Remembering Dave Giusti, the quiet Pirates closer who helped bring Pittsburgh a title

There are some Pirates who never really leave.

Even when the cheers fade. Even when the last pitch is thrown. Even when the box scores yellow with age. They stay – woven into the fabric of the franchise, into the heartbeat of the city, into the stories handed down from generation to generation.

Dave Giusti was one of those Pirates.

Giusti passed away at age 86 on Sunday, and with him goes one of the quiet pillars of the greatest era this franchise has ever known. Not a headliner. Not a marquee name. But absolutely indispensable – the kind of player every championship team needs and every fan learns to trust.

When the Pirates won the World Series in 1971, Giusti was the man who slammed the door.

A converted starter, Giusti arrived in Pittsburgh in 1970 and immediately became something the franchise had never quite had before: a true modern closer. That first year, he saved 26 games – the most on the team. In 1971, he led the entire National League with 30 saves, then turned in 10.2 scoreless innings in the postseason as the Pirates marched to a title.

Every great memory from that run has a Giusti echo behind it. The late leads. The rising tension. The calm figure jogging in from the bullpen. The sense that, once he had the ball, the game belonged to Pittsburgh.

Over a six-year stretch from 1970 to 1975, no pitcher in baseball recorded more saves than Giusti. He still ranks third in Pirates history in saves. Seventh in ERA. Eighth in games pitched. That’s not just a résumé—that’s permanence.

Dave Giusti's Pirates legacy transcends his closer role in the 1971 World Series

But what truly made Giusti a Pirate wasn’t just what he did between the lines.

After his playing days ended, he didn’t drift away. He stayed. He made Pittsburgh home. He became part of the community. He became a steward of the franchise’s history, serving as an officer in the Pirates Alumni Association from its very beginning.

Giusti showed up. He shook hands. He told stories. He reminded fans – young and old – that this franchise once stood on top of the baseball world, and that it can again.

In an era where so many players pass through cities like rental cars, Giusti chose Pittsburgh. And Pittsburgh chose him right back.

For fans who grew up on stories of the ’71 team, Giusti wasn’t just a name in a media guide. He was the embodiment of trust, stability and what it meant to finish a job. The Pirates have had plenty of heartbreak since those days. But when we look back on that championship era, we’re reminded that this franchise knows what greatness looks like. It knows what it feels like to have a team that delivers when it matters most.

Giusti helped define that feeling. And now, as the city says goodbye, it does so not just to a former closer – but to a forever Pirate.