The Pittsburgh Pirates have been involved in three Fall Classics where the team up three games to one came home empty handed!
In the very first World Series, the National Leaguers looked poised in ready to take the best-of-nine affair. Taking three of the first four games, the Bucs needed just two more wins. Their opponents, Boston then went on a tear thanks to some great pitching. And they took over the World Series from there! The 1903 Fall Classic would not go to the senior circut!
The immortal Cy Young stopped Pittsburgh in game five with a 6-hitter to pull Boston to within a win of squaring the World Series. Boston exploded for 11 runs in the game.
In game 6, the Americans (as Boston was called then) tied it at 3, as Bill Dinneen won his second game of the Series. Boston only scored six runs this time, but the Pirates were held to just 3 themselves. Now, the first Fall Classic was down to best two-out of-three!
And it would be Boston that took the Series lead in game 7. Cy Young gave up 10 hits and 3 runs, but Boston got 11 hits and 7 runs of their own. Now, one more win and the Americans would have it all! Boston would have two cracks at it and they would take the first opportunity.
Bill Dinneen won game 8 and the Series for Boston with a 4-hit masterpiece. Boston had come all the way back. Long before Boston Strong, came Boston, Young And Restless And Relentless!
The Pirates would find themselves down 3-1 to the Washington Senators in the 1925 World Series. This was only a best-of-seven affair. They would need 3 straight wins. They got them!
In game 5, the Pirates won 6-3, but the score was closer than that. Each team had a 1-run lead. Then tied at 2 in the top of the 7th, Pittsburgh scored twice. Washington got one run back in the bottom of the frame, but would get no closer. It was back to Pittsburgh for game 6.
And game 6 was even closer. The Senators took an early 2-0 lead before the Pirates came back and squared things with a pair in the bottom of the third. A run in the bottom of the 5th by the Bucs concluded the scoring. There would be a winner-take-all game 7 in the 1925 World Series.
But it was Walter Johnson on the hill for the Senators. Washington quickly got ahead 4-0 in their first at-bats. The Pirates clawed back to 4-3 in the bottom of the 3rd. Two more runs by Washington in the top of the 4th seemed to spell the end for the Pirates. But Pittsburgh got one back in the bottom of the 5th and scored five more times to Washington's one to take it, 9-7.
Most recently, it was 1979, and Baltimore looked dangerous to the Pirates. The Orioles pitching staff and bats of the had kept Pittsburgh off-guard for the first four games. Even when the Bucks scored some, like 4 runs in game 3, plus 6 more in game 4, it was the O's that had the last word.
In game 5, the Pirates won at home 7-1. But they trailed 1-0 through 5 before they scored twice in the 6th, two more times in the 7th and finally 3 more times in the 8th. The Pirates were within a game, 3-2. But game 6 was in Baltimore.
And the Orioles' Jim Palmer, as he so often did in the postseason, tied up the Pirates' bats in knots. Through 6 innings, the Pirates were looking down and out. But Pittsburgh's John Candeleria matched Jimmy's 0's with 6 of his own. In the top of the 7th, as had happened in game five, the Pirates scored twice. Then, two more runs in the 8th, plus some fine relief work by Ken Tekulve, and Pittsburgh had squared the Series at 3 with a 4-0 win.
In game 7, the O's struck first as Rich Dauer hit a solo home run in the bottom of the bottom of the third. Again, the Pirates' offence just wasn't there. But again, it would pick up. I guess the Pirates of 1979 just needed a few innings to get the old motor up and going.
Willie Stargell erased that lead and put Pittsburgh up for good with a 2-run dinger in the top of the 6th. Inspired by that blast, the Pirates plated two more runs in the top of the 9th to salt away a 4-1 win. But once again, you wouldn't know who was going to win until the last out. But no matter! The Pirates had again overcome a 3-1 deficit in the World Series again. Now if only they hadn't botched that lead in the first World Series! I wonder how many fans of the Bucks ever bring up blowing a 3-1 lead in '03 when they talk about the comebacks of '25 and '79?
Burns, Ken, director. Ken Burns' Baseball. PBS, 1994.
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Seaver, Tom, and Martin Appel. Great Moments in Baseball. New York, NY: Carol Pub. Group, 1992. Print.
Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. Print.
In the very first World Series, the National Leaguers looked poised in ready to take the best-of-nine affair. Taking three of the first four games, the Bucs needed just two more wins. Their opponents, Boston then went on a tear thanks to some great pitching. And they took over the World Series from there! The 1903 Fall Classic would not go to the senior circut!
The immortal Cy Young stopped Pittsburgh in game five with a 6-hitter to pull Boston to within a win of squaring the World Series. Boston exploded for 11 runs in the game.
In game 6, the Americans (as Boston was called then) tied it at 3, as Bill Dinneen won his second game of the Series. Boston only scored six runs this time, but the Pirates were held to just 3 themselves. Now, the first Fall Classic was down to best two-out of-three!
And it would be Boston that took the Series lead in game 7. Cy Young gave up 10 hits and 3 runs, but Boston got 11 hits and 7 runs of their own. Now, one more win and the Americans would have it all! Boston would have two cracks at it and they would take the first opportunity.
Bill Dinneen won game 8 and the Series for Boston with a 4-hit masterpiece. Boston had come all the way back. Long before Boston Strong, came Boston, Young And Restless And Relentless!
The Pirates would find themselves down 3-1 to the Washington Senators in the 1925 World Series. This was only a best-of-seven affair. They would need 3 straight wins. They got them!
In game 5, the Pirates won 6-3, but the score was closer than that. Each team had a 1-run lead. Then tied at 2 in the top of the 7th, Pittsburgh scored twice. Washington got one run back in the bottom of the frame, but would get no closer. It was back to Pittsburgh for game 6.
And game 6 was even closer. The Senators took an early 2-0 lead before the Pirates came back and squared things with a pair in the bottom of the third. A run in the bottom of the 5th by the Bucs concluded the scoring. There would be a winner-take-all game 7 in the 1925 World Series.
But it was Walter Johnson on the hill for the Senators. Washington quickly got ahead 4-0 in their first at-bats. The Pirates clawed back to 4-3 in the bottom of the 3rd. Two more runs by Washington in the top of the 4th seemed to spell the end for the Pirates. But Pittsburgh got one back in the bottom of the 5th and scored five more times to Washington's one to take it, 9-7.
Most recently, it was 1979, and Baltimore looked dangerous to the Pirates. The Orioles pitching staff and bats of the had kept Pittsburgh off-guard for the first four games. Even when the Bucks scored some, like 4 runs in game 3, plus 6 more in game 4, it was the O's that had the last word.
In game 5, the Pirates won at home 7-1. But they trailed 1-0 through 5 before they scored twice in the 6th, two more times in the 7th and finally 3 more times in the 8th. The Pirates were within a game, 3-2. But game 6 was in Baltimore.
And the Orioles' Jim Palmer, as he so often did in the postseason, tied up the Pirates' bats in knots. Through 6 innings, the Pirates were looking down and out. But Pittsburgh's John Candeleria matched Jimmy's 0's with 6 of his own. In the top of the 7th, as had happened in game five, the Pirates scored twice. Then, two more runs in the 8th, plus some fine relief work by Ken Tekulve, and Pittsburgh had squared the Series at 3 with a 4-0 win.
In game 7, the O's struck first as Rich Dauer hit a solo home run in the bottom of the bottom of the third. Again, the Pirates' offence just wasn't there. But again, it would pick up. I guess the Pirates of 1979 just needed a few innings to get the old motor up and going.
Willie Stargell erased that lead and put Pittsburgh up for good with a 2-run dinger in the top of the 6th. Inspired by that blast, the Pirates plated two more runs in the top of the 9th to salt away a 4-1 win. But once again, you wouldn't know who was going to win until the last out. But no matter! The Pirates had again overcome a 3-1 deficit in the World Series again. Now if only they hadn't botched that lead in the first World Series! I wonder how many fans of the Bucks ever bring up blowing a 3-1 lead in '03 when they talk about the comebacks of '25 and '79?
References
Burns, Ken, director. Ken Burns' Baseball. PBS, 1994.
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Seaver, Tom, and Martin Appel. Great Moments in Baseball. New York, NY: Carol Pub. Group, 1992. Print.
Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. Print.
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