The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the National League Central division. The team began play in 1882 as the Alleghenies (alternately spelled "Alleghenys" [1] ) in the American Association. The franchise moved to the National League after owner William Nimick became upset over a contract dispute, thus beginning the modern day franchise. [2]
From the franchise's beginning, the owner and manager fulfilled the duties of the general manager. However, in 1946, Roy Hamey left his position as president of the second American Association to become the Pirates' first general manager. [3] The franchise's second general manager, Branch Rickey, was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1967. [4] Hired in September 2007, Neal Huntington is the Pirates's previous general manager. [5] Barney Dreyfuss purchased the franchise in 1900, bringing players including Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke with him from the Louisville Colonels, which he had previously owned. In his 32 years as owner, Dreyfuss built Forbes Field and helped to organize the World Series. [6] Dreyfuss was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2008. [7] Robert Nutting served as chairman of the board from 2003 to 2007, at which point he became majority owner of the franchise. [8]
Years | Seasons; each is linked to an article about that particular season |
Div | Division titles: number of division titles won by the general manager |
Pen | Pennants: number of pennants (league championships) won by the manager |
WS | World Series: number of World Series victories achieved by the manager |
* | Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum |
Owner(s) | Years | Div | Pen | WS | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Denny McKnight | 1882–1886 | — | — | — | [9] |
William A. Nimick | 1887–1891 | — | — | — | [10] |
William Kerr and Phil Auten | 1892–1899 | — | — | — | [10] |
Barney Dreyfuss* | 1900–1932 | 0 | 6 | 2 | [6] |
Florence W. Dreyfuss | 1932–1946 | — | — | — | [11] |
John Galbreath (99% 1946–82, 51% 1983–86), with Frank E. McKinney, Thomas P. Johnson, Bing Crosby (1%) and Warner Communications (48% 1982–86) | 1946–1986 | 6 | 3 | 3 | [12] [13] |
Pittsburgh Associates | 1986–1996 | 3 | 0 | 0 | [14] |
Kevin McClatchy | 1996–2007 | — | — | — | [15] |
Robert Nutting | 2007–present | — | — | — | [8] |
# | General manager | Years | Div | Pen | WS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Denny McKnight | 1882–1883 | — | — | — |
2 | Edmund C. Converse | 1884 | — | — | — |
3 | William A. Nimick | 1885–1890 | — | — | — |
4 | J. Palmer O'Neil | 1891 | — | — | — |
5 | William Chase Temple | 1892 | — | — | — |
6 | Al Buckenberger | 1893 | — | — | — |
7 | William Kerr | 1894–1897 | — | — | — |
8 | Bill Watkins | 1898 | — | — | — |
9 | William Kerr | 1899 | — | — | — |
10 | Barney Dreyfuss* | 1900–1932 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
11 | William Benswanger | 1932–1946 | — | — | — |
# | General manager | Years | Div | Pen | WS | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 | Ray Kennedy | 1946 | — | — | — | [16] |
13 | Roy Hamey | 1946–1950 | — | — | — | [3] |
14 | Branch Rickey* | 1951–1955 | — | — | — | [16] |
15 | Joe L. Brown | 1956–1976, 1985 | 5 | 2 | 2 | [17] |
16 | Harding Peterson | 1976–1985 | 1 | 1 | 1 | [18] |
17 | Syd Thrift | 1985–1988 | — | — | — | [19] |
18 | Larry Doughty | 1988–1992 | 2 | 0 | 0 | [16] |
19 | Ted Simmons | 1992–1993 | 1 | 0 | 0 | [20] |
20 | Cam Bonifay | 1993–2001 | — | — | — | [21] |
21 | Dave Littlefield | 2001–2007 | — | — | — | [22] |
22 | Neal Huntington | 2007–2019 | — | — | — | [5] |
23 | Ben Cherington | 2019–present | — | — | — |
# | President | Years | Div | Pen | WS | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Denny McKnight | 1882–1883 | — | — | — | [23] |
2 | Edmund C. Converse | 1884 | — | — | — | [23] |
3 | William A. Nimick | 1885–1890 | — | — | — | [23] |
4 | J. Palmer O'Neil | 1891 | — | — | — | [23] |
5 | William Chase Temple | 1892 | — | — | — | [23] |
6 | Al Buckenberger | 1893 | — | — | — | [23] |
7 | William Kerr | 1894–1897 | — | — | — | [23] |
8 | Bill Watkins | 1898 | — | — | — | [23] |
9 | William Kerr | 1899 | — | — | — | [23] |
10 | Barney Dreyfuss* | 1900–1932 | 0 | 6 | 2 | [23] |
11 | William Benswanger | 1932–1946 | — | — | — | [23] |
12 | Frank E. McKinney | 1946–1950 | — | — | — | [23] |
13 | John Galbreath | 1951–1969 | 1 | 1 | 1 | [23] |
14 | Dan Galbreath | 1970–1985 | 2 | 2 | 2 | [23] |
15 | Malcolm Prine | 1986–1987 | — | — | — | [23] |
16 | Carl Barger | 1989–1991 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
17 | Mark Sauer | 1991–1996 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
18 | Kevin McClatchy | 1996–2007 | — | — | — | |
19 | Frank Coonelly | 2007–2019 | — | — | — | |
20 | Travis Williams | 2019–present | — | — | — |
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central Division. Founded as part of the American Association in 1881 under the name Pittsburgh Alleghenys, the club joined the National League in 1887 and was a member of the National League East from 1969 through 1993. The Pirates have won five World Series championships, nine National League pennants, nine National League East division titles and made three appearances in the Wild Card Game.
James Francis "Pud" Galvin was an American Major League Baseball pitcher in the 19th century. He was MLB's first 300-game winner and was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965.
Wesley Branch Rickey was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also created the framework for the modern minor league farm system, encouraged the Major Leagues to add new teams through his involvement in the proposed Continental League, and introduced the batting helmet. He was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967.
In Major League Baseball, the general manager (GM) of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players.
Exposition Park was the name given to three historic stadiums, located in what is today Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The fields were used mainly for professional baseball and American football from c. 1879 to c. 1915. The ballparks were initially located on the north side of the Allegheny River in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. The city was annexed into Pittsburgh in 1907, which became the city's North Side, located across from Pittsburgh's downtown area. Due to flooding from the nearby Allegheny River, the three stadiums' exact locations varied somewhat. The final version of the ballpark was between the eventual sites of Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park.
Recreation Park was a sporting grounds and stadium that stood from 1865 to 1905 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, which was annexed in 1907 and became the North Side region of Pittsburgh. The park was bounded by Allegheny Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Grant Avenue, and Boquet Street.
Bernhard "Barney" Dreyfuss was an executive in Major League Baseball who owned the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise from 1900 to his death. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
Sports in Pittsburgh have been played dating back to the American Civil War. Baseball, hockey, and the first professional American football game had been played in the city by 1892. Pittsburgh was first known as the "City of Champions" when the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Panthers football team, and Pittsburgh Steelers won multiple championships in the 1970s. Today, the city has three major professional sports franchises, the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins; while the University of Pittsburgh Panthers compete in a Division I Power Five conference, the highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States, in both football and basketball. Local universities Duquesne and Robert Morris also field Division I teams in men's and women's basketball and Division I FCS teams in football. Robert Morris also fields Division I men's and women's ice hockey teams.
The Pittsburgh Burghers were a baseball team in the Players' League, a short-lived Major League that existed only for the 1890 season. The team included a number of players who had jumped from the National League's Pittsburgh Alleghenys, including Hall of Famers Pud Galvin, Ned Hanlon, and Jake Beckley. Hanlon served as the team's manager. Meanwhile, John Tener, who would go on to represent Pittsburgh in the United States Congress and be elected the 25th Governor of Pennsylvania, finished his pitching career with the Burghers in 1890. Later Tener would become the president of the National League, and a director of the Philadelphia Phillies.
The following is a history of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball.
William Edward Benswanger was an American businessman who served for almost 15 years as president and chief executive of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball franchise, from 1932 through 1946.
The 1946 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 65th in the history of the Major League Baseball franchise and its jubilee of diamonds in the National League. The Pirates finished seventh in the league standings with a record of 63–91, and attracted 749,962 fans to Forbes Field.
The 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the team's 71st season in Major League Baseball, and their 66th season in the National League. The Pirates posted a record of 42 wins and 112 losses, their worst record since 1890, and one of the worst in major league history.
William Warden Kerr was an American business executive in wholesale grocery, best remembered as controlling owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates professional baseball team of the National League (NL) from 1893 through 1900 with Phil Auten.
Raymond Lincoln Kennedy was an American professional baseball player, scout and front office executive. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Pittsburgh Allegheny was the name of the first professional baseball club to represent Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team was an unrelated forerunner to the American Association's Pittsburgh Alleghenies that were established in 1882, which continue today as the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Florence Edith Wolf Dreyfuss was an executive in Major League Baseball who owned the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise from 1932 to 1946.