Pirates remember
StargelPs heroics
PITTSBURGH — A day of cele
bration for the Pittsburgh Pirates
became a rite of sadness Monday
as they mourned the death of Hall
of Famer Willie Stargell on the very
day they moved into PNC Park.
As fans streamed across the
Roberto Clemente Bridge for the
first opening day at the riverside
ballpark, many crowded around a
bronze statue of Stargell that was
unveiled only Saturday.
The 12-foot statue, as imposing
as Stargell was to opposing pitch
ers, became a touchstone for thou
sands who needed a moment to
stare, to reflect, to remember the
player known as “Pops.”
Some brought flowers, others
cried. Some fans left behind signs
such as, “We Love You, Pops No.
8” — and, no doubt, a memory or
two of the player who had starred,
and taught others how to star, on
the Pirates’ last two World Series
championship teams.
A moment of silence turned into
a lengthy salute as fans kept ap
plauding and applauding long af
ter a pre-game video tribute to
Stargell ended. If was almost as if
they wouldn’t let the game go on
without the greatest home-run hit
ter in the franchise’s 115 seasons.
“Win One for Pops,” read one
sign; another read, “It’s a Sad Day
— There’s been a death in the
Family,” a reference to the “We
Are Family” 1979 Pirates.
Reds coach Ken Griffey, who op
posed Stargell in innumerable im
portant Reds-Pirates games in the
1970s, could be seen wiping a tear
from his eye. Cincinnati first base
man Sean Casey, a Pittsburgh na
tive who estimates he saw 15-20
games a year in Three Rivers as a
youth, also seemed visibly moved.
A few minutes later, Casey got
the first hit — and first homer — in
PNC Park, a two-run shot in the
first inning off Todd Ritchie.
Ritchie, like the other Pirates,
wore a No. 8 on his cap in Stargell’s
honor, and the team will wear a
Stargell uniform patch the rest of
the season.
Chuck Tanner, StargelTs manag
er from 1977-82, felt a twinge of
disbelief that the player who bene
fited most from the Pirates’ 1970
move from Forbes Field to Three
Rivers Stadium died on the very
day a new park opened. •
Stargell’s power, muted by the
impossibly deep fences in Forbes,
exploded in Three Rivers. He be
came baseball’s most prolific home
run hitter as the Pirates won six di
vision titles and two World Series
during the 1970s.
The Associated Press
Time for the weekly sports poll!
Last week, we asked which 2001 Oregon football game would be the most
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you said, compared to the Dec. 1 matchup with the hated Oregon State Beavers.
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matchup would be the most important game of Oregon’s season.
This week, we focus your attention on the world of golf, in honor of the recently
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Bobby Jones, Jack "Golden Bear” Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer or Tiger Woods, who
completed his own grand slam by winning the Masters this year?
Give usyour opinion bygoingoniinetowww.dailyemerald.com, clicking the
“sports” link and voting in the poll today.
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