Statue of Willie Stargell, PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA.

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Willie Stargell was a baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The statue was designed by Susan Wagner, who also created the statues of Bill Mazeroski and Roberto Clemente that are located at PNC Park. The statue was unveiled two days Stargell's death in 2001. The statue stands at 12 feet and was dedicated April 7, 2001.

Images

The statue outside of the stadium

Stargell during a game

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Wilver Dornell "Willie" Stargell was an African American baseball player born march 6, 1940 in Earlsboro, Oklahoma. He moved to Florida to live with his aunt after his parents divorced and then later lived with his mom in Califronia. He went to Enbcinal High School where his baseball teammates included future MLB players Curt Motton and Tommy Harper. Stargell entered the Minor leagues in 1959.

During his time in the minor leagues he played for farm teams but due to the racism and the times he was not allowed to stay in the same accommodations as the white players. At one point he was threatened at gunpoint to not play that nights game. Stargell was called up to the Major Leagues at the end of the 1962 season but still made his debut. Stargell played as left fielder during his entire time in the Major Leagues.

Stargell played for the Pirates from September 16, 1962 to October 3, 1982. During his Major League career he attained a batting average of .282 and had a total of 2,232 hits. He scored 475 home runs and batted in 1,540 runs. Pirates fans loved Stargell because of his style of play and affable manner. He made all-star 7x and 2x World Series Champion. Stargell died April 6, 2001.

Additional Information

From Pitch to Plinth: The Sporting Statues Project.