Pittsburgh Pirates: Inaugural class inducted into Hall of Fame
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Nineteen names are now enshrined in the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame. The team celebrated with an induction ceremony on the North Shore Saturday afternoon right outside of PNC Park along the Riverwalk. Players from many generations were enshrined three lucky former Bucs were there to see it happen in person.
Bill Mazeroski is one of the living legends who made it to the event. The 85-year-old says he can't believe that his game-winning World Series hit is still as popular as it was in the 60s.
"I thought it would be forgotten and nobody forgot it yet," Mazeroski said. "I wasn't gonna forget it, so it's been great."
Maz was joined by Steve Blass and Dave Parker to don their new gold jackets. Blass reminded "The Cobra" about how important he was following the footsteps of one greatest to ever play. "All they asked you to do was replace Roberto Clemente," Blass said to Parker on stage. "All you did was take ownership of right field, and boy did you ever!"
Speaking of the Great One, Roberto Clemente Jr. was in attendance to accept his enshrinement. He said the game needs more players like his father on the field and in a charitable sense.
"Fifty years after his death, his legacy continues to grow stronger," Clemente Jr. said. "It kind of reminds us that we need more people like him to step up and be a part of the community to unify the community, and his name is synonymous with that."
Many other legends including Willie Stargell, Honus Wagner, Ralph Kiner, Pye Traynor, and Danny Murtaugh were enshrined, as was a plethora of Negro Leaguers who spent their playing days in Pittsburgh like Josh Gibson, Ray Brown, and Buck Leonard.
"Perhaps no team has a richer history in baseball than the Pirates," Bucs Owner Bob Nutting said. "This hall of fame is dedicated to honoring, remembering, and celebrating those players and those stories."
Sixteen of the nineteen are already in the Baseball Hall of Fame and many more are on the way to the Bucs Hall in the coming years. If the inaugural induction was any preview, emotions will be high as the Hall grows.
"I was okay until I looked up there and saw that plaque with that group of people and then it hit me and so it's humbling," Blass said. "It doesn't hit you to actually see this. I look back. It's been a fairy tale. I mean, everybody has dreams. Not everybody gets a chance to live them. And I got a chance to live it. I'm still living it."