On the night of the 50th anniversary of the game in which the Pittsburgh Pirates made history by fielding MLB’s first all-minority starting lineup, roughly 150 people gathered at the Heinz History Center for a panel discussion and celebration with the surviving Pirates starters from that game.
The panel featured four players from the lineup on Sept. 1, 1971, that beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-7, at Three Rivers Stadium: Dave Cash, who played third base; Gene Clines, who was in center field; Al Oliver, who played first base; and Manny Sanguillen, the starting catcher; as well as Roberto Clemente Jr., oldest son of Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.
The rest of the lineup on the historic night half a century ago included Rennie Stennett at second base, Jackie Hernandez at shortstop, Willie Stargell in left field, Clemente in right field and Dock Ellis, who was the starting pitcher.
“The thing that will always stand out for me is just three years prior to that, we lost Dr. Martin Luther King, and this was what he was wanting to happen,” Oliver told the audience. “All of us pulled together as one, and that’s what happened in 1971.”
Oliver was the oddity in the lineup that night because Philadelphia’s starting pitcher was left-hander Woodie Fryman. Normally that meant the right-handed Bob Robertson would have started at first base for the Pirates. But Oliver said Robertson was “pulling” for him as there were no petty jealousies on that team.
“We got along extremely well in that clubhouse, and, believe me, it’s not too often (that happens) when you have people from all walks of life, whether you’re Black, Latin or white,” he said.
The event was moderated by Rick Dayton of KDKA Radio, who asked Clemente what his father would think of a gathering like the one held Wednesday.
“To be able to host these unbelievable men that wore that Pittsburgh Pirate name with pride … it’s unbelievable 50 years later,” Clemente said. “It’s a shame that MLB has not really embraced that moment because I believe it is as big as Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier (24 years earlier).”
Oliver joked that the fact he was batting seventh that night proved how strong that lineup was.
An audience member asked Oliver if he could have imagined in 1971 how important that first all-minority lineup would be 50 years later.
“Absolutely not. That’s something that I never even thought about,” Oliver said.
Apparently neither did the Pirates manager at the time, Danny Murtaugh. To a man, the players on the panel agreed Murtaugh simply was putting the nine best players on the field that night.
“Danny was a disciplinarian. If you weren’t sound fundamentally, you didn’t play. It was as simple as that,” Cash said.
“Danny would get all the infielders lined up at third base and we would have drills, and I thought he was trying to kill us — or make sure we were too tired to go out at night. He just instilled confidence in you.”
That confidence enabled the ’71 Pirates to overcome losing the first two games to defeat the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in seven games in the World Series.
Clines stressed the positive effect the Pirates organization had on his life.
“When I started out, I could have been a hothead. I wanted to fight the world,” said Clines, referring to some of the bigotry he endured early in life. “It helped me grow as a person. And with the people around me who came from all walks of life, it gave me an opportunity to learn a little bit about everybody.”
When asked for one word to describe what the 50th anniversary of the first all-minority lineup meant, Clemente said it was “a blessing, and it’s a blessing for these gentlemen to be recognized — at last.”
A painting by Brooklyn artist Robert Bruno of the nine members of the starting lineup, with Pittsburgh and Three Rivers Stadium in the background, was unveiled. It will be placed on view at the Western PA Sports Museum at the History Center.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto also presented a proclamation honoring the men who were part of the historic all-minority lineup.
Paul Guggenheimer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-226-7706 or pguggenheimer@triblive.com.
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