'Burgh's Best to Wear It, No. 8: Before he hit all those home runs, Willie Stargell stared down bigotry

In his major league debut, Willie Stargell was upstaged by a 5-foot-8 catcher, but Stargell went on to seize the spotlight for the next 20 years.

Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an 18-year-old amateur free agent in 1958 for a reported bonus of $1,500, Stargell bounced from Roswell, N.M., to Grand Forks, N.D., to Asheville, N.C., to Columbus, Ohio, facing bigotry and even a death threat in Plainview, Texas, according to the website thisdayinbaseball.com.

He finally landed in Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field one September Sunday afternoon in 1962.

With the Pirates and San Francisco Giants tied 4-4 in the bottom of the 10th inning, manager Danny Murtaugh called on the rookie outfielder to pinch hit for relief pitcher Joe Gibbon.

Bill Mazeroski stood at second base, carrying the potential winning run. Stu Miller, one of the National League’s top relievers back then, was on the mound. Stargell struck out, the first of 1,936 whiffs in his 21-year career. Catcher Smoky Burgess followed with the winning home run.

The next season, Stargell slugged 11 home runs, the first of his 18 consecutive seasons with double-digit homers.

He became one of the game’s great players and is the Tribune-Review sports staff’s choice for the best Pittsburgh athlete to wear jersey No. 8.

Over 21 seasons, Stargell hit 475 home runs with 1,540 RBIs — both franchise records — with a slash line of .282/.360/.529. He also hit a record seven homers over the 86-foot high roof at Forbes Field.

Other than Roberto Clemente and Honus Wagner, Stargell played in more games for the Pirates (2,360) than anyone in history.

He played for two World Series champions (1971 and ’79). His single in the eighth inning of Game 7 in ’71 turned out to be the decisive run when he scored ahead of Jose Pagan’s double in the 2-1 Pirates victory against the Baltimore Orioles. In that game, the left-handed Stargell batted sixth in the order against Orioles lefty Mike Cuellar.

The 1979 season wasn’t Stargell’s best — he hit 48 and 44 home runs in 1971 and ’73 — but it cemented his legacy. He became the first player named MVP of the NLCS, World Series and National League, sharing the latter with Keith Hernandez.

In Game 7 that year, Stargell’s two-run homer in the sixth inning — his last of three in the series — erased a 1-0 Orioles lead on the way to a 4-1 victory.

Nicknamed “Pops” later in his career, Stargell was the leader of the Pirates clubhouse, handing out stars to paste on caps of teammates who had performed well in that day’s game.

Teammate Ken Brett called Stargell “that rare combination of athlete and gentleman.”

“Having Willie Stargell on your ballclub is like having a diamond ring on your finger,” manager Chuck Tanner said.

Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988, Stargell died of complications from a stroke in 2001, the day the Pirates opened PNC Park, where his statue greets fans to this day.

Other notable athletes who wore No. 8 include:

• Former Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Mark Recchi helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 1991, scoring 40 goals with 73 assists. He helped the team repeat its title in another way in 1992 when he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in a deal that brought Rick Tocchet, Kjell Samuelsson and Ken Wregget to Pittsburgh. Recchi, who played 22 seasons for seven NHL teams, was fired as a Penguins assistant Aug. 12.

• Tommy Maddox was the last regular Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback before Ben Roethlisberger. He played five seasons, two as the regular starter. He threw for 6,250 yards and 38 touchdowns over the 2002 and ’03 seasons. Maddox led the Steelers into the ’02 playoffs, where he threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns in a dramatic 36-33 victory against the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers trailed 24-7 in the third quarter. Earlier in that season, Maddox suffered cerebral and spinal concussions and experienced temporary paralysis in a game against the Tennessee Titans.

• Pitt’s Rick Trocano preceded Dan Marino at quarterback, throwing for 1,648 yards in 1978. When Marino grabbed the job, Trocano moved to safety. But he was back under center in 1980 and helped Pitt finish 11-1 after Marino injured his knee. The Steelers drafted Trocano in the 11th round in 1981, the last of 12 Pitt players selected that year. Art Rooney Sr. lobbied Chuck Noll to draft Trocano, saying he reminded him of Hall of Famer Bill Dudley. Trocano never played for the Steelers, instead spending the entirety of his two-year NFL career in Cleveland.

Check out the entire ’Burgh’s Best to Wear It series here.