I may be getting up there in years, but even I have an issue trying to remember when the Pirates were consistently competitive. So while I can say some old man rants like "You kids today, always in a hurry. I remember Nomar Garciaparra could take half an hour to adjust his batting gloves between every pitch, and we liked it," I don't quite get to talk about what it's like for my team to draw Pittsburgh in the postseason and be concerned. However, a quick history search will reveal five World Series championships and 9 NL pennants, including the first pennant in the WS era and their modest collection of retired numbers will reflect those accomplishments.
#1 - Billy Meyer
After a few times being skipped over for Manager posts elsewhere, Meyer was given the reigns for the Pirates in a dismal state for 1948. Immediately, he guided them to an improved finish, rocketing up from the cellar into 4th place and earning Meyer NL Manager of the Year honors. While the success wouldn't last, he was still honored in 1954 as the 7th number retirement ever and the 1st who was solely as a Manager.
#4 - Ralph Kiner
Kiner debuted in baseball with a modest 23 Home Runs to lead the league in 1946. After working with fellow future Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg, he jumped that total to 51 Home Runs in 1947 to lead all of baseball. He was just getting started as he would go on to lead the league in long balls for 7 straight seasons through 1952 (including a record 6 years in a row leading all of baseball) and adding 6 all star games from 1948-'53.
#8 - Willie Stargell
From 1962-1982, Pops played his entire Hall of Fame career with Pittsburgh, making 7 all star teams and leading the league in Home Runs in 1973 and 1973 and a World Series title in 1971. His peak year came in '79 where he led a "We are Family" Pirates on a pennant push that saw him win the NLCS MVP as well as the World Series MVP as the Pirates knocked off the Orioles in 7 games to claim their most recent title.
#9 - Bill Mazeroski
Maz may have been known for that homer he hit in the 1960 World Series, but he was better known in his 17 year career as an expert defender at 2nd Base. A 10x all star, he would tally up 8 Gold Glove awards between 1958 and 1967. In addition to the 1960 title, he'd also help the Pirates win it all in 1971. He'd reach the Hall of Fame in 2001 thanks to the Veterans Committee.
#11 - Paul Waner
Not many people would like the unenviable task of trying to stand up to the Murderers Row Yankees of 1927, but Paul "Big Poison" Waner was just the kind of crazy man who would lead the pennant winning Pirates into battle that October. It was just his 2nd season but he was already the Batting Champion and MVP. His career would only continue to excel as he would win two more Batting Titles and make 4 all star teams when that event would finally start up in the '30s, all accomplishments he achieved in Pittsburgh as well as the vast majority of his over 3,000 Hits. While his brother "Little Poison" Lloyd would ultimately join him in the Hall of Fame, it was Paul alone who got the distinction in the Waner family of getting his number retired.
#20 - Pie Traynor
Harold Traynor, later nicknamed for his affinity for "Pie" (I wish that were a joke) broke out with the Pirates in 1920, and hung around until 1939 as a player, later as a Player-Manager and finally just a regular Manager at the end. The future Hall of Famer would lead the team to the 1925 World Series title as well as the '27 NL pennant and be apart of the first couple all star games. After his death in early 1972, the organization would honor his memory with a number retirement when the season got underway.
#21 - Roberto Clemente
When one looks at the career resume of Roberto Clemente, it's easy to forget that he was taken from this world too soon. 15 all star games, World Series titles in 1960 and 1971 (with the '71 series netting him World Series MVP), 12 Gold Gloves, 4 Batting Titles, exactly 3,000 Hits and the 1966 NL MVP, Clemente did just about everything in his career. After his tragic plane accident, he was given a special election for immediate induction to the Hall of Fame and the Pirates immediately retired his number. And it wasn't like either honor was born of emotional reaction, the man was already a no-brainer among the all time greats.
#33 - Honus Wagner
Making comparisons for all time greats in the early days of baseball was quite straightforward for many positions. When it came to Shortstop, there was only Wagner. The Flying Dutchman was THE offensive superstar as baseball was entering the World Series era, winning 8 Batting Titles between 1900 and 1911, and leading the Pirates to the first ever fall classic. Pittsburgh lost that one, but Wagner had them back in 1909 to win their first title. Upon his retirement in 1917, he held numerous all time records including Games, Runs and Hits, setting the standard for future stars like Ty Cobb to aspire to. When the Hall of Fame vote was beginning, Wagner more than did his part to get in on the 1st ever elected class. Wagner returned to the Pirates after retirement, serving as a Coach from 1933-1951, and by then numbers on jerseys was a thing. Wagner wore #33, and that was the number Pittsburgh retired in his honor in 1956, a year after his death.
#40 - Danny Murtaugh
As seen above, Danny played for Pittsburgh from 1948-'51, but it was his time in the dugout that earned him number retirement. He served as a Coach in 1956 and '57, and it was in that second season that he took over a struggling team barely fighting to stay out of last place. The team finished strong under his leadership, then rallied to a 2nd place finish in 1958. In 1960, Murtaugh worked his best magic of all as the Pirates won the pennant, then he navigated them to an upset WS victory over the heavily favored Yankees. He would continue to serve as Manager for on-again-off-again stints all the way through 1976, which would also include their 1971 World Series title. After his death in 1976, the Pirates would immortalize the number of their most successful Manager in team history.
