1959 Pittsburgh Pirates
LeagueNational League
BallparkForbes Field
CityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1]
OwnersJohn W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas P. Johnson (minority shareholders)
General managersJoe L. Brown
ManagersDanny Murtaugh
TelevisionKDKA-TV
Bob Prince, Jim Woods
RadioKDKA
Bob Prince, Paul Long, Jim Woods
Seasons

The 1959 Major League Baseball season saw the Pittsburgh Pirates finish in fourth place in the National League at 78–76, nine games behind the NL and World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Pirates set the record for most extra innings victories in a season, winning 19 of their 21 extra inning games.[2][3]

Offseason

Regular season

  • May 26, 1959: Harvey Haddix took a perfect game into the 13th inning of a game against the Milwaukee Braves. Haddix retired 36 consecutive batters in 12 innings, but lost the game 1–0.[6] Braves pitcher Lew Burdette also pitched a shutout for 13 full innings, giving up 12 hits. NOTE: On September 4, 1991, MLB redefined no-hitters to no longer include games in which the first hit was surrendered in extra innings. Until then, Haddix had been credited with a perfect game.

Season standings

National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 8868 0.564 — 46–32 42–36
Milwaukee Braves 8670 0.551 2 49–29 37–41
San Francisco Giants 8371 0.539 4 42–35 41–36
Pittsburgh Pirates 7876 0.506 9 47–30 31–46
Chicago Cubs 7480 0.481 13 38–39 36–41
Cincinnati Reds 7480 0.481 13 43–34 31–46
St. Louis Cardinals 7183 0.461 16 42–35 29–48
Philadelphia Phillies 6490 0.416 23 37–40 27–50

Record vs. opponents

1959 National League record

Sources:
Team CHC CIN LA MIL PHI PIT SF STL
Chicago —9–1311–1110–1210–12–112–1012–1010–12
Cincinnati 13–9—13–911–119–139–138–1411–11
Los Angeles 11–119–13—14–1017–511–1114–812–10
Milwaukee 12–1011–1110–14—13–915–7–112–1013–9
Philadelphia 12–10–113–95–179–13—9–139–137–15
Pittsburgh 10–1213–911–117–15–113–9—10–1214–8
San Francisco 10–1214–88–1410–1213–912–10—16–6
St. Louis 12–1011–1110–129–1315–78–146–16—

Game log

1959 Game Log: 78–76 (Home: 47–30; Away: 31–46)
April: 6–8 (Home: 2–4; Away: 4–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 9@ Reds1–4PurkeyKline (0–1)—32,1900–1
2April 10Braves0–8SpahnFriend (0–1)—33,3170–2
3April 11Braves3–4BurdetteLaw (0–1)—11,8000–3
4April 14@ Reds2–3PurkeyWitt (0–1)—7,6310–4
5April 15@ Reds5–10NuxhallFriend (0–2)Mabe3,2280–5
6April 17@ Braves2–2—8,5620–5
7April 18@ Braves11–5Law (1–1)Buhl—15,7031–5
8April 22Reds9–8Face (1–0)Pena—16,0382–5
9April 23Reds2–5LawrenceWitt (0–2)—18,8192–6
10April 24@ Phillies8–5Face (2–0)Schroll—15,6753–6
11April 25@ Phillies4–2Haddix (1–0)Morehead—6,6784–6
12April 26@ Phillies9–2Law (2–1)Cardwell—5–6
13April 26@ Phillies5–10MeyerFriend (0–3)—19,2665–7
14April 27Dodgers3–9DrysdaleWitt (0–3)—10,6895–8
15April 29Giants3–2Kline (1–1)Antonelli—19,7996–8
May: 19–14 (Home: 10–6; Away: 9–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
16May 1Cardinals6–7MizellFriend (0–4)Brosnan18,9506–9
17May 2Cardinals2–1Haddix (2–0)McDaniel—10,7587–9
18May 3Cardinals4–3 (10)Face (3–0)Brosnan—8–9
19May 3Cardinals1–3BlaylockDaniels (0–1)McDaniel26,0808–10
20May 4Cubs2–1Kline (2–1)AndersonFace (1)14,4219–10
21May 5Cubs3–6HobbieFriend (0–5)—17,4299–11
22May 6Cubs0–3HillmanHaddix (2–1)—5,8609–12
23May 7Phillies5–4 (10)Face (4–0)Owens—10,35810–12
24May 8Phillies1–8ConleyWitt (0–4)Farrell17,69110–13
25May 9Phillies9–1Kline (3–1)Gomez—9,63311–13
26May 10Phillies3–6RobertsFriend (0–6)Farrell11–14
27May 10Phillies7–6Haddix (3–1)HearnFace (2)23,54912–14
28May 11@ Giants4–14SanfordDaniels (0–2)—13,78912–15
29May 12@ Giants6–5 (12)Daniels (1–2)Jones—8,08413–15
30May 13@ Dodgers6–4Face (5–0)Drysdale—16,71814–15
31May 14@ Dodgers7–6Face (6–0)Labine—15,41615–15
32May 16@ Cubs2–3ElstonHaddix (3–2)—10,49615–16
33May 17@ Cubs5–4Law (3–1)AndersonFace (3)16–16
34May 17@ Cubs6–7HobbieDaniels (1–3)Henry32,01716–17
35May 19@ Cardinals2–8JacksonKline (3–2)—8,47016–18
36May 20@ Cardinals1–11MizellFriend (0–7)—8,55516–19
37May 21@ Cardinals7–2Haddix (4–2)McDaniel—8,14117–19
38May 22Reds4–3Law (4–1)Jeffcoat—27,67518–19
39May 23Reds6–5Daniels (2–3)PenaBlackburn (1)13,11919–19
40May 24Reds2–1Kline (4–2)Lawrence—20–19
41May 24Reds5–4 (10)Blackburn (1–0)Purkey—32,27321–19
42May 26@ Braves0–1 (13)BurdetteHaddix (4–3)—19,19421–20
43May 27@ Braves3–4SpahnLaw (4–2)McMahon17,72121–21
44May 28@ Braves3–0Friend (1–7)Jay—12,63522–21
45May 29@ Reds5–8MabeKline (4–3)Acker18,95822–22
46May 30@ Reds3–1Daniels (3–3)O'TooleFace (4)8,61323–22
47May 31@ Reds6–2Law (5–2)Purkey—24–22
48May 31@ Reds14–11Face (7–0)Mabe—17,84725–22
June: 15–15 (Home: 8–7; Away: 7–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
49June 2Cardinals3–0Haddix (5–3)Jackson—28,64426–22
50June 3Cardinals5–3Friend (2–7)MizellFace (5)16,85727–22
51June 4Cardinals9–3Kline (5–3)Broglio—7,55528–22
52June 5Cubs5–10HobbieLaw (5–3)Elston27,33528–23
53June 6Cubs2–8DrabowskyDaniels (3–4)—12,95328–24
54June 7Cubs2–4BuzhardtHaddix (5–4)Henry28–25
55June 7Cubs0–1SingletonFriend (2–8)Elston32,07828–26
56June 8Giants12–9 (11)Face (8–0)McCormick—19,08029–26
57June 9Giants2–6AntonelliLaw (5–4)—24,27229–27
58June 10Giants7–11JonesWitt (0–5)Miller24,31729–28
59June 11Giants12–9Face (9–0)MillerLaw (1)9,44430–28
60June 12Dodgers6–9McDevittDaniels (3–5)Erskine27,97030–29
61June 13Dodgers5–3Kline (6–3)Fowler—11,94431–29
62June 14Dodgers6–3Face (10–0)Labine—32–29
63June 14Dodgers5–2Law (6–4)Erskine—30,08233–29
64June 16@ Cubs5–2Friend (3–8)HillmanFace (6)10,39134–29
65June 17@ Cubs2–5HenryHaddix (5–5)—10,23034–30
66June 18@ Cubs4–2 (13)Face (11–0)Henry—7,56235–30
67June 19@ Cardinals6–0Law (7–4)Ricketts—17,46136–30
68June 20@ Cardinals2–5MizellFriend (3–9)McDaniel10,69836–31
69June 21@ Cardinals1–5JacksonHaddix (5–6)McDaniel36–32
70June 21@ Cardinals10–8Daniels (4–5)BlaylockFace (7)23,73137–32
71June 22@ Giants1–4FisherKline (6–4)Worthington11,00237–33
72June 23@ Giants5–1Law (8–4)Jones—22,70638–33
73June 24@ Giants3–4McCormickDaniels (4–6)—12,64338–34
74June 25@ Giants3–1 (12)Face (12–0)Fisher—11,48739–34
75June 26@ Dodgers5–6PodresKline (6–5)McDevitt22,71939–35
76June 27@ Dodgers0–3KoufaxLaw (8–5)—31,64939–36
77June 28@ Dodgers4–9McDevittFriend (3–10)Drysdale27,78539–37
78June 30@ Phillies4–3Haddix (6–6)RobertsFace (8)11,14940–37
July: 10–17 (Home: 9–8; Away: 1–9)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
79July 1@ Phillies0–1ConleyKline (6–6)—7,89740–38
80July 2Braves4–3 (10)Law (9–5)McMahon—28,28241–38
81July 3Braves0–6PizarroWitt (0–6)—34,09341–39
82July 4Reds4–3Friend (4–10)Nuxhall—16,54842–39
83July 5Reds7–5Haddix (7–6)LawrenceFace (9)43–39
84July 5Reds3–2 (11)Kline (7–6)Pena—22,62244–39
85July 9Cubs4–3 (10)Face (13–0)Henry—22,08045–39
86July 10Cubs7–6 (11)Daniels (5–6)Elston—25,36046–39
87July 11Cubs1–5HillmanKline (7–7)—15,11046–40
88July 12Cardinals6–5 (10)Face (14–0)McDaniel—47–40
89July 12Cardinals6–8 (10)McDanielPorterfield (0–1)—25,53047–41
90July 14Dodgers9–1Law (10–5)Podres—30,19948–41
91July 15Dodgers0–3DrysdaleFriend (4–11)—28,26848–42
92July 17Giants1–4JonesKline (7–8)—33,22048–43
93July 18Giants3–4FisherHaddix (7–7)McCormick20,57748–44
94July 19Giants3–2Law (11–5)Miller—27,99249–44
95July 21Phillies2–4RobertsFriend (4–12)—25,96049–45
96July 22Phillies4–11ConleyKline (7–9)—17,02449–46
97July 24@ Braves0–8PizarroHaddix (7–8)—27,70849–47
98July 25@ Braves0–3BurdetteLaw (11–6)—25,29549–48
99July 26@ Braves0–4SpahnFriend (4–13)—49–49
100July 26@ Braves1–2BuhlWitt (0–7)McMahon39,42049–50
101July 27@ Braves2–5JayKline (7–10)—15,81749–51
102July 28@ Dodgers4–9WilliamsBlackburn (1–1)—23,49349–52
103July 29@ Dodgers0–2CraigLaw (11–7)—24,32449–53
104July 30@ Dodgers5–4 (12)Daniels (6–6)WilliamsGross (1)24,22150–53
105July 31@ Giants3–4SanfordHaddix (7–9)—22,37150–54
August: 20–8 (Home: 15–3; Away: 5–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
106August 1@ Giants5–9ByerlyDaniels (6–7)Miller21,56750–55
107August 2@ Giants3–5AntonelliPorterfield (0–2)—22,65350–56
108August 4@ Cardinals7–3Law (12–7)Gibson—10,97151–56
109August 5@ Cardinals0–3BroglioFriend (4–14)—8,07951–57
110August 6@ Cardinals18–2Haddix (8–9)Jackson—8,50352–57
111August 7@ Cubs0–4DrabowskyKline (7–11)—7,43452–58
112August 8@ Cubs4–3 (14)Gross (1–0)Donnelly—5,69353–58
113August 9@ Cubs5–3 (10)Face (15–0)Elston—19,13854–58
114August 11@ Phillies4–6CardwellFriend (4–15)Farrell12,12754–59
115August 12@ Phillies6–2Haddix (9–9)Roberts—11,16355–59
116August 14Braves2–1Law (13–7)Jay—26,87356–59
117August 15Braves10–8Kline (8–11)BurdetteGreen (1)34,47857–59
118August 16Braves2–1Friend (5–15)PizarroPorterfield (1)58–59
119August 16Braves2–5SpahnDaniels (6–8)—24,51858–60
120August 17Cubs7–6Green (1–0)Henry—12,81559–60
121August 19Cardinals4–2Law (14–7)Gibson—19,07560–60
122August 20Cardinals3–1Friend (6–15)Broglio—8,05961–60
123August 21Dodgers5–6PodresKline (8–12)Koufax24,67861–61
124August 22Dodgers2–0Daniels (7–8)CraigGross (2)10,26062–61
125August 23Dodgers9–2Haddix (10–9)Drysdale—63–61
126August 23Dodgers4–3 (10)Face (16–0)Drysdale—25,17364–61
127August 24Giants6–0Friend (7–15)Jones—23,61765–61
128August 25Giants5–12AntonelliKline (8–13)—29,92765–62
129August 26Giants5–4 (10)Kline (9–13)Miller—20,24466–62
130August 28Phillies9–0Law (15–7)Keegan—20,92667–62
131August 29Phillies11–1Friend (8–15)Roberts—9,71468–62
132August 30Phillies2–1Haddix (11–9)Robinson—69–62
133August 30Phillies7–6 (10)Face (17–0)Farrell—20,01570–62
September: 8–14 (Home: 3–2; Away: 5–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
134September 2@ Reds3–6O'TooleLaw (15–8)—70–63
135September 2@ Reds1–2NewcombeFriend (8–16)—13,01470–64
136September 4@ Phillies0–3OwensHaddix (11–10)—13,13670–65
137September 5@ Phillies7–6Porterfield (1–2)FarrellDaniels (1)5,99371–65
138September 6@ Phillies1–2RobertsLaw (15–9)—9,68471–66
139September 7@ Braves1–5BurdetteFriend (8–17)—71–67
140September 7@ Braves1–4BuhlDaniels (7–9)—26,91071–68
141September 9@ Giants2–7SanfordHaddix (11–11)Miller22,76871–69
142September 10@ Giants5–3Law (16–9)Antonelli—14,13072–69
143September 11@ Dodgers4–5ChurnFace (17–1)—72–70
144September 11@ Dodgers0–4SherryGreen (1–1)—48,52672–71
145September 13@ Dodgers4–3Kline (10–13)Churn—20,17673–71
146September 16@ Cubs3–2Law (17–9)Anderson—74–71
147September 16@ Cubs2–4ElstonFriend (8–18)—1,36674–72
148September 17@ Cardinals7–0Haddix (12–11)Jackson—4,97075–72
149September 19Reds4–3 (12)Face (18–1)Lawrence—8,40676–72
150September 20Reds10–1Law (18–9)Brosnan—21,06877–72
151September 21Braves6–8SpahnFriend (8–19)McMahon17,20577–73
152September 22Braves3–5PizarroHaddix (12–12)McMahon17,65877–74
153September 23Braves5–4Kline (11–13)JayFace (10)20,50278–74
154September 26@ Reds6–7PurkeyGross (1–1)—4,70378–75
155September 27@ Reds7–9NuxhallGreen (1–2)Purkey15,52278–76
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie
Bold = Pirates team member

Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

Roster

1959 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
CSmoky Burgess114377112.2971159
1BDick Stuart118397118.2972778
2BBill Mazeroski135493119.241759
SSDick Groat147593163.275551
3BDon Hoak155564166.294865
LFBob Skinner143547153.2801361
CFBill Virdon144519132.254841
RFRoberto Clemente105432128.296450

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Román Mejías9627665.236728
Rocky Nelson9817551.291632
Danny Kravitz5216241.253321
Dick Schofield8114531.23419
Ted Kluszewski6012232.262217
Hank Foiles538018.22534
Harry Bright404812.25038
Harry Simpson9154.26702
Joe Christopher15120.00000
Ken Hamlin381.12502
R.C. Stevens372.28611
Hardy Peterson210.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Vern Law34266.01892.98110
Bob Friend35234.28194.03104
Harvey Haddix31224.112123.13149
Ron Kline33186.011134.2691
George Witt1550.2076.9330
Jim Umbricht17.0006.433

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Bennie Daniels34100.2795.4567
Al Jackson818.0006.5013
Dick Hall28.2003.123

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Roy Face57181102.7069
Bob Porterfield361214.3519
Ron Blackburn261113.6519
Don Gross211123.5515
Bob Smith200003.4912
Fred Green171213.1320
Don Williams60006.753
Paul Giel400014.093

Awards and honors

Records

  • Roy Face, major league record, most wins in one season by a relief pitcher (18)[9]
  • Harvey Haddix, major league record, Most consecutive batters retired in one game (36) [10]

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Columbus Jets International League Cal Ermer
AAA Salt Lake City Bees Pacific Coast League Larry Shepard
A Columbus/Gastonia Pirates Sally League Ray Hathaway
B Wilson Tobs Carolina League Harding "Pete" Peterson and Don Osborn
C Grand Forks Chiefs Northern League James Adlam
C Idaho Falls Russets Pioneer League Bob Clear
D Salem Rebels Appalachian League Lamar Dorton
D Dubuque Packers Midwest League Wally Millies, John Armstrong,
Syd Thrift and Al Kubski
D San Angelo/Roswell Pirates Sophomore League Al Kubski, Joe Bauman and Wally Millies
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Salt Lake City, Gastonia, Wilson
Columbus (GA) franchise transferred to Gastonia, May 26, 1959; San Angelo franchise transferred to Roswell, June 9, 1959

References

  1. ↑ From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Side in 1907.
  2. ↑ "Team Batting Game Finder: In years 1904 to 2019, Only extra-inning games, Team Won, sorted by greatest number of games in a single season matching the selected criteria". Stathead. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  3. ↑ "1959 Pittsburgh Pirates Schedule". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  4. ↑ Smoky Burgess at Baseball Reference
  5. ↑ Dick Rand at Baseball Reference
  6. ↑ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Milwaukee Braves 1, Pittsburgh Pirates 0". Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  7. ↑ Gene Baker at Baseball Reference
  8. ↑ Bob Smith at Baseball Reference
  9. ↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 290, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  10. ↑ Baseball's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Records, p. 29, Kerry Banks, 2010, Greystone Books, Vancouver, BC, ISBN 978-1-55365-507-7
  • 1959 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Reference
  • 1959 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Almanac
  • Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
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