{"id":2443,"date":"2012-10-08T11:46:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-08T11:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=2443"},"modified":"2015-01-08T16:29:33","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T21:29:33","slug":"willie-stargell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/10\/08\/willie-stargell\/","title":{"rendered":"Willie Stargell Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Sept. 7, 1982:<\/strong>\u00a0We were a bit depressed after yet another losing Pirates season, so we dug into our files and found this image, which made us feel much better. It was taken during \u201cWillie Stargell Day\u201d at Three Rivers Stadium, which was packed with more 38,000 fans \u2014 the largest crowd since opening day of 1981. \u201cOne of the greatest days in Pittsburgh history,\u201d declared manager Chuck Tanner. President Ronald Reagan placed a call to the stadium and praised Stargell\u2019s \u201cdecency and courage\u201d and his \u201ccompassion and humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, Pittsburghers already knew these things about Stargell.\u00a0We called him \u201cPops.\u201d \u00a0He spent his entire 21-year playing career with the Pirates, hit 475 homers and helped the Bucs win World Series titles in 1971 and \u201879. Stargell was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988. On April 9, 2001 \u2014 the day of the first game at PNC Park \u2014 we said goodbye to Pops. He died after suffering a stroke in Wilmington, North Carolina.<\/p>\n

(Photo by Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We called him \u201cPops.\u201d He spent his entire 21-year playing career with the Pirates, hit 475 homers and helped the Bucs win World Series titles in 1971 and \u201879.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesWillie Stargell Day<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[944],"tags":[964,969,1001,1027,1047],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/tumblr_mbjkey2IMW1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C850&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7656,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2017\/05\/25\/willie-stargell-fun-father-of-the-family\/","url_meta":{"origin":2443,"position":0},"title":"Willie Stargell, fun father of The Family","date":"May 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Now there's a squabble over the auction of Pops' memorabilia.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Pena1982-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C831&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":813,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/03\/31\/jim-leyland-and-barry-bonds\/","url_meta":{"origin":2443,"position":1},"title":"Jim Leyland and Barry Bonds","date":"March 31, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Few figures in Pittsburgh sports history are as polarizing as Barry Bonds.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/tumblr_n3622mx41X1rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C688&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5770,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/09\/01\/step-inside-forbes-field-in-the-summer-of-66\/","url_meta":{"origin":2443,"position":2},"title":"Step inside Forbes Field in the summer of ’66","date":"September 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Pirates had a chance to take sole possession of first place. 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