Tombstone
Born: 1970 – Affiliation change from Waterbury Indians
Moved: November 3, 1971 (Sherbrooke Pirates)1UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL. “Waterbury Pirates Bound For Canada”. The Courant (Hartford, CT). November 4, 1971
First Game: April 25, 1970 (W 3-1 @ Pittsfield Senators)
Last Game: September 6, 1971 (W 4-1 vs. Reading Phillies)
Eastern League Champions: 1970
Stadium
Ownership & Affiliation
Owner: Bernie Durocher
Major League Affiliation: Pittsburgh Pirates
Attendance
Background
The Pittsburgh Pirates stayed just two seasons at Waterbury, Connecticut’s Municipal Stadium during the early 1970’s. But during the summer of 1970, the Bucs provided Brass City fans with the community’s most thrilling summer of baseball during its long run as an Eastern League outpost from 1966 to 1986.
Pittsburgh previously ran its Eastern League operation out of York, Pennsylvania, where the York Pirates won the 1969 Eastern League title. The Pirates landed in Connecticut via a postseason shuffle during the fall of 1969 that saw the York franchise go out of business and the Cleveland Indians shift their Class AA operation to Savannah, Georgia, thus creating a vacancy for the Pirates in Waterbury.
1970 Championship Season
Waterbury fans had little to cheer during Cleveland’s residency in 1968 and 1969. The Waterbury Indians finished last place in the Eastern League both summers. But Pittsburgh had a much stronger farm system and supplied Waterbury with a superb team in the spring of 1970.
The 1970 Waterbury Bucs were a hard-hitting bunch, launching 136 home runs, the third highest total in the history of the Eastern League. 21-year old left fielder Richie Zisk blasted 22 round trippers during the last six weeks of the 1970 season, including two on the season’s final day that gave him 34 for the season. Zisk’s two home runs that day edged him past Greg Luzinski of the Reading Phillies for the Eastern League home run title and also denied Luzinski the league’s Triple Crown. Zisk and Luzinski both went on to become Major League All-Stars.
Charlie Howard, a 27-year old switch-hitting journeyman first baseman, added 25 homers and a league-best 30 doubles. His corner infield counterpart Luther Quinn contributed 24 homers and 75 RBI.
The Bucs could also run, leading the Eastern League in steals as well with 108. Speedy outfielder Gene Clines topped the circuit with 32 thefts despite bouncing back and forth to Pittsburgh throughout the summer.
On the mound, Waterbury was solid with Dave Bennett (12-7, league-best 2.22 ERA), 20-year old Bruce Kison (10-4, 2.28, Silvano Quezada (10-7, 2.33) and John Lamb (5-2, 1.47, 11 saves) out of the pen.
After finished the regular season in a tie with the Reading Phillies, Waterbury went on the road for one-game championship playoff on September 8th, 1970. The Bucs edged the Phils 3-2 with Bruce Kison on the mound to claim Waterbury’s first and only Eastern League title.
Departure & Aftermath
The Pirates played one final season in Waterbury in 1971. That season saw the arrival of 20-year rookie Dave Parker, but local fans saw little of the form that would make “The Cobra” one of baseball’s most feared sluggers of the 1970’s and 1980’s. Parker had a .228/.305/.281 slash line with no home runs in 30 games for Waterbury in 1970. He would go on to win the National League Most Valuable Player award in 1978 and help Pittsburgh to a World Series championship the following summer.
Bruce Kison moved up to Pittsburgh in 1971. On October 13th, 1971, the 21-year old Kison pitched six innings on one-hit relief to win Game 4 of the 1971 World Series, which also happened to be the first night game in World Series history. Among the Waterbury vets, Gene Clines also saw time in the 1971 series, contributing a key triple in Game 5. The Pirates went on to defeat the Baltimore Orioles in seven games.
In November 1971, the Waterbury franchise sought and received permission from the Eastern League to moved to Sherbrooke, Quebec for the 1972 season. Waterbury had no professional baseball during the summer of 1972, but the Eastern League returned to the city in 1973 with the Waterbury Dodgers.
One month after the Pirates left town, 25-year old outfielder/first baseman Zelman Jack, who hit 32 homers for Waterbury across the 1970 and 1971 seasons, died in Mexico. Jack apparently fell through the roof of a closed night club in the city of Guasave where he was playing winter ball for the Guasave Cotton Growers.
Trivia
Waterbury Pirates owner Bernie Durocher was the nephew of Hall-of-Famer manager Leo Durocher.
Waterbury Pirates Shop
In Memoriam
Outfielder/first baseman Zelman Jack died in a fall at age 25 while playing winter ball in Guasave, Mexico on December 23, 1971.
Manager John “Red” Davis passed away at age 86 on April 26, 2002.
Pitcher Bruce Kison (Waterbury ’70) died of cancer at age 68 on June 2nd, 2018. New York Times obituary.
Links
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