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2001-Present
1994 July 12 -- The largest crowd in Pittsburgh baseball history,
59,568, turns out as Three Rivers Stadium plays host to baseball's
65th All-Star Game. In a Midsummer Classic that is truly a classic
Tony Gwynn leads off the 10th with a single and comes around to
score the game-winning run in dramatic fashion on a double by Moises
Alou as the National League posts an 8-7 victory.
1996 February 14 -- Kevin McClatchy and his financial partners purchase
the Pirates and save the franchise from a move out of Pittsburgh
by other potential buyers.
1997 July 12 -- In front of a sellout crowd at Three Rivers, Mark
Smith's pinch-hit, three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th caps
off a no-hitter by Francisco Cordova (nine innings) and Ricardo
Rincon (one inning), the first combined, extra-inning no-hitter
in major league history.
1999 April 7 -- PNC Park ceremonial groundbreaking takes place and
the Sixth Street Bridge is renamed the Roberto Clemente Bridge.
2000 October 1 -- A crowd of 55,351, the largest ever to see a regular
season baseball game in Pittsburgh, watches the Pirates fall to
the Chicago Cubs, 10-9, in the final game at Three Rivers Stadium.
2001 April 9 -- PNC Park, the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates
since their inception in 1887, opens along the shore of the Allegheny
River and adjacent to Federal Street.
1970-1982
1970 June 12 -- At Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, Dock Ellis
no-hits the Padres, 2-0, to become the fourth Pirates pitcher to
accomplish the feat.
June 28 -- The Pirates sweep a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs,
3-2 and 4-1, in the final games at 61-year-old Forbes Field.
July 16 -- In the first game at Three Rivers Stadium, the Pirates
take the field in revolutionary double knit uniforms, and leave
the field 3-2 losers to the Cincinnati Reds.
1971 September 1 -- The Pirates field what is believed to be baseball's
first all-minority lineup in a 10-7 win over the Phillies at Three
Rivers.
October 13 -- At Three Rivers Stadium, Milt May drives in the winning
run with a pinch-hit single in the eighth as the Pirates defeat
the Baltimore Orioles in Game Four of the Fall Classic, the first
night World Series game in baseball history.
October 17 -- Steve Blass hurls a four-hitter and Roberto Clemente
homers as the Pirates win Game Seven of the World Series, 2-1, at
Baltimore, earning Pittsburgh its fourth World Championship.
1972 September 30 -- At Three Rivers Stadium, Roberto Clemente hits
a fourth-inning double off Jon Matlack and becomes only the 11th
player in major league history to reach the 3,000 hit plateau.
1975 September 16 -- Rennie Stennett sets a modern major league
record by going 7-for-7 in a nine-inning game at Chicago's Wrigley
Field.
1976 April 10 -- LLanny Frattare makes his major league broadcast
booth debut as the Pirates defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4,
at Veterans Stadium.
August 9 -- The 500th game in Three Rivers Stadium history turns
out to be one of the most memorable as John Candelaria throws the
first-ever no-hit, no-run game by a Pirates' pitcher in Pittsburgh,
a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
1982 July 21 -- Willie Stargell hits his club record 475th home
run, an eighth-inning, game-winning, pinch-hit solo shot at Cincinnati's
Riverfront Stadium.
1951-1969
1951 May 6 -- Cliff Chambers pitches the second no-hitter in Pirates'
history, a 3-0 victory in the second game of a doubleheader at Boston.
1952 September 27 -- Ralph Kiner finishes the season with a league-leading
37 homers to clinch his seventh consecutive N.L. home run crown.
1953 June 4 -- General manager Branch Rickey traded future Hall
of Famer Ralph Kiner, the only man to lead his league in home runs
for seven consecutive seasons. more>>
1954 April 13 -- Seven years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's
color barrier, Pittsburgh rookie second baseman Curt Roberts makes
his major league debut during the season opener at Forbes Field
to become the first African American to play for the Pirates.
1955 April 17 -- Roberto Clemente, a 20-year-old rookie from Carolina,
Puerto Rico, makes his Major League debut in right field at Forbes
Field.
1956 May 28 -- First baseman Dale Long sets a major league record
by hitting a home run in his eighth consecutive game, a 3-2 win
over the Brooklyn Dodgers at Forbes Field.
1957 August 4 -- Former Pirates' second baseman Danny Murtaugh makes
his managerial debut after being hired by General Manager Joe L.
Brown to replace Bobby Bragan at the helm.
1959 May 26 -- In baseball's most remarkable pitching performance,
Harvey Haddix throws 12 perfect innings against the Braves in Milwaukee,
only to lose the game, 1-0, in the 13th on an error, sacrifice bunt,
intentional walk and double.
1968 April 25 -- Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for Three Rivers
Stadium, the new home of the Pirates (and Steelers) to be constructed
on Pittsburgh's North Side. Among the featured speakers is former
track star and Olympic Champion Jesse Owens.
1969 September 20 -- At New York's Shea Stadium, Bob Moose stops
the pennant-bound Mets, 4-0, with a no-hitter, just the third in
franchise history.
1921-1948
1921 August 5 -- KDKA, the world's first commercial radio station
to schedule broadcasts on a regular basis, airs the first broadcast
of a Major League game as Harold Arlin describes the action of the
Pirates' 8-5 win over the Phillies at Forbes Field.
1925 October 15 -- In Game Seven of the World Series at Forbes Field,
Kiki Cuyler laces an eighth-inning, two out, bases loaded, double
off Washington's Walter Johnson to lead the Pirates to a 9-7 victory
and their second World Championship.
1927 October 8 -- The National League Champion Pirates lose, 4-3,
and are swept in four games by the New York Yankees and their famous
"Murderer's Row" lineup featuring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
1935 May 25 -- At Forbes Field, Babe Ruth strokes the last three
home runs of his career. The final blow is the first ever to clear
the then 10-year-old right field roof.
1936 February 2 -- Honus Wagner joins Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Christy
Mathewson and Walter Johnson in being elected by the baseball writers
as the first players to enter the new Baseball Hall of Fame. The
actual induction ceremony doesn't take place until June 12, 1939.
1937 June 4 -- First baseman Gus Suhr sets the Pirates franchise
record by playing in his 822nd consecutive game.
1941 July 8 -- At Detroit's Briggs Stadium, Pittsburgh's Arky Vaughan
becomes the first player to hit two home runs in an All-Star Game,
cracking a pair of two-run homers in the National League's 7-5 loss.
1948 April 26 -- Legendary announcer Bob Prince broadcasts his first
Pirates game, joining another Pittsburgh favorite, Rosey Rowswell
on the air. "The Gunner", as Prince was known, goes on to describe
Pirates action for 28 years.
1887-1915
1887 April 30 -- The Pittsburgh Alleghenies play their first National
League game, defeating the defending league champion Chicago White
Stockings, 6-2, in front of nearly 10,000 fans at Recreation Park.
1889 December -- The Alleghenies are renamed Pirates after signing
second baseman Louis Bierbauer away from the Philadelphia Athletics.
1900 Barney Dreyfuss, owner of the defunct Louisville club, acquires
controlling interest of the Pirates and brings 14 players with him,
including future Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke.
1901 Led by Honus Wagner, who hit .353 with 126 RBI, the Pirates
win the National League pennant for the first time, compiling an
impressive 90-49 record.
1902 The Pirates go a remarkable 103-36, finishing 271/2 games ahead
of second place Brooklyn, en route to their second National League
pennant.
1903 October 1 -- Deacon Phillippe defeats the legendary Ty Cobb
as the Pirates down the hometown Boston Pilgrims, 7-3, in the first
World Series game in baseball history. October 6 -- A crowd of 18,801
fills Exposition Park as the Pirates defeat the Boston Pilgrims,
4-2, in the first World Series game played in Pittsburgh. Boston,
however, later emerges as the Series winner, overcoming a three-games-to-one
deficit to win the best-of-nine competition, five games to three.
1906 May 6 -- The Pirates become the first team to use a canvas
tarp to cover the infield when it rains.
1907 September 20 -- Nicholas Maddox becomes the first Pirates pitcher
to throw a no-hitter by defeating Brooklyn, 2-1, at Exposition Park.
1909 June 30 -- An overflow crowd of 30,338 witnesses the Pirates
fall to the Chicago Cubs, 3-2, in the first game played at Forbes
Field, the nation's first ballpark made completely of poured concrete
and steel. October 16 -- In a World Series showdown between two
of baseball's premiere players - Honus Wagner vs. Ty Cobb - the
Pirates down the hometown Detroit Tigers, 8-0, in Game Seven to
become World Champions for the first time. The real star of the
Series, though, is rookie pitcher Babe Adams, who notches three
victories, including the decisive seventh game shutout.
1911 October 12 -- Honus Wagner closes out the season with a .334
average, good enough to earn the "Flying Dutchman" his National
League record eighth, and final, batting title.
1915 Fred Clarke, who led the Pirates to four pennants, a World
Championship and more than 1,400 victories as a player-manager,
retires after 16 years at the helm.
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