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Willie Dornell Stargell was born to William and Gladys
Stargell on March 6, 1951, just outside of Earlsboro, Oklahoma. Just
before Willie was born, William Stargell left Gladys for good.
Willie's grandfather, Wil Stargell, took Gladys into his own family and
help raised Willie. When Willie was about four years old, he and his
mother moved to a public housing project in Alabama, California, where his
mother later remarried. Even before he knew what baseball was, Stargell started 'hitting", he tossed rocks into the
air and clubbed them with sticks. Like all great batsmen, he enjoyed
the sensation of striking an object solidly and watching it fly into the
distance. Stargell went to Encinal High School. There he
participated in basketball, track, football, and baseball. The Pittsburgh
Pirates signed Willie Stargell in 1958. Rosewell was the
first minor league team he played for. The next year, Stargell moved
up to the class C northern league, playing for the Grand Forks. In
1961, Stargell was promoted to the Asheville, North Carolina , a team in
the class A Sally League. Stargell made the 1963 pirates team.
Willie Stargell hit for the cycle. He won the World Series in 1971
and 1979. Willie Stargell had 7 of the 18 balls that were hit onto or
over the right- field roof in the long history of Forbes field. Also
he was the first Pirate to hit a homerun in Three Rivers Stadium. He
played left field. When he got late in his career, he played first
base. In 1978 he was named the NL comeback player of the year.
September 21, 1962, was his first major league hit. 1964 he made the
NL All- Star Team for the first time. Willie Stargell on August 6,
1969 became the first batter to |
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ever hit a fair ball completely out of
Dodgers Stadium. August 1, 1970 ties a major- league record by
getting five extra- base hits (three doubles, two homeruns) in a
game. In April 1971 has two three- home- run games in one month
(April 10 and 21) , sets record for homeruns in April with 11. 1973
he was named captain of the team. July 11, 1973, hits homerun number
302 to become all- time pirate leader. Also in 1973 lead NL in
homeruns (44), RBIs(119), and doubles(43). He collected his 2,000th
h
it , which was a single on September 3, 1978. He was the MVP of the
1979 World Series and the Co- MVP of NL. On September 6, 1982 they
retired his uniform number, 8. In 1985 he helped coach the Pirates. On January 12, 1988, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in
the first year of eligibility. His career totals were 2,360 games,
7,927 at bats, 1,195 runs, 2232 hits, 423 doubles, 55 triples, 475
homeruns, 1540 RBI's, .282 batting Average, and 17 stolen
bases. There is a statue built of him in front of PNC Park. He
died in 2002. Willie Stargell was one of the greatest Pirates ever. |
