Po's Peek at the Past

The Pittsburgh Pirates meant everything to me while growing up in Central Pennsylvania in the late '50s and early '60s. I knew the team inside and out – the lineup, the coaches, the announcers, even the advertisers on the TV and radio commercials.

I had most of the Pirate statistics memorized, including the then-current batting averages of Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell, their RBIs, home runs, walks and on-base percentages. I could tell you the number of times Clemente stole a base and the number of times he was picked off trying to do so. I'm sure I could also recall the number of...