The Pittsburgh Pirates 50 Years ago vs. the 2025 version

The 1975 Major League Baseball season was 50 years ago and for the Pittsburgh Pirates they were four years removed from a World Series triumph over the Baltimore Orioles. The 1970s was a special decade for the Bucs as in the 10 years that made up 1971-1979, Pittsburgh won two World Series titles both over Baltimore but also finished first in the old National League East Division six times in 10 seasons. 

A handful of players from that 1971 roster that won it all remained on the roster in 1975. This year’s Pirates roster is probably miles away from even making a playoff appearance but some of the players that will take the field as the starting lineup in this forthcoming season will be wearing the same jersey numbers as some of those great 1975 players.

What follows are the starters for this 2025 season who will be wearing the uniform numbers that players in 1975 bore on their backs. Referring to the current depth chart, I’ll run down the players holding the top spot for each position and give you the corresponding player from 1975 that wore the same number and, in some cases, a short comment on the 1975 player.

• Paul Skenes-30. Skenes should be the ace of the pitching staff after winning Rookie of the Year honors. In 1975 Ken Brett, the brother of baseball great George Brett, won nine games while losing five for Pittsburgh. 

• Mitch Keller-23. This jersey number belonged to journeyman Ed Kirkpatrick who was a catcher but also played the outfield. Having played for five different teams in his career, he spent four in the ‘Burgh. Kirkpatrick only played in 89 games for the Pirates in 1975. 

• Jared Jones-37. In 1975 no Pirates player bore this number.

• David Bednar-51. Old timers like me may remember the name Odell Jones. Jones was a rookie in 1975, appearing in just two games. His career with Pittsburgh lasted four seasons before he became a Seattle Mariner. With the Pirates he posted a 9-12 record.

• Carmen Miodzinski-50. Back in his playing days John Candelaria wore several numbers as a Pittsburgh Pirate and 50 was one of them. The “Candyman” also wore 45 and 49. 1975 was also Candelaria’s rookie season after being a second-round draft pick by Pittsburgh in the 1972 amateur draft as Candeleria came out of La Salle Academy in New York. In his rookie season however, he wore #45.

• Joey Bart-14. Infielder Art Howe owned this number in 1975. In his second season with the Pirates that year he played in 63 games and hit just .171 with just 25 hits on the season.

• Spencer Horwitz-2. No player wore number two in 1975, however third base coach and former third baseman Jose Pagan had it on his back.

• Adam Frazier-26. Frazier is returning to the Pirates after beginning his career in Pittsburgh in 2016 but was then traded to the San Diego Padres in 2021. Frazier would play for three more teams up to 2024 (Seattle, Baltimore, Kansas City) before re-signing with the Bucs in the offseason this year. Frazier has worn numbers 26 and 12 throughout his MLB career. #12 is currently on the back of bench coach Don Kelly. Ott was a stout 5’10” catcher with the Bucs and a former amateur wrestler that weighed in at 190 pounds during his playing days. Ott might be best remembered for an incident in a game with the New York Mets on August 12, 1977, when he got into a fight with Felix Milan of the Mets at second base. Ott slid into second on a double play attempt and Milan, angered by the slide, punched Ott in the face with a ball in hand. Ott subsequently body slammed Milan breaking his collarbone and Milan never returned to the major leagues only to finish his baseball career in Japan.

• Nick Gonzales-39. Anyone who is anyone being a Pirates fan knows who wore number 39. It was the “Cobra” the great Dave Parker. Just this year Parker was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1978 he was the league’s Most Valuable Player. Parker would have a 19-year career with 11 seasons playing for the Bucs. Parker was to be the successor to the legendary Roberto Clemente, and he nearly had an equal arm strength to that of the great one. 

• Ke’Bryan Hayes-13. The unlucky 13 was not worn by any Pirates player in 1975.

• Isiah Kiner-Falefa-7. What Pirates fan from the 1970s could forget “big red” or commonly known as Bob Robertson. A fan favorite and a member of the 1971 world series championship team, Robertson spent nine of his 11 years in pro baseball playing for the Pirates. Robertson was only a lifetime .230 hitter, but in ’71 during that championship season, he hit for a cool .271 and reached the level again in 1975 with a season batting average of .274. In that 1971 World Series, he can be remembered embracing winning pitcher Steve Blass in game seven when the final out was made, and the Pirates were world champs. He hit two home runs in that series against Baltimore.

• Bryan Reynolds-10. One of the best players of the Pirates currently shared the number Frank Taveras wore in 1975. Taveras was a solid defensive shortstop spending eight seasons with the Pirates. 

• Oneil Cruz-15. Miguel Dilone was a speedy outfielder who would become an excellent base stealer, just not with the Pirates. From his rookie season in 1974 to 1977 he had little playing time with Pittsburgh and throughout his career he would play for six more teams after leaving the Pirates. In 12 big league seasons, Dilone stole 267 bases. With the Pirates, including 1975, he played in just 82 games in five seasons and stole only 23 bases.

• Ji Hwan Boe-3. Back in 1975 Pittsburgh’s regular third baseman was Richie Hebner. Like Bob Robertson, Hebner was a fan favorite. His original number was 20 but he was forced to give that up when the Pirates made the decision to retire that number in honor of the Pirates great who wore it years before. That was Pie Traynor. But Hebner, who was a particularly good amateur hockey player who almost went pro in that sport, was also a grave digger in the offseason. 

• Jack Suwinski-65. Suwinski wears a number that was not on the roster in 1975.

• Andrew McCutchen-22. ‘Cutch got his start in Pittsburgh, skipped town for a few years and came back. He was welcomed back at PNC Park with open arms and ovations. To make it simple, he is loved by Pirates fans everywhere. Back in 1975 #22 could be seen on the back of Richie Zisk’s jersey. Zisk while not a star like McCutchen was still a fan favorite while he played in the ‘Burgh. 

As for the coaching staff for the 2025 Pirates and the 1975 version, it shows you how times have changed when you consider that the 70’s version had just three coaches and the manager who was the popular Danny Murtaugh. This year you have manager Derek Shelton and a huge coaching staff that includes bench coach Don Kelly, pitching coach Oscar Marin, first base coach Tarrik Brock, third base coach Mike Rabelo, and the bullpen coach Miguel Perez. 

Derek Shelton wears the number 17. 50 years ago, pitcher Dock Ellis was #17. Ellis was famous for allegedly throwing a no-hitter while high on LSD. Don Kelly has number 12 assigned to him which also was worn by Craig Reynolds. Al Oliver who had the nickname “Scoops” put on jersey number 16 when on the field. Today, that is worn by Tarrik Brock. 

For the record, the 1975 Pittsburgh Pirates finished first in the National League East division with a record of 92-69. In the National League championship series, the Bucs had the unfortunate fate of facing the “Big Red Machine” of the Cincinnati Reds. One of the best teams in history, the Reds, swept the Pirates in three games. As for this year’s Pirates, they are riding the coattails of six straight losing seasons and have not been to the post season since 2015. In 2024 they won 76 games and lost 86, the same record they finished with a year before. That win total for both years is 14 games better than they finished in 2022. 



50 years ago, it was a memorable year for Pirates baseball with games played at the old Three Rivers Stadium. That season was the middle of a decade that might be the most successful in Pirates history.