Pirates honor 1960 World Champs

PITTSBURGH -- It can certainly be argued that the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates were the biggest underdog winners in the history of the World Series.
On Saturday, the Pirates paid tribute to their unlikely heroes with a pregame ceremony in recognition of the 45th anniversary of the team's stunning upset of the mighty New York Yankees.

Prior to the Bucs' game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 1960 Pirates players El Roy Face, Bob Friend, Dick Groat, Vernon Law, Joe Gibbon, Bill Mazeroski, Bob Oldis, Dick Schofield, Mickey Vernon and Bill Virdon were introduced as part of an on-field ceremony.

Mazeroski, whose walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series will live forever in Pittsburgh sports lore, threw out the honorary first pitch.

Time has certainly not diminished the fond memories the players have for that season and for each other.

"There is something unique about a team that goes through a pennant race and goes on to win a pennant and a World Championship," said Groat, the 1960 National League Most Valuable Player. "You build up friendships that last the rest of your lifetime. We're still very, very close."

"When you play a season together and win a World Series, you get a bond together," added Mazeroski. "It's always something special to get back and see these guys again. You get a little chill up your back again."

What made the story of the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates so special was their ability to overcome long odds. Comeback wins were their specialty, so the fact that they were outscored, 38-3, by New York in their three World Series losses never led them to doubt their ability to pull out another improbable win.

"We weren't awed with the Yankee legend," said Law. "We felt that we could pitch to them, we could get them out. They're not superheroes, even though they had some great players on their ballclub.

"On paper they were much better than we were. But when you get in a tight ballgame, that's where our ballclub came through."

Of course, the lasting memory for every person fortunate enough to have been at Forbes Field on October 13, 1960, was Mazeroski's dramatic home run in the ninth inning of Game 7.

"I remember watching it going over the fence," said Virdon. "We knew that [Yogi Berra] wasn't going to catch it. You knew you were going to have the chance to win it."

"To win it against the New York Yankees in the fashion which we won it was something special," said Mazeroski. "Now it is a part of history here in Pittsburgh, and that's great."

Source: http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/