Willie Stargell was a Pittsburgh Pirate for all 21 of his Major League seasons, and he lived up to the first four letters of his last name.

Signing in 1958 and debuting for Pittsburgh in 1962, Stargell became a starter in Leftfield in 1964, and he was a fixture in the Pirates starting lineup over the next 16 years.  A seven-time All-Star, Stargell was blessed with a phenomenal power game, blasting 475 Home Runs over his career, and was a two-time National League leader twice (1971 & 1973) in both of those years, he was the runner-up for the MVP.  Stargell was a massive component of the Pirates 1971 Championship, but what he did later on in his career would become his opus.

In the late 70s, the Pirates had their pillbox-style baseball cap, and Stargell, the team captain, began awarding stars on the cap following an outstanding performance.  In 1979, Stargell was the co-MVP (with Keith Hernandez), and under his guidance, the team adopted Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family” as the team anthem.  The Pirates won the World Series that year, with Stargell leading the way, winning the NLCS MVP and World Series MVP, making him the first player to win those three MVPs in the same season.  His body broke down afterward, and he retired after the 1982 season but remains one of the most beloved players in Pittsburgh history, and the Pirates retired his number 8 immediately.

Stargell’s 475 Home Runs and 1,540 RBIs remain team records, and he entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.  

Arky Vaughan played the bulk and best of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team he debuted in the Majors for in 1932 as a backup Shortstop.

Vaughan took over for good as their starter the following year, leading the NL in Triples (19), and in 1934, he began a nine-year run (eight in Pittsburgh) of All-Star Game appearances.  The infielder had his best year in 1935, sweeping the league-lead in Slash Line (.385/.491/.607), and would belt a career-best 19 Home Runs.  Vaughn would finish third in MVP voting, a finish that would be his best.

Vaughan remained one of the top Shortstops in the National League, both in offense and defense and in the ten years he was a Pirate, he never batted below .300, completing his run with Pittsburgh batting .324.  Traded to Brooklyn in 1942, Vaughan had 1,709 Hits for the Pirates, with an OPS of .887.

Vaughan was chosen for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 via the Veteran's Committee.  The Pirates retired his number 11 in 2007.

The 1920s brought us the Home Run era that we still enjoy today, but spray hitters have never gone out of style.  One of the best was Paul Waner.

Waner learned how to bat by hitting corncobs from Oklahoma, but that is not the most unique part about developing his skills.  Waner had poor eyesight, specifically due to astigmatism, and he learned how to hit the blurry baseballs in the middle.  Unique as it was, it worked, and he tore it up in the Minors and would land a job in Pittsburgh in 1926 as their Rightfielder.

Waner had a terrific rookie year, leading the NL in Triples (22) with a .336 Batting Average.  As an MLB sophomore, Waner had his best year as a professional, topping the league in Hits (237), Triples (18), RBIs (131), and Batting Average (.380).  Waner rightfully won the MVP, and although we will argue this was his peak campaign, it was not his last excellent one.

Over the next ten years, Waner could be counted on to produce Hits, Runs, and a high Batting Average.  From his rookie year in '26 until 1937, Waner never finished a year with a Batting Average lower than .300, and he won two more Batting Titles (1934 & 1936) to add to the one he captured when he was an MVP.  Waner had nine years with over 100 Runs (including two league-leading years), was a two-time Hit leader, and two-time leader in Doubles.  He never did capture a second MVP, but he was in the top five three times.

As Waner got older, his skills slipped, and the Pirates traded him to Brooklyn during the 1940 Season.  He played five more years, but had he never played baseball after Pittsburgh, Waner would have been Cooperstown-worthy.  With the Pirates, he had 2,868 Hits, with a Batting Average of .340.

Waner was chosen for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952, his seventh year on the ballot.

If there were going to be anyone who would have supplanted Honus Wagner as the greatest Pittsburgh Pirate of all time, it would have been Roberto Clemente.

The Pirates did not discover Clemente, as he was signed initially by the Brooklyn Dodgers.  The Pirates plucked him in 1954 via the Rule 5 Draft, and he played all 18 of his MLB seasons in Pittsburgh.  Capturing the starting Rightfield job as a rookie, Clemente blossomed into a star and was one of the top Outfielders in baseball throughout the 1960s.  From 1960 to 1967, the Puerto Rican was a perennial All-Star, and he began a new streak in 1969, with four more appearances.  He would take the Pirates to a World Series win in 1961, and he would have the first of four Batting Titles, with the others coming in 1964, 1965, and 1967.  Finishing in the top ten in MVP voting eight times, he won the coveted trophy in 1966; in a year, he batted .317 with a career-high 29 Home Runs and 119 RBIs.

Clemente was as good with his glove as he was with his bat.  From 1961 to 1972, Clemente was a Gold Glove winner, and he was a four-time league leader in Total Zone Runs.  The Pirates won it all again in 1971, mainly because of Clemente, making him a two-time champion.  

By the end of the 1972 season, Clemente accumulated an even 3,000 Hits (a franchise record) with 240 Home Runs and 1,305 RBIs, and a Slash Line of .317/.359/.475.  It should have been more.

On December 31, 1972, he died in a plane crash while on route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

Following his death, the Baseball Hall of Fame waived the five-year wait, and he was inducted into the Class of 1973, and the Pirates retired his number 21 the same year.  He is considered by many to be the most important Hispanic athlete in American history.