Hall of Fame first baseman Willie Stargell (1940 – 2001) played the entirety of his twenty year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Born Wilver Donne Stargell, Willie entered the Major Leagues in 1962. During the course of his career, the hard hitting left hander affectionately known as "Pops" led the National League in home runs twice, made seven All-Star appearances and helped to bring the Pirates two World Series Championships (1971 and 1979.)
The 1979 Pirates championship team was known as "The Family," (a name taken from the popular Sister Sledge song "We are Family,")and "Pops" was its undisputed leader, taking home both the National League and World Series MVP awards that year.
Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988, Stargell died of a stroke in 2001. His 475 career home runs and 1,540 runs-batted-in remain Pirates records. In recognition of his status as one of the city's most beloved athletes, a statue of Stargell has been erected in Pittsburgh outside of PNC Park, the Pirates current home.