1979 Pirates Views
The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates had 98 wins and 64 losses and captured the National League East Division title by two games over the Montreal Expos. The Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds to win their ninth National League title, and the Baltimore Orioles to win their fifth World Series title - and also their last playoff series victory to date. The wildly popular Disco hit We Are Family (song), by Sister Sledge was used as the team's theme song that season.
The Pirates became one of only six teams in the 20th century to have won a World Series after trailing three games to one. Two of those teams were the Pirates, in 1925 and 1979. The others were the 1903 Boston Red Sox (in a best-of-nine series), 1958 New York Yankees, 1968 Detroit Tigers, and 1985 Kansas City Royals. Five Pirates had 10 or more hits in this series, a World Series record.
The 1979 World Series matched the National League's Pittsburgh Pirates (98–64) against the American League's Baltimore Orioles (102–57), with the Pirates coming back from a three games to one deficit to win the Series in seven games. The Pirates were famous for adopting Sister Sledge's hit anthem We Are Family as their theme song.
On a cold wet October night, the 1979 World Series got off to an ugly start. The Orioles scored five runs in the first, two on a throwing error by second baseman Phil Garner, one on a wild pitch by starter Bruce Kison, and the final two on a homer by Doug DeCinces. The Pirate relief corps held the Orioles in check as the Pirates clawed their way back on the strength of four hits by Dave Parker and a homer by Willie Stargell. The rally fell short, and the O's escaped with a 5–4 win.
1979 Pirates Images
