Stargell, Wilver Dornel

▪ 2002

“Willie”; “Pops” 

      American professional baseball player (b. March 6, 1940, Earlsboro, Okla.—d. April 9, 2001, Wilmington, N.C.), was one of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball; he led the Pittsburgh Pirates to two World Series championships, in 1971 and 1979. He spent his entire major-league career with the Pirates, playing with the team from 1962 until his retirement in 1982. The 1.94-m (6-ft 4-in), 103-kg (225-lb) Stargell was a powerful and prolific hitter known for his ability to knock long home runs; he once held longest-home-run records in nearly half of the National League ballparks. Stargell swatted a total of 475 home runs, 2,232 hits, and 1,540 runs batted in. His career batting average was .282. After retiring as a player, Stargell coached briefly for the Pirates and, later, for the Atlanta Braves. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988. Stargell died of a stroke only two days after the Pirates unveiled a 3.65-m (12-ft) bronze statue of him in front of the team's new home in Pittsburgh, PNC Park.

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