Willie Stargell 1971 NL MVP
Wilver Dornell Stargell (March 6, 1940 – April 9, 2001), nicknamed "Pops" later in his career, was an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman who spent all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1962–1982) with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Among the most feared power hitters in baseball history, Stargell had the most home runs (296) of any player in the 1970s. During his career, he batted .282 with 2,232 hits, 1,194 runs, 423 doubles, 475 home runs, and 1,540 runs batted in, helping his team win six National League (NL) East division titles, two NL pennants, and two World Series championships in 1971 and 1979, both over the Baltimore Orioles.
Stargell was a seven-time All-Star and two-time NL home run leader. In 1979, at the age of 39, he became the first and currently only player to win the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, the NL Championship Series MVP Award and the World Series MVP Award in one season. In 1982, the Pirates retired his uniform number 8. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988 in his first year of eligibility.
Quick Facts
- Primary position
- Left Fielder
Lore & Background
Stargell was born in Earlsboro, Oklahoma, but later moved to Florida with an aunt after his parents divorced. Later, he returned to Alameda, California, to live with his mother. He attended Encinal High School, where his baseball teammates included future MLB players Tommy Harper and Curt Motton. Stargell signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and entered minor league baseball in 1959.
He played for farm teams in New Mexico, North Dakota, Iowa, Texas, North Carolina, and Ohio. While on the road with some of those teams, Stargell was not allowed to stay in the same accommodations as the white players. Lodging for black players was located in the poor black areas of those towns. While in Plainview, Texas, he was accosted at gunpoint by a man who threatened his life if he played in that night's game.
Stargell played and nothing came of the incident. He might have quit baseball over the racial difficulties that he experienced, but he was encouraged by letters he received from friend and baseball scout Bob Zuk.
Reader's Guide
In 1971, at age 31, Stargell won the first of his two home-run titles; his 48 edged out Hank Aaron's 47 on the final week of the season. He won NL Player of the Month awards in April (.347, 11 HR, 27 RBIs) and in June (.333, 11 HR, 36 RBIs). He did not win the MVP award, finishing second to Joe Torre. The 1971 Pirates won the World Series over the Baltimore Orioles in seven games.
Did You Know?
- Stargell hit seven of the 18 balls ever hit over Forbes Field's 86-foot-high right-field stands.
- He originated the practice of giving teammates embroidered 'Stargell stars' for their caps after a nice play or a good game.
- Stargell was the first and only player to win the NL MVP, NLCS MVP, and World Series MVP in one season (1979).
- He used a sledgehammer to warm up in the on-deck circle instead of a lead-weighted bat.
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