 |
 |
Wilver Dornel Stargell
Pittsburgh Pirates
Outfield
Born: March 6, 1940, Earlsboro, OH
Signed: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent, August 7, 1958
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1962-82
World Series Appearances: Pittsburgh Pirates 1971, 1979
Died: April 9, 2001, Wilmington, NC (age 61)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1988
Willie Stargell spent his entire 21-year career with the Pirates, and was one of the most feared power hitters of his generation. As the club's regular left fielder throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, Stargell made his first of seven All-Star teams in 1964. In 1971, he helped lead the Pirates to a World Championship title over the Orioles, batting .295 during the season with a league leading 48 home runs and 125 RBIs. He'd continue to slug home runs throughout the 1970s, with his tally of 296 home runs leading all players during the decade. His blasts were often moonshots, and he holds the distinction of hitting the longest home run in Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium history. In 1973, he crossed the 100-RBI plateau for the fifth and final time, leading the league with 119 RBIs, and also leading the league in home runs (44), doubles (23) and slugging percentage (.646).
Died: April 9, 2001, Wilmington, NC (age 61)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1988
Willie Stargell spent his entire 21-year career with the Pirates, and was one of the most feared power hitters of his generation. As the club's regular left fielder throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, Stargell made his first of seven All-Star teams in 1964. In 1971, he helped lead the Pirates to a World Championship title over the Orioles, batting .295 during the season with a league leading 48 home runs and 125 RBIs. He'd continue to slug home runs throughout the 1970s, with his tally of 296 home runs leading all players during the decade. His blasts were often moonshots, and he holds the distinction of hitting the longest home run in Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium history. In 1973, he crossed the 100-RBI plateau for the fifth and final time, leading the league with 119 RBIs, and also leading the league in home runs (44), doubles (23) and slugging percentage (.646).
Moving to first base in the mid-1970s, he emerged as a veteran team leader, earning his affectionate nickname of "Pops." In 1979, he again won the league's MVP award, to go along with NLCS MVP and World Series MVP honors as his Pirates again defeated the Orioles in the World Series. He retired following the 1982 season with a career average of .282, 2,232 hits, 475 home runs and 1,540 RBIs. The Pirates had retired his #8 a month before his final game, and Stargell was a first ballot Hall of Famer in 1988.
Stargell briefly served as the first base coach for the Braves (1986-88) following his retirement, and he'd also later work in the Pirates front office. Two days before he passed away, the Pirates unveiled a statute of Stargell at their new PNC Park.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #634
The Card / Pirates Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Again as the everyday left fielder, Stargell enjoyed his best season to date with the Pirates, batting .307 in 145 games with 29 home runs and 92 RBIs. His average was 8th best in the league, and his .382 on-base percentage and .556 slugging percentage were 9th and 4th best respectively. Stargell was also solid on defense, with his .968 fielding percentage ranking second among all National League left fielders.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #553
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (20): 1963-82
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2025 Topps Allen & Ginter Relics #AGR-WST
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 1,391 in the Beckett online database as of 2/14/26.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Niagara Sports Cards)
On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show. The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year. I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova. I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.
I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set. My third stop was a smaller table with the impossible to pass up offer of 1969 Topps commons that were only $1, unless marked. The binder was right at the end of the table, making it an even easier sell. The prices on some of the cards were stunningly low, so I was even more surprised when the dealer, Niagara Sports Cards, gave me an even deeper discount upon tallying up my total.
I found 12 cards needed from Niagara Sports Cards, and this was the 12th of those 12, and the 75th of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day. The card was marked at $10, but I paid a little over $7 for it after the bulk dealer discount was applied.
The Card / Pirates Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
The photo for this card was likely taken at the same time as the photo used for Stargell's 1968 Topps card. The back of the card notes his 33 home runs in 1966, setting a club record for left handers. The cartoon depicts the three home runs Stargell hit on June 24, 1965, victimizing the Dodgers' Don Drysdale (#400) twice and reliever John Purdin (#161) once.
Accuracy Index: Pops scores a +5.
1969 Season
Again as the everyday left fielder, Stargell enjoyed his best season to date with the Pirates, batting .307 in 145 games with 29 home runs and 92 RBIs. His average was 8th best in the league, and his .382 on-base percentage and .556 slugging percentage were 9th and 4th best respectively. Stargell was also solid on defense, with his .968 fielding percentage ranking second among all National League left fielders.
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #553
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (20): 1963-82
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2025 Topps Allen & Ginter Relics #AGR-WST
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 1,391 in the Beckett online database as of 2/14/26.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment