Willie

This site is a tribute to my favorite all-time athlete, Willie Stargell. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1961 to 1982. Willie Stargell hit more home runs in the 1970's than any other major leaguer. Before juiced balls , small ball parks, steroids, and the Devil Rays he hit 475 life time home runs, had a .282 lifetime average, hit 423 doubles, had 2232 hits, and 1540 RBI's. In 1979 he was NLCS, World Series, and co-NL MVP, a feet no else has ever accomplished. He was known for tape measure home runs, and a gregarious manner. He is the only player to hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988 (his first year of eligibility)Besides being as a great ball player, he was also a first class person. Willie was a devout Christian, in his later years in the league he was known as "Pops" by younger players he was a father figure too. When players would make great plays or deliver clutch perfomances, he would give them "Stargell Stars" to put on their caps. Stargell led the Pirates to their last world championship in 1979. They were known as the "We are Family" Pirates, he was the father of that family. He passed away in 2001 at the age of 61.