Joy of a team set: chapter 21 (when the baseball Bucs were great)

 

One of the biggest things I miss about my baseball childhood is when the Pittsburgh Pirates were generally known as one of the best teams in the game.

 

This wasn't a brief-shining-moment thing, like when the Pirates made the NLDS in 2013 and then returned to irrelevance soon afterward. The Pirates were damn good when I turned on the television in the late 1970s and I read about how good they were in the mid 1970s. I don't remember the 1960 team that fought the good fight against the Yankees and won, and the early '90s Pirates teams weren't exactly as lovable as those previous teams, but I did root for them.

All of this happened within a matter of 30 years and it was just known during that time: the Pirates are gonna be good. Just as it's known now: the Pirates are gonna be bad.

Probably the best of those teams -- and this is from a guy who is really attached to that We Are Family team -- were the early '70s version, which reached the postseason three straight years (then took a year off and reached the postseason twice more). The 1971 team won the World Series, the second-most recent championship for the franchise. And the Pirates were one of four teams to win multiple Series titles in the '70s.

Fifty years ago is a long time but that's how far you have to go back to find a Topps set that recognized a Pirates World Series title (thanks a lot, 1980 Topps). That set was in 1972, and it's one of many reasons why the '72 set is one of the greatest of all-time.

Let's take a look at that very colorful and eclectic team featured on a colorful and eclectic set:

 

 

 

That's a whole lot of fun. Championship team sets already carry a whole lot of impact with players forever remembered in history, but the Pirates are known for their characters, too. And then Topps goes and adds a selection of subsets to create one of the most interesting team sets probably of the last 50 years.

OK, now it's time for the usual Joy of a Team set rundown:

Favorite cards runners-up:

5. Willie Stargell; 4. 1971 World Series Game 6; 3. Roberto Clemente In Action; 2. Series Celebration

Favorite element on the back:

The back of the Bob Robertson In Action card details the Pirates getting no-hit. Gee whiz, Topps.

Famous error card: none.

 

Team's claim to fame: The 1972 Pirates returned to NLCS but lost to the Reds in five games. It would feature Roberto Clemente's final game.

Players I've talked to: Richie Zisk.

Players who grew up near me: Dave Cash and Dave Giusti.

Former or future Dodgers: Vic Davalillo, Al Oliver, Bob Miller. Also, Clemente was famously signed by the Dodgers.

 

Notable card:

 

 #661 - Bill Virdon. Virdon was not the manager of the 1971 World Champion Pirates. That would be Danny Murtaugh. But Virdon took over for '72 when Murtaugh moved to the front office over concerns about his health.

Most exciting card:

I'll give you two.

 
Not the clearest card but how many times have you seen the catcher that far off the ground on a card?

 

I came to collecting too late to experience the team card of the World Champions as the first card in the set. It was a pretty neat feature, I don't understand why it stopped.

OK, I'll wrap it up here with the finale.

Favorite card in the set:

Of course it is.

Maybe I'm hoping for too much, but it'd be nice to see a mini-dynasty Pirates team like when I was a kid sometime in the future.

But in true "this is why we can't have nice things" fashion, if it ever does happen, they'll probably beat the Dodgers like three times in the playoffs.