. Pitcher's
28:34
still sweatin' pretty good out there. Well, he
28:36
won't give him anything good to hitch, you can
28:38
bet that. Here comes the pitch right now with
28:41
let's see what he's gonna do at all now face
28:44
it line drive pass shortstop Left fielder center
28:48
fielder come up to the ball and they held him
28:49
to single Well now that's a masterful bit of
28:53
description Daniel. I thought so Danny Murtaugh
28:56
was a mighty versatile man as time was to prove
28:59
One day in the dark days. We asked mr. Branch
29:02
Ricky senior what he looked for in a young ballplayer,
29:05
and this was his reply question. I might tell
29:11
you that I have a very competent scout, a boy
29:14
I've known for many years. He is not versed at
29:17
all in the technique of positions or instruction
29:19
to players on the skillful little pleasing plays,
29:23
not at all. But he is a productive scout and
29:26
he asks himself three questions. Can they prospect
29:31
the chap here in front of him? Can he throw hard,
29:35
he calls it, and can he run fast? And third,
29:39
can he hit the ball off for a piece, he calls
29:40
it. Now, if the boy can do those things, if he
29:44
can run fast and throw hard and has great power
29:49
at the plate, whether he strikes out or not,
29:51
those three things, it seems to him to qualify
29:54
him, and he's produced some very great players
29:56
over a period of many years. Sometimes he adds
29:59
another one in conversation, and that is he asks
30:02
himself, does he like to play? And that is a
30:06
significant addition. It is the incomparable
30:09
thing of wanting to win. It makes men devote
30:12
themselves to their weaknesses. And it makes
30:16
men do more than they can consciously. They're
30:23
completely obsessed by a desire to excel. And
30:26
when you get 25 men like that, where nothing
30:29
matters except victory. They sacrifice whatever
30:32
it takes in the way of diversions and indulgences
30:37
of themselves. Everything is subordinated and
30:40
made secondary to the whole objective course,
30:42
namely to win, to have a great winning team.
30:45
Those men are not satisfied with mediocrity.
30:49
They are not having their eyes glued upon fourth
30:53
place or third or second. It's a whole lot better
30:56
to have a youngster who's coming along with a
30:58
direction in his play that leads to a pennant
31:01
although this year he may be only able to put
31:03
us in a fourth place or fifth or what have you
31:06
then it is to have players of greater ability
31:09
just now who will not crystallize into a final
31:12
club that can win a pennant they will always
31:14
keep you in a in a lower position Our object
31:18
in Pittsburgh is to get boys who are going to
31:21
come at one time in repentant -winning aggregation.
31:24
During those painful rebuilding years, there
31:27
was one event that propelled Pittsburgh into
31:29
the national spotlight. First baseman Dale Long
31:47
hit home runs in eight consecutive games for
31:50
an all -time record, a feat that Ruth, Gary,
31:53
Greenberg, and the other greats never accomplished.
31:55
The year was 1956, and the dates May 19th through
31:59
May 28th. That will be remembered for a long
32:02
time. Almost forgotten is Ralph Keiner's feat
32:05
of hitting eight home runs in four consecutive
32:08
games from September 10th through September 12th,
32:11
1947. In 1958, the Pirates jumped from eighth
32:15
to second. made a good run at the Milwaukee Pennant
32:18
Express in September. Some experts picked the
32:20
parts to win the pennant in 1959, but that was
32:23
the year of disappointment, injuries, slumps,
32:26
and temporary decline and fall to fourth place.
32:28
Little Roy Face gave the fans their biggest moments,
32:31
hanging up all -time pitching records of 17 consecutive
32:34
games won and the highest winning percentage
32:36
of 9 -4 -7, with 18 wins and one loss, all in
32:40
relief, to stamp him as the greatest all -time
32:42
reliever. And here is the matter -of -fact way
32:46
Elroy Face explained his phenomenal success.
32:48
Well, Bob, I don't think that every pitcher can
32:51
pitch the guy the same. I mean, each guy has
32:54
to learn to pitch his own way to each hitter
32:55
because Vern Law might throw a fastball or Bob
32:59
Friend might get a guy out on a fastball and
33:00
if I throw the fastball, he might hit it out
33:03
of the ballpark because my delivery is different
33:05
than theirs. Fastball might not be the same as
33:08
theirs and you can't go by that. You have to
33:10
go learn your own way. Another pirate who gave
33:12
the fans a tremendous moment in that otherwise
33:15
unhappy 1959 campaign was small -statured Harvey
33:19
Haddix. All he did was pitch 12 perfect innings
33:22
of baseball, something no other pitcher ever
33:24
accomplished. He did it against the champion
33:26
Milwaukee Braves, and once again with the impossible
33:30
pirate ending. Anything that Jim and I have witnessed
33:34
in this season absolutely at this moment fails
33:38
into insignificance. And we've had some thumpers.
33:43
Here's the wind -up and the 1 -2 pitch to Burdette.
33:46
Foul off to the right out of play. And Burdette
33:48
has shortened up the grip on that bat and is
33:50
trying to really hang in there. And don't forget
33:54
he also is quite a threat at the long ball. Two
33:58
men down. Last half of the ninth inning. No score.
34:03
I can't repeat it enough. The 1 -2 pitch. Stuck
34:09
him out swinging. Haddix pitches a perfect nine
34:12
inning, no hit, no run game. A standing ovation.
34:30
Ladies and gentlemen, Harvey Haddix has just
34:32
become the seventh pitcher in the history of
34:35
all baseball to pitch a perfect no hit. No run,
34:39
nine inning ball game. Going into the last of
34:41
the 13th, Bob Prince summed up what happened
34:43
to that point. For the final out of the ninth
34:47
inning was a strikeout on Luberdet. It was the
34:50
eighth turned in by Haddix and at that moment
34:52
he became the eighth pitcher in all the history
34:55
of baseball to pitch a perfect no hit, no run
34:57
game. He then went on to get him in the tenth.
35:02
and the 11th and the 12th, retiring 36 in a row
35:05
and counting the final two outs he had against
35:07
the Cardinals in his last victory at Forbes Field.
35:10
He retired 38 men in order before a man got aboard
35:13
and then only on an arrow. One out, batter Adcock
35:17
takes high ball on. Anybody right now sucker
35:33
at this moment than Don Hoke. I guarantee you
35:35
that. He's crushed over this. Here's the pitch.
35:37
There's a fly ball deep right center. That ball
35:39
may be on through and over everything. It is
35:43
gone. All right. Absolutely fantastic. Pandemonium
35:50
rained. Here's what the umpires eventually decided.
35:54
Adcock hit the ball over the fence and right
35:56
center. Mantia scored. After passing second,
35:59
Aaron took the shortcut across the pitcher's
36:01
mound and Adcock passed him on the base pass.
36:03
Umpire Dascoli ruled that Adcock was out for
36:06
passing Aaron between second and third. Adcock
36:09
was given a double. Aaron was returned to second.
36:12
And Mantilla's run was the only one needed to
36:14
make the score one to nothing and end the game.
36:16
If you tried to write the pirate story of 1960
36:19
before it happened, nobody would have believed
36:21
it. And it would have been rejected by any Hollywood
36:23
producer as too fantastic. Utterly impossible.
36:27
All the hopes and dreams of 35 years and considerably
36:30
more came true to a degree that defied description
36:34
and analysis. The only way I know how to say
36:36
it is how sweet it is, and we had them all away.
36:41
You could single out the trades by General Manager
36:43
Joel Brown or the perfect handling of players
36:45
in judgment of Manager Danny Murtaugh or the
36:48
dedicated performance of many players to surpass
36:50
anything they had ever done before. Dick Groat,
36:54
the captain, beating far more formidable hitters
36:56
for the National League batting title. Vernon
36:58
Law, winning 20 games for the first time in his
37:00
career. Don Holt, the tiger, and his driving
37:03
will to win. Bob Clemente's fielding and running.
37:06
Bob Skinner's bombing. Bill Mazurowski's wizardry
37:09
at second base. Bob Friend's comeback. Elroy
37:12
Faces' coldly calculated relief pitching. The
37:15
ability of almost anyone to climb off the bench
37:18
and win a game. Every game produced a different
37:21
hero. And how about the fans? Well, they plastered
37:26
beat -em -buck stickers on their cars' doors
37:28
everywhere. And then there was a sun. Yes, sir,
37:33
Mr. Prince, there was a song, and I know you're
37:35
not Bob Hope, and I'm certainly not Bing Crosby,
37:37
but I think we may be able to give the folks
37:39
a brief idea. It went like this. Oh, the Bucks
37:42
are going all the way, all the way, all the way.
37:47
The Bucks are going all the way, all the way
37:51
this year. Beat them, Bucks! Beat them, Bucks!
37:54
Beat them, Bucks is right. Well, the fans never
37:57
gave up, and neither did those pirates. The later
38:00
the inning, the more likely they were to bomb
38:02
you. They seesawed in and out of first place
38:05
until July 25th. Then Bob Friend pitched them
38:07
into the lead to stay, a 4 -2 victory over the
38:10
Cardinals in St. Louis. Finally, on September
38:13
the 25th, ironically in a losing game in Milwaukee,
38:16
their first pennant in 33 years as the Cubs knocked
38:19
off the runner -up cards 5 -0. This was the way
38:22
Paul Long described the clincher. 1 -0, the Pirates
38:26
lead on the... strength of a home run by Bill
38:29
Masurowski back in the fifth inning. Otherwise
38:33
it's been a real pitching duel between the great
38:37
left -hander Warren Spahn and the great left
38:41
-hander also Harvey Haddix. Right now it's one
38:46
to nothing. The Pirates lead. The Cardinals losing
39:00
to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. It's all
39:03
over. And this crowd here noticed a lot of transistor
39:06
radios here and the applause has gone up. Clemente
39:09
has just singled into center field. He's on first.
39:14
But somehow this thirty five thousand crowd.
39:17
Now they're making the announcement on the loudspeaker.
39:20
The Cubs have beaten the Cardinals. And the Pirates
39:23
have won the national league medal. A deeply
39:26
relieved fellow was President John Galbraith.
39:28
Well, it has been a long time and it's been a
39:30
rough road, but I feel a little bit that we've
39:35
paid back a little of the debt for the tremendous,
39:38
tremendous support we've had for 14 years. And
39:41
that's not now, that's back when we had a very
39:44
ordinary ball team. They've been great and I
39:47
hope they're as happy about tonight as we are.
39:49
It was a day Vice President Tom Johnson will
39:51
always remember. It's been great. It's the greatest
39:53
year I've ever had in baseball, as you can well
39:56
imagine, and it's just a real thrill, and I know
39:58
the whole city's thrilled. And Captain Dick Grote,
40:01
sidelined with a broken wrist, was worried that
40:03
he might miss the series. Something I've always
40:06
wanted to do is play on a pennant winner, and
40:08
I... I've said all winter, and I've said over
40:10
and over again, I want to play in a pennant winner
40:11
in Pittsburgh. I only hope I can play in the
40:13
World Series. The city of Pittsburgh celebrated
40:15
the Pirates' pennant victory with a gigantic
40:17
torchlight parade through the Golden Triangle
40:19
at midnight, sponsored by KDKA -TV and radio
40:22
and the Chamber of Commerce. The World Series
40:25
should have been anticlimactic, but it wasn't.
40:27
Meanwhile, at a Gus Van Club luncheon in the
40:29
Pittsburgh Press Club, manager Danny Murtaugh
40:32
received the first of many awards. He was inducted
40:34
into their Hall of Fame. Murtaugh, in accepting
40:37
the award, told this story. It got to be one
40:40
of these knockdown battles. So, finally, I'm
40:44
talking to one of my pitchers who had been pitching
40:46
at the ball game that day. I said, look, son,
40:50
when this other pitcher comes up here, I want
40:54
you to knock him down. And this picture of mine
41:05
happened to be one of these fellows that is quite
41:07
well versed in the Bible. And he turned around
41:09
and he said, remember, Skip, turn the other cheek.
41:14
So I looked at him. I said, all right, me? I
41:16
said, I'll turn the other cheek. I said, but
41:17
if this guy don't get down, is it going to cost
41:19
you $100? So he looked at me and he says, they
41:24
that live by the sword shall perish by the sword.
41:33
Gentlemen, you know I don't fabricate, and that's
41:36
a true story. And General Manager Joel Brown
41:39
paid this tribute to the Pirates and Murtaugh.
41:41
The 1960 Pirates have not been successful because
41:44
we have the greatest collection of all -stars
41:46
ever assembled. I think that there are a number
41:51
of reasons that have been made public on certainly
41:55
more than one occasion by many people that have
41:59
made this club a successful team to this date,
42:03
and I know they will continue to be successful.
42:06
Chet mentioned that I've been on tender hooks,
42:09
that I'm an ulcer case. Well, I don't have ulcers,
42:11
but I have a few hooks sticking in me around.
42:15
But, of course, I think that that's easily understandable.
42:20
The winning of a pennant has been my lifetime
42:23
dream, if you don't mind a personal touch here.
42:27
And, of course, to see a dream come almost to
42:29
its fruition... is something that would make
42:32
almost anyone believe that it just can't happen.
42:36
But these various qualities that have been attributed
42:39
to our ball club have been team spirit, desire,
42:42
ambition, aggressiveness, intelligence. Those
42:48
of you who saw Danny as a player and who have
42:52
seen him as a manager I think will recognize
42:56
that those very same qualities are inherent in
42:58
him. And I think those things in a ball club,
43:04
while perhaps they are somewhat innate in the
43:08
individual player, are instilled more than anything
43:12
else by the manager. I think Danny Murtaugh is
43:18
not only one of the game's outstanding managers,
43:21
if not the best. but the most underrated. One
43:25
loyal fan, the most loyal of them all, who deserved
43:28
to see the great day when the pennant arrived
43:30
was the late Rosie Roswell. He, in a sense, represented
43:33
the spirit that carried the pirates through.
43:36
And this is how he expressed it one day back
43:38
in 1950 when he was honored at Forbes Field.
43:42
And the only thing I can say is that my love
43:45
for Fitzberg will always be an abiding thing
43:50
in my heart. They'll be talking about the World
44:07
Series of 1960 until Doomsday. The most impossible
44:11
pirate team of all. Three times the pirates won
44:14
the World Series in 1909, 1925 and 1960. Each
44:19
time in seven games. but never in such fashion
44:22
as the 1960 crew. Newsweek magazine ran pictures
44:25
of Danny Murtaugh with the heading, wanted for
44:28
piracy. The New York Times' Arthur Daly termed
44:31
the pirates, Dest and his darlings. The New York
44:34
World Telegram and Sun said, if ever a World
44:37
Series was stolen, this was the one. The 1960
44:41
Yankees hit more home runs than any previous
44:43
American League team. More than the Yankees'
44:45
famed murderers Roe who clobbered the pirates
44:47
four straight in the 27 series. They humiliated
44:51
the Pirates 16 -3, 10 -0 and 12 -0. Worse in
44:54
dignities than any team ever suffered in the
44:57
series. The Yankees set new series records with
44:59
55 runs scored to the Pirates 27. 91 hits to
45:03
the Buccos 60. But the Pirates had them even
45:06
at the end of 6. And finally with the Yankees
45:09
with their favorite weapon, the home run. And
45:17
here's what happened in the 7th and payoff game.
45:19
The Pirates got off to a quick two -run lead
45:21
on Rocky Nelson's Homer in the first inning.
45:24
They grabbed two more in the second inning. The
45:25
Yanks came to life in the fifth with Moose Scowron's
45:28
home run. Then they piled up four runs in the
45:30
sixth to lead five to four. Yogi Berra's home
45:33
run off the Baron of the bullpen Roy Face was
45:35
the big blast scoring three runs. The Yankees
45:38
teed off on Face for two more in the eighth and
45:40
it seemed to be all over. But in the last of
45:42
the eighth, pinch hitter Gino Somoli singled.
45:45
Verdon got an infield hit. The ball took a bad
45:47
hop and struck shortstop Tony Kubek on the Adam's
45:50
apple. He clutched his throat and collapsed.
45:53
Then Grote singled a left, scoring some only
45:55
and making the score seven to five. Skinner was
45:57
thrown out on an attempted sacrifice bunt. Now
46:00
listen to Chuck Thompson, NBC's radio voice during
46:02
the series, who described it this way. In typical
46:06
World Series fashion, this one appears to be
46:08
going right down to the wire. Now Blanchard pumping
46:13
out the sign to Coates, who wigwags with that
46:15
glove just a little bit. He wants to see that
46:16
sign again. Now that Coates is into the move,
46:20
the 1 -2 to Clemente, he swings the ground ball,
46:22
slowly hit off the first base high, charging
46:23
a scour, he makes a pick up, there'll be no play
46:25
on the right scorer. Clemente hit a slow roller
46:36
down first base way, wide of the bag at first,
46:39
about 10 or 12 feet to the right or to the second
46:41
base side. Skylon came charging in, made the
46:44
pick up on the ball, had no chance of a play
46:46
at the plate because Verdon broke with the crack
46:48
of the bat. And then realized that he couldn't
46:51
get over there in time to get Clemente at first
46:53
base so the infield hit by Clemente has driven
46:57
in the sixth pirate run down to third base goes
47:00
Grove, two out, it's the Yankees seven, the Pirates
47:03
six. And the batter will be catcher Hal Smith.
47:08
Smith steps in with two down and pirate runners
47:10
at first and third and this ballpark is going
47:13
crazy. Coates into the set. He throws. Smith
47:15
takes a strike right down the pipe. And Smitty
47:18
was given it a good look. One strike to right
47:22
hand batting Hal Smith. Panetti hit a little
47:25
dribbler off the first base side, winded the
47:27
bag at first and legged it out into a base hit.
47:29
And of course, Vernon was able to score the sixth
47:31
round. Now the one strike that's coming to Smith.
47:37
It's high and a ball one ball one strike. Well
47:47
the pirate opportunity in this ball game in this
47:50
inning was came up about on a bad hop that hit
47:53
Kubek in the throat and knocked him out of the
47:54
ballgame. Now the 1 1 pitch coming down to Hal
47:57
Smith. Here it is. Swing and a miss. Strike two
48:00
and he really pulled the trigger. One ball, two
48:03
strikes to Hal Smith, who gave it the big ripple,
48:05
the Sunday punch, and couldn't find it. The tying
48:12
run is at third base in the person of Dick Grove.
48:14
The go -ahead run is out there at first in the
48:16
person of Roberto Clemente. And now the set,
48:18
the one -two pitch coming to Hal Smith. Coach
48:20
throws. He started a swing and held back and
48:23
has taken high for a ball. A check swing and
48:25
a ball two. Two and two now. And for just a split
48:29
second, every move of the pirate dugout came
48:31
to a stop. on that call up there at the plate.
48:35
But it was a high pitch and Smith held back on
48:38
the swing. So the count is two and two. And Coates
48:42
into the stretch. He sets. And the 2 -2 to Smith.
48:46
He swings a long fly ball deep to left field.
48:48
I don't know if... is at this moment an outdoor
49:03
insane asylum. We have seen and shared in one
49:07
of baseball's great moments. In the top of the
49:09
ninth, the Yanks tied it up at 9 -9. They had
49:12
scored two runs KOing Bob Friend, the hard luck
49:14
pitcher of the series, in a hurry. And Harvey
49:17
Haddix had trouble putting out the fire. And
49:19
then, the last of the ninth, and again Chuck
49:22
Thompson. The last half of the ninth inning.
49:29
Change is made by the Yankees. McDougal goes
49:32
to third base. Cletus Boyer moves over to play
49:35
shortstop. And Ralph Terry, of course, on the
49:44
mound, will be facing Mazurowski. And to go over
49:47
that, uh, Barrett play once again. It was a hard
49:50
hit drive down the first base side. The Nelson
49:52
fielded on the first hop and tagged the bag at
49:54
first. That eliminated Barrett. He was out. And
49:56
then, uh, Mantle. Could have been in a rundown,
49:58
but it was not the case. He dove back safely
50:00
to first base. Here's a ball one, too high down
50:02
to Mazurowski. And the Yankees have tied the
50:07
game. In the top of the ninth inning. Well, a
50:15
little while ago, when we mentioned that this
50:16
one in typical fashion was going right to the
50:19
wire, little did we know. Art Ditmar throws.
50:26
Here's a swing and a high -five ball going deep
50:28
to left. This may do it. Back to the wall goes
50:30
Berra. It is. Yankee has hit a 1 -0 pitch over
51:12
the left field fence at Forbes Field to win the
51:14
1960 World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates
51:17
by a score of 10 -0. Once again, that final score,
51:22
the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 1960 World Champions,
51:25
defeat the New York Yankees, the Pirates 10,
51:28
and the Yankees 9. In the Pirate Clubhouse, Bob
51:31
Prince conducted the locker room interviews.
51:34
Beat the Bucs! Can't beat the Bucs, can they?
51:36
No sir, can't beat the bad Bucs. I'll tell you
51:38
that. That's for sure. Yes sir, yes sir. We got
51:41
them, we got them. They broke all the records
51:42
and we won the game. How about that? There's
51:45
a good one. Broke all the records and we won
51:47
the game. We won the game, right here. That's
51:48
it. Here's the president of the ball club, Mr.
51:50
John Galbraith. And Mr. Galbraith, I just want
51:54
to ask you one question instead of you asking
51:55
me. Have we... paid our debt to the city, the
51:59
people of Pittsburgh. I think you have it. You've
52:01
given your voice to it, too, haven't you? You've
52:02
given everything I've got. You wouldn't trade
52:04
a Kentucky Derby victory for this, John. You're
52:07
trying to get me when I'm vulnerable. And the
52:09
commissioner of baseball, ladies and gentlemen,
52:11
Mr. Ford Frick. Commissioner, without question,
52:13
one of the most exciting World Series in all
52:15
time. This is my 39th, and I never saw a finish
52:18
like that one, Paul. Never. Here's Danny Mertai.
52:21
You Irishman, you did it! by golly bob what a
52:24
finish but uh we've been doing that all the year
52:26
and i think the fans are looking forward to it
52:29
well thank you very much dan john galbraith and
52:33
i'll just say thank you to everybody i hope you
52:35
fans have enjoyed hearing from these very happy
52:37
world champion pittsburgh parrots the headline
52:40
in the pittsburgh post -gazette read we had them
52:43
all the way and the pittsburgh press told it
52:45
this way city of champs flips lid There was never
52:49
anything like the all -night celebration staged
52:52
in the streets of Pittsburgh. It was VE and VJ
52:55
Day, the Mardi Gras, and New Year's Eve all rolled
52:57
into one. The celebrations extended to Addis
53:00
Ababa and Timbuktu. Those crazy 1960 pirates
53:04
were indeed the most impossible pirates of them
53:07
all.