Lining up with history

In a Major League Baseball first, the Pittsburgh Pirates 52 years ago today start the first all-Black and Latino lineup in a game during a 10-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Three Rivers Stadium.

With a Wednesday night crowd of 11,278 looking on, the eventual 1971 World Series champions roll out a lineup that features rookie Rennie Stennett batting leadoff and playing second base, followed by Gene Clines in center field, the incomparable Roberto Clemente in right, Willie Stargell in left, Manny Sanguillen catching, Dave Cash at third base, Al Oliver at first, Jackie Hernandez at shortstop and Dock Ellis pitching.

“When it comes to making out the lineup, I’m colorblind and my athletes know it,” Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh tells reporters at the game.

“They know it because they’re familiar with how I operate. The best men in our organization are the ones who are here. And the ones who are here all play, depending on when the circumstances present themselves.”

Murtaugh’s historic lineup is made possible, in part, because regular third baseman Richie Hebner is hospitalized with a viral infection while shortstop Gene Alley is resting a sprained left knee – a pair of injuries that allows Murtaugh to start Cash at third and Hernandez at short.

The historic lineup is pictured here by Jim Shearer, whose work today may be found at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Every Pittsburgh batter, with the exception of Ellis, has at least one hit, one run scored or one RBI.

“(Murtaugh) treated it with the respect it deserved,” Pirates pitcher Steve Blass later says of the game, “but he didn’t act like it was a big of a deal as (the media) were making. He just put out the nine best Pirates and didn’t care if they were White, Black, Latino, whatever.”