
The other day, the MLB Network was showing Game 7 of the 1979 World Series, which is to date the last time the road team won Game 7 of a World Series.
As I wrote in the Pirates Home Grown vs Acquired entry that the 1979 Series was the first one I have any real memory of.
When my brother and I were kids, often we would stay at the home of our neighbors Peggy and Rico Bianchi until my mom and dad got home from work.
And in that great October of 1979, I remember being a 7 year old sitting in their upstairs bedroom with a black and white TV on watching the games and becoming transfixed.
I remember "We Are Family" being played as the Pirates rallied. I remember Willie Stargell getting key hits after key hit and the Orioles having what seemed like 100,000 awesome pitchers.
But watching the game the other day brought back a flood of memories and opened my eyes to things I didn't remember...
And keep in mind I originally watched it without color, and little did I realize just how colorful a World Series this was.
Let's list the cool things, shall we?
THE VERY EXISTENCE OF WILLIE STARGELL

I remember his 2 run come from behind homer off of Scott McGregor and not being surprised by it. That's just what Pops was supposed to do!
Only the most die hard Orioles fan could watch Stargell's 1979 World Series and not have a huge grin on their face.
The last World Series of the 1970s made quite a fashion statement.
The bright yellow unis of Pittsburgh with the flatop caps...
The bright orange duds of the Orioles complete with the smiling bird cap that will always rock.
Both with the pullover double knit tops.
They looked great on color TV. Imagine how they'd look in HD.
We need a bright uniform renaissance.
THE STARGELL STARS

Captain Willie Stargell would hand out stars for great plays and clearly didn't mind giving himself a few either.
Each of the Pirates put the stars on their caps and often there was no uniformity in how they arranged the stars.
Here Kent Tekulve had a few on top of his cap as well as surrounding the crown.
Today this would probably be banned by MLB for not being uniform.
In 1979, it made the team a closer family.
THE AMAZING NERDINESS OF KENT TEKULVE

Tom Henke was a GQ model compared to Tekulve.
He clearly wasn't cut from the same intimidating cloth as say Rollie Fingers, Sparky Lyle or Goose Gossage.
The tall skinny frame.
The huge glasses.
The high school science teacher face.

He had that rubber band arm submarine motion where I am sure the batter just couldn't see the release point at all.
He wasn't glamorous that is for sure, but he could get the job done on the mound.
Now as awkward as he may have looked on the mound, just imagine how out of place he felt at the plate.

Here's what I want to know:
How the hell did Tekulve get a run batted in in 1979???
EDDIE MURRAY AT THE PEAK OF HIS BAD ASSNESS

Eddie Murray, who could launch the ball from either side and managed 3,000 hits and election to the Hall of Fame, always was The Man at the plate.
But late 70s Eddie was the coolest Eddie.
The big fro spraying out from his helmet. The sideburns. The stache. The smiling bird cap that contrasted his scowl.
And we can all admit the orange wrist bands were a nice touch.
DON STANHOUSE

I intentionally made this picture bigger.
It's worth a close look.
Heck, it's worth making it the wall paper on your computer.
Remember, he CHOSE this look.
It's wonderful that he has the hair that matches the color of his uniform... and his afro dwarfs Eddie Murray's.
I guess at that point he said "Oh screw it... I'll grow an insane mustache that covers my mouth too."
What I am saying is, it takes some effort to make the smiling bird on the hat the SECOND goofiest face in this picture.
THE UNDERRATED COOLNESS OF DAVE PARKER

We forget now how great a player Dave Parker was in the 1970s. He was the MVP in 1978 and in the discussion for best all around hitter in the game then.
And like Eddie Murray he had a "don't f--- with me" aura that made him even more intimidating.
He didn't have Eddie's scowl... instead he had an expression that read "do you REALLY think you are getting me out? I won back to back batting titles and STILL can crush 20-30 homers!"

Back then 20-30 homers meant something and he was about as physically intimidating a figure at the plate you could imagine in a pre steroids slugger.
Parker wasn't on the juice.
He did manage to smoke a pack or so in the dugout during the game.
THE ROENICKE FAMILY

Didn't there seem to be more than two Roenickes?
It seemed like whenever I opened a pack of cards there was a Roenicke (along with a Toby Harrah, Dick Tidrow and Mike Hargrove.)
I could never get Gary nor Ron straight.
Now there is a NEW Roenicke in the bigs. Gary's son Josh pitched for the Reds and Blue Jays this year.
I wonder if he gets the Roenickes confused.
EARL WEAVER'S INSANE 9TH INNING

Trying to keep the Pirates from blowing the game open, Earl Weaver made about a thousand trips to the mound and made so many pitching changes that I think that if he could have activated McNallay and Cuellar, he would have.
In all 5 pitchers pitched the 9th including eventual Cy Young winner Mike Flanagan and both Dennis and Tippy Martinez.
I had to double check to see if I pitched.
THE BULLPEN CART

When did the bullpen cart become extinct?
Seriously... one minute every pitcher was carted out, the next they are ambling in from the pen.
Did they get a proper send off?
Is there any chance they can come back?
THE LOW TECH LOCKER ROOM

The Pirates in the locker room, including borderline Hall of Famer Bill Madlock, are watching the late innings.
Today they would be in the spacious clubhouse watching on flatscreen TVs.
In 1979, it is a crummy TV (probably a Zenith) sitting on top of a washing machine.
Hey, it did the trick.
THE PIRATES WIN THE WORLD SERIES

Fly ball to Omar Moreno and Kent Tekulve hugs catcher Steve Nicosia and the Pirates are the champs of the baseball world...
Something they haven't been able to say since.

There was no big elaborate pile and choreographed celebration on the mound.
After Tekulve hugged Nicosia, it became the objective of the Pirates to GET THE HELL OFF OF THE FIELD AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!
In the picture above, Rennie Stennett, Willie Stargell and John Candelaria are sprinting past the mob of people to get into the safety of the clubhouse...
No doubt the mob would want to steal that television on top of the washing machine.
STEVE NICOSIA BEATS THE CRAP OUT OF A FAN

I know of no accounts of this happening.
But I saw it with my own two eyes in the re broadcast.
Some fan tried to grab Pirates catcher Steve Nicosia. Nicosia gets him to the ground... and throws a punch... or two...
And I am not talking a half hearted punch either.

The person he punched MUST be out there still.
If you are, e mail info@sullybaseball.com
I would love to interview you.
Can you IMAGINE that happening today? Carlos Ruiz or Jorge Posada clocking a fan on the field?
They'd be forced to go on a public relations tour, apologizing left and right.
Not Nicosia! He gets to beat up a guy and then celebrate with champagne.
I kind of like it the 1979 way better.
I'm sure Pirate fans do too.
I hope reading this post made you hum a little Sister Sledge.

Screw the Pirates! And I don't even remember that World Series, probably because I was born 5 months earleir.
ReplyDeleteThen why are you even commenting on it? If you don't appreciate the history of the game, why did you even waste time reading this blog? I don't like the Yankees but you can't deny how impressive Murderer's Row was in the 1920's!
DeletePaul --
ReplyDeleteEven though you're Red Sux fan, I have to give you kudos for a fantastic, and humorous, article. The pix of Don Stanhouse alone made it a worthwhile read.
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THE GRAPHICS! THE Graphics on-screen are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI always remember 2 things from that Series.
ReplyDelete1. The horrible condition of the playing surface at Memorial Stadium due to a Colts game played in the rain prior to the WS, and 2. Pops Stargell. Enough said.
I agree with all the cool things you point out from that Series. I was 15 and remember that Series very well.
ReplyDeleteThere was one thing in that Series that was very annoying to me. I remember endless cutaway shots of the Pirates wives in the stands and Omar "The Outmaker" Moreno's wife incessantly blowing some stupid whistle. I'm surprised Mrs. Steve Nicosia didn't go all Steve Nicosia on her.
Great job. I love the nostalgia.
Update: I bought the boxed set of the 1979 Series. I've made it through Game 1. They showed the endless cutaway shots of the wives with Howard Cosell commenting on all of them. Two additional comments:
ReplyDelete1. Omar "the Outmaker's" wife would not only blow the whistle, but also yell "Let's go Sweetie" every time he came up. The ribbing he took for that had to be agonizing.
2. They actually showed a shot of Mrs. Steve Nicosia. She looked like she was from Communist Czechoslovakia and could beat the crap out of Mr. Steve Nicosia. All I could say when I saw her was "YIKES"
Missing those old caps!
ReplyDeleteOne thing for sure. the fashion in the that time was awful. I wouldn't a have afro. but I think that bears are amazing. It is nice that you kept this memory in particular.
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In Game 4 (boxed set watching again) the ABC cameramen are great. Three Rivers Stadium is in a miserable, damp cold evening and they found a guy (could have been Bill Cowher's uncle) who fell asleep with a cigar in his mouth, and as they zoom in on him, the cigar drops and he wakes up. Cosell demands to see the replay after every other pitch. Fantastic!
ReplyDeleteMrs. Omar Moreno also continues pulling for "Sweetie" and blowing that infernal whistle the entire Series.
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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.
ReplyDeleteIn this Series, it was the American League team's "turn" to play by National League rules, meaning no designated hitter and the Orioles' pitchers would have to bat. While this resulted in Tim Stoddard getting his first major league hit and RBI in Game 4, overall, it hurt the Orioles because Lee May, their designated hitter for much of the season and a key part of their offense, was only able to bat three times in the whole series.
ReplyDeleteI watched this game with my colleague at stadium and that day is my memorable day of my entire life. On that day we enjoyed a lot with girls and other stuff. I never ever forget that day.
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ReplyDeleteI remember vividly, watching this game on TV with my dad; I was literally inches fromt he screen.
But, aren't you forgetting one big memory of watching this game on TV?
It was Rollen Stewart, or some guy in a rainbow-colored wig, sitting behind home plate, constantly waving colored flashlights at the windup of every pitch? No he didn't hold up any signs John 3:16 or otherwise, he was doing enough to attract viewers' attention.
Sure would've been nice if the Brewers beat the Orioles that year oh well.....
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ReplyDeleteOn 5/19/2014 I was at Robert Morris University for an autograph session with Steve Nicosia.
ReplyDeleteBefore I had him sign anything, I had to ask Nicosia about the incident after game 7. As Nicosia stated to me, there were 3 people actually on him, one was pulling him from behind with his chest protector strap, the other trying to take his helmet because it had a couple of stars on it. The third guy, which was on video was trying to grab his mask. The guy could not get it away from him because Nicosia had his fingers stuck, and could not get them loose from the mask. So, to get the guy away, Nicosia just started to wale on him.
None of the 3 guys were able to get any of the equipment pieces from him. From it sound like, most the fans were going after the players wanted to grab the hats with the stars on them. That is why you see Tekulve at the end without his hat. Someone grabbed it and his glove.
Funny thing that Steve said was the wife of the guy in the video contacted him 5 months ago to apologize and see if they can meet. From what Steve said, the guy is now a sports agent, and at the time of the game was a college kid just doing goofy college things.
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