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Pittsburgh Pirates Black History Month Tribute: The First All-Minority Lineup in MLB History

By Noah Wright|
PITTSBURGH - JUNE 21: Manny Sanguillen #35 of the World Series Champion 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates salutes the crowd after being introduced before the game against the Baltimore Orioles on June 21, 2011 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH - JUNE 21: Manny Sanguillen #35 of the World Series Champion 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates salutes the crowd after being introduced before the game against the Baltimore Orioles on June 21, 2011 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
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Pittsburgh Pirates
CAROLINA, PUERTO RICO – NOVEMBER 12: A front view of Roberto Clemente Stadium on November 12, 2018 in Carolina, Puerto Rico. It was heavily damaged in Hurricane Maria. It was used mostly for baseball games and was the home of Puerto Rico Baseball team Gigantes de Carolina. The stadium holds 12,500 people and was built in 2000. It is named after former Puerto Rican baseball great and native of Carolina, Roberto Clemente. At the moment the stadium has not undergone repairs. The effort continues in Puerto Rico to remain and rebuild more than one year after the Hurricane Maria hit and devastated the island on September 20, 2017. The official number of deaths from the disaster is 2,975. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for Lumix)

Baseball has a deep and rich background in Black History, and the Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the best stories in the rich history of the sport.

February is Black History Month. Clearly, the sport of baseball has one of richest histories in black history. Everything from Josh Gibson in the Negro Legaues hitting nearly 1000 home runs to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the deepest histories in terms of black history month.

Today, I wanted to revisit a very special line-up the Pittsburgh Pirates assembled in 1971. A line-up that would go down in history as the very first all-minority line-up in Major League Baseball history. So, without further ado, let’s get into the lead off hitter.

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