Editing Pittsburgh Pirates (section)

==History==
{{main|History of the Pittsburgh Pirates}}
Professional baseball in the Pittsburgh area began in 1876 with the organization of the [[Pittsburgh Allegheny (International Association)|Allegheny Base Ball Club]], an independent (non-league) club based in a then-separate city called [[Allegheny, Pennsylvania|Allegheny City]], across the [[Allegheny River]] from Pittsburgh. The team joined the minor league [[International Association for Professional Base Ball Players|International Association]] in 1877, only to fold the following season.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Britcher|first=Craig|title=We are Now Pirates: The 1890 Burghers and Alleghenys|journal=Western Pennsylvania History|volume=97|issue=1|date=Spring 2014|page=42|url=https://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/view/59411/59138}}</ref> On October 15, 1881, [[Denny McKnight]] held a meeting at Pittsburgh's St. Clair Hotel to organize a new Allegheny club,<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Daily Post|location=Pittsburgh|date=October 17, 1881|page=4|title=A Professional Ball Club|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19566465/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{free access}}</ref> which began play in 1882 as a founding member of the [[American Association (19th century)|American Association]]. Chartered as the Allegheny Base Ball Club of Pittsburgh,<ref>"Charter of Incorporation of Allegheny Base Ball Club of Pgh. Penna." March 11, 1882. Pennsylvania Department of State, [https://www.corporations.pa.gov/Search/corpsearch Business Entity Search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820235542/https://www.corporations.pa.gov/search/corpsearch |date=August 20, 2020 }}, entity number 6131816. Retrieved March 28, 2018. {{closed access}}</ref> the team was listed as "Allegheny" in the standings, and was sometimes called the "Alleghenys" (occasionally the "Alleghenies" or “Allies”) in that era's custom of referring to a team by its pluralized city or club name. After five mostly mediocre seasons, Pittsburgh became the first [[Major North American professional sports teams|A.A. team]] to switch to the older [[National League (baseball)|National League]] in 1887.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Benswanger|first=William E.|title=Professional Baseball in Pittsburgh|journal=Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine|volume=30|issue=1–2|date=March–June 1947|url=https://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/view/2313/2146}}</ref>

During the winter prior to the 1890 season, almost all of the Alleghenys' best players bolted to the [[Players' League]]'s [[Pittsburgh Burghers]]. The Players' League collapsed after the season, and the players were allowed to go back to their old clubs. However, the Alleghenys also signed highly regarded second baseman [[Lou Bierbauer]], who had previously played with the A.A.'s [[Philadelphia Athletics (American Association)|Philadelphia Athletics]]. Although the Athletics failed to include Bierbauer on their reserve list, they loudly protested the Alleghenys' move. In an official complaint, an AA official claimed the Alleghenys' signing of Bierbauer was "piratical".<ref>[http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A26507 Why is our baseball team called the Pirates?] ''Pittsburgh City Paper'', August 14, 2003.</ref> This incident quickly accelerated into a schism between the leagues that contributed to the demise of the A.A. Although the Alleghenys were never found guilty of wrongdoing, their allegedly "piratical" act gained them the occasional nickname "Pirates" from newspapers around the country, starting in 1891. Within a few years, the nickname caught on with even Pittsburgh newspapers.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Coen|first=Ed|title=Setting the Record Straight on Major League Team Nicknames|journal=Baseball Research Journal|date=Fall 2019|publisher=SABR|url=https://sabr.org/journal/article/setting-the-record-straight-on-major-league-team-nicknames/|access-date=October 16, 2021}}</ref> The nickname was first acknowledged on the team's uniforms in 1912. [[File:1909 Pittsburgh Pirates on a boat FINAL.jpg|thumb|left|The [[1909 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1909 Pirates]] in a poster celebrating their National League pennant. [[Frank Chance]] of Chicago and [[John McGraw]] of  New York, two teams the Pirates beat for the pennant, are being made to [[walk the plank]].]]

Early on, the Pirates organization finished no higher than 2nd in either league’s standings, but their fortunes began to change at the turn of the 20th century. The Pirates acquired several star players from the [[Louisville Colonels]], who were slated for elimination when the N.L. contracted from 12 to 8 teams. (The franchises did not formally consolidate; the player acquisitions were separate transactions.)<ref name="TBT">{{cite book |title=The Team-by-Team Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball |last=Purdy |first=Dennis |year=2006 |publisher=[[Workman Publishing Company|Workman]] |location=New York City |isbn=0-7611-3943-5 }}</ref> Among those players was [[Honus Wagner]], who would become one of the first players inducted to the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]]. The Pirates were among the best teams in baseball in the early 1900s, winning three consecutive National League pennants from 1901 to 1903 and participating in [[1903 World Series|the first modern World Series ever played]], which they lost to [[1903 Boston Americans season|Boston]]. The Pirates returned to the World Series in [[1909 World Series|1909]], defeating the [[1909 Detroit Tigers season|Detroit Tigers]] for their first-ever world title. That year, the Pirates moved from [[Exposition Park (Pittsburgh)|Exposition Park]] to one of the first steel and concrete ballparks, [[Forbes Field]].

As Wagner aged, the Pirates began to slip down the National League standings in the 1910s, culminating in a disastrous 51–103 record in 1917; however, veteran outfielder [[Max Carey]] and young players [[Pie Traynor]] and [[Kiki Cuyler]], along with a remarkably deep pitching staff, brought the Pirates back to relevance in the 1920s. The Pirates won their second title in [[1925 World Series|1925]], becoming the first team to come back from a 3–1 deficit in the World Series.<ref>{{cite web|work=MLB.com|title=From down 3-1, Cubs working on more history|url=https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/history-of-3-1-world-series-comebacks-c207699942|date=October 29, 2016|access-date=September 4, 2020}}</ref> The Pirates returned to the World Series in [[1927 World Series|1927]] but were swept by the [[Murderer's Row]] [[New York Yankees|Yankees]]. The Pirates remained a competitive team through the 1930s but failed to win the pennant, coming closest in 1938 when they were passed by the [[Chicago Cubs]] in the [[Homer in the Gloamin'|final week of the season]].

Despite the prowess of [[Ralph Kiner]] as a slugger during the latter half of the stretch, the Pirates were mostly undistinguished in the 1940s, and downright awful in the early 1950s. [[Branch Rickey]] was brought in during this time to rebuild the team, which returned to the World Series in [[1960 World Series|1960]]. They were largely outscored over the course of the series by the [[1960 New York Yankees season|Yankees]], yet the Pirates won on a walk-off home run by [[Bill Mazeroski]] in the bottom of the 9th inning in Game 7. As of 2024, it is the only Game 7 walk-off home run in World Series history.

Led by right fielder [[Roberto Clemente]], the Pirates remained a strong team throughout the 1960s but did not return to the World Series until [[1971 World Series|1971]]. Playing in the new [[Three Rivers Stadium]], the Pirates defeated the favored [[1971 Baltimore Orioles season|Baltimore Orioles]] behind Clemente's hitting and the pitching of [[Steve Blass]]. In the same year on September 1, the Pirates became the first team to field an all-Black and Latino lineup.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Andscape]]|title=On this day in 1971, the Pittsburgh Pirates fielded the first all-black and Latino lineup|url=https://andscape.com/features/on-this-day-in-1971-the-pittsburgh-pirates-fielded-the-first-all-black-lineup|date=September 1, 2016|access-date=September 4, 2020}}</ref>
Despite Clemente's death after the 1972 season, the Pirates were one of the dominant teams of the decade, winning the newly created [[National League East]] in [[1970 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1970]], [[1971 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1971]], [[1972 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1972]], [[1974 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1974]], [[1975 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1975]], and [[1979 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1979]]. Powered by sluggers such as [[Willie Stargell]], [[Dave Parker]], and [[Al Oliver]], the team was nicknamed "The Lumber Company." Behind Stargell's leadership and the [[disco]] song [[We Are Family (song)|"We Are Family"]] (which the team adopted as its theme song), the Pirates came back from a 3–1 deficit to once again defeat the [[1979 Baltimore Orioles season|Orioles]] in the [[1979 World Series]] for the franchise's fifth championship. During the 1979 championship season, a Pittsburgh player was designated as Most Valuable Player in every available category: All-Star Game MVP (Dave Parker), NLCS MVP (Willie Stargell), World Series MVP (Willie Stargell), and National League MVP (Willie Stargell, shared with Keith Hernandez of St. Louis).
[[File:Pirates1989.jpg|thumb|Pittsburgh clinching the division title in 1990.]]
The Pirates sank back into mediocrity in the 1980s and returned to post-season play in the early 1990s behind young players like [[Barry Bonds]], [[Bobby Bonilla]], and [[Doug Drabek]]. The Pirates won three straight division titles from 1990 to 1992 but lost in the [[National League Championship Series]] each time, notably coming within one out of advancing to the World Series in [[1992 National League Championship Series|1992]]. Several of the team's best players, including Bonds and Drabek, left as free agents after that season.

[[File:Andrew McCutchen on June 12, 2012.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|[[Andrew McCutchen]], 2012]]With salaries rising across baseball, the small-market Pirates struggled to keep pace with the sport and they posted a losing record for 20 consecutive seasons, a record among North American professional sports teams. Even the opening of a new stadium in 2001, [[PNC Park]], did little to change the team's fortunes. The Pirates finally returned to the postseason in [[2013 Pittsburgh Pirates season|2013]] behind National League MVP [[Andrew McCutchen]], defeating the [[2013 Cincinnati Reds season|Cincinnati Reds]] in the [[2013 National League Wild Card Game|Wild Card Game]]. They were eliminated in five games in the [[2013 National League Division Series|next round]] by the [[St. Louis Cardinals]]. That season, the Pirates also became the seventh MLB team to reach 10,000 all-time <!--regular season--> wins.<ref>{{cite web|work=Baseball-Reference.com|title=MLB Teams and Baseball Encyclopedia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704001346/https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/|archive-date=July 4, 2013|url-status=unfit|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/}}</ref> On [[Opening Day]] 2015 the Pirates' loss was the team's 10,000th<ref name="Wilmoth, Charlie 2015">{{cite web|last=Wilmoth|first=Charlie|title=Johnny Cueto, Todd Frazier help Reds beat Pirates 5–2 on Opening Day|url=http://www.bucsdugout.com/2015/4/6/8355331/johnny-cueto-todd-frazier-help-reds-beat-pirates-5-2-on-opening-day|publisher=[[SB Nation|Bucs Dugout]]|date=April 6, 2015|access-date=June 10, 2015}}</ref> making the Pirates the fourth MLB team to achieve this distinction, following the [[Philadelphia Phillies]], [[Atlanta Braves]], and the Chicago Cubs.<ref>{{cite web|work=Baseball-Reference.com|title=MLB Teams and Baseball Encyclopedia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331003253/http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/|archive-date=March 31, 2015|url-status=unfit|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/}}</ref> The Pirates returned to the postseason in 2014 and 2015 and lost the Wild Card game both times and have not qualified for the playoffs since then.