Pirates legend Bob Veale, World Series champion in 1971, dead at 89

Longtime Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bob Veale, who helped the franchise win a World Series championship in 1971, died over the weekend at 89 years old. 

The Pirates released a statement on Veale, who spent 11 of his 13 seasons with Pittsburgh. 

“Bob was an integral member of the Pirates who helped our team capture back-to-back division titles as well as the 1971 World Series,” team owner Bob Nutting said in a statement. “He was one of the most dominant left-handed pitchers in all of Major League Baseball during his remarkable big league career that he proudly spent a majority of as a member of the Pirates. He was a great man who will be missed.”

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Bob Veale poses in Pirates uniform. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

Veale played the final two-and-a-half seasons with the Boston Red Sox from 1972-74. 

According to AL.com, Veale died “in his beloved hometown with his family by his side” over the weekend, though specifics were not made known. 

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Veale earned himself back-to-back All-Star nods in 1965 and 1966 during his Pirates career, which began in 1962 as a 26-year-old left-hander. 

Pitching in just 11 games that year, Veale earned a 3.74 ERA before making his name known with a 1.04 ERA over 34 games (seven starts) during the 1963 season. It came over just 77.2 innings of work, but the Pirates saw a starter they could utilize for years to come. 

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bob Veale (39) poses for a portrait at Forbes Field.  (Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)

In 1964, Veale took on an even bigger workload on the mound, pitching 279.2 innings (40 games) to a 2.74 ERA. He went 18-12 that season, striking out 250 hitters to lead the league. 

Veale would rack up 1,703 strikeouts over 1,926 innings in his career. And during the 1971 World Series, Veale helped his Pirates take down the Baltimore Orioles to win the title. 

Veale was traded midway through the 1972 season to Boston, but not before he made MLB history as part of the Pirates’ lineup that became the first-ever all-Black or Afro-Latino lineup, per AL.com.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bob Veale (39) poses for a portrait at Forbes Field. (Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)

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When Veale’s playing days were over, he eventually moved into the scouting department for the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees. He would go on to be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2006, while also helping launch the Negro Southern League Museum in his hometown of Birmingham in 2015.

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