The Pirates were founded in 1882 as the Pittsburgh Alleghenys before joining the National League in 1887 1)
The team’s name “Pirates” dates to 1891, when officials accused them of “piratical” tactics to sign star players 2)
Pittsburgh has won five World Series titles: 1909, 1925, 1960, 1971, and 1979 3)
The Pirates are nicknamed “Bucs” or “Buccos,” derived from “buccaneer,” a synonym for pirate 4)
The Pirates played in the first modern World Series in 1903, losing to the Boston Red Sox 5)
Shortstop Honus Wagner, Pirates legend, won eight batting titles and was a Hall of Fame’s inaugural inductee 6)
Bill Mazeroski hit the first—and only—Game 7 walk-off home run in World Series history (1960) 7)
The 1979 championship team rallied around disco anthem “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge 8)
Chief Wilson owns an unbreakable MLB record with 36 triples in a single season (1912) 9)
Pirates mascot Pirate Parrot debuted April 1, 1979 at Three Rivers Stadium 10)
The original Pirate Parrot was replaced in 1985 after a stadium scandal involving drug dealing 11)
PNC Park is next to the iconic yellow Roberto Clemente Bridge, which is closed to cars on game days so fans can walk to the stadium 12)
Roberto Clemente, Hall of Famer, led the Pirates to two titles and is memorialized by the bridge and a statue 13)
A statue of Honus Wagner stands outside PNC Park’s home plate entrance 14)
PNC Park's right-field wall is 21 feet high, honoring Clemente's #21 15)
The Pirates played at Forbes Field from 1909 to 1970, hosting iconic moments like Mazeroski’s 1960 walk-off 16)
Home plate from Forbes Field is preserved in the University of Pittsburgh’s Posvar Hall 17)
Bill Mazeroski and Roberto Clemente both won multiple Gold Gloves for Pittsburgh 18)
Willie Stargell, “Pops,” hit 475 career homers and was the 1979 NL and World Series MVP 19)
Stargell also hit the longest home run in Veterans Stadium history—twice, each at 535 feet 20)
Hall of Famer Pie Traynor was named the greatest third baseman of the pre-war era 21)
The Pirates posted a franchise-worst 113 losses in 1952 22)
Pittsburgh holds the MLB record for most consecutive losing seasons: 20 (1993–2012) 23)
The Pirates have won nine National League pennants in franchise history 24)
The Pirates were the first NL team to permanently wear numbers on uniforms in 1933 25)
The Pirates set an MLB record with eight triples in a single game on May 30, 1925 26)
Six no-hitters have been thrown by Pirates pitchers, most recently in 1997 27)
Arky Vaughan won the NL batting title with a .385 average in 1935 28)
PNC Park was the first two-deck ballpark built in the US since 1953, seating just 38,362 fans 29)
No seat in PNC Park is more than 88 feet above the field—one of MLB’s most intimate parks 30)
Fans can walk to games via the closed-off Roberto Clemente Bridge for a memorable entrance 31)
In 1995, the Pirate Parrot was briefly paired with a secondary mascot, the Buccaneer 32)
The Pirate Parrot is famous for dancing, costumes, and pranking umpires and fans 33)
For several years, the mascot was known for wearing a Pirates-themed hat, bandana, and jersey 34)
The ballpark was designed to maximize river and skyline views, with pedestrian and riverboat access 35)
Only four players (Wagner, Clemente, Stargell, Mazeroski) played 20+ years—all for Pittsburgh 36)
Willie Stargell was the first African-American team captain in MLB history 37)
Pirates have retired numbers honoring Clemente (#21), Stargell (#8), Wagner (#33), Mazeroski (#9), and more 38)
The Pirates played at Three Rivers Stadium (1970–2000), hosting two World Series champs 39)
Pirates’ black, gold, and white colors match other city teams—the Steelers and Penguins 40)
Stargell awarded “Stargell Stars” to teammates for hustle and clutch plays 41)
The stadium was designed by HOK Sport and opened in 2001 42)
The Pirates’ last World Series win and pennant was in 1979 43)
Pittsburgh’s most recent playoff series win came in 2013 during the NL Wild Card Game 44)