Longtime Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bob Veale, who helped the franchise win a World Series championship in 1971, died over the weekend at age 89.
The Pirates issued a statement about Veale, who spent 11 of his 13 seasons with Pittsburgh.
“Bob was an integral member of the Pirates who helped our team capture back-to-back division titles as well as the 1971 World Series,” team owner Bob Nutting said in a statement. “He was one of the most dominant left-handed pitchers in all of Major League Baseball during his remarkable Major League career, most of which he proudly spent as a member of the Pirates. He was a great man who will be missed.”
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Bob Veale poses in a Pirates uniform. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
Veale played the last two and a half seasons with the Boston Red Sox from 1972-1974.
According to AL.com, Veale died “in his beloved hometown with his family by his side” over the weekend, although details were not released.
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Veale earned back-to-back All-Star nods in 1965 and 1966 during his career with the Pirates, which began in 1962 as a 26-year-old left-hander.
Pitching in only 11 games that year, Veale posted a 3.74 ERA before breaking out with a 1.04 ERA in 34 games (seven starts) during the 1963 season. It was in just 77.2 innings of work, but the Pirates they saw a starter they could use for years to come.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bob Veale (39) poses for a portrait at Forbes Field. (Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)
In 1964, Veale took on an even heavier workload on the mound, pitching 279.2 innings (40 games) with a 2.74 ERA. He went 18-12 that season, striking out 250 batters to lead the league.
Veale would accumulate 1,703 strikeouts in 1,926 career innings. And during the 1971 World Series, Veale helped his Pirates defeat the Baltimore Orioles to win the title.
Veale was traded midway through the 1972 season to Boston, but not before making MLB history as part of the Pirates lineup that became the first all-black or Afro-Latino lineup, according to AL.com.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bob Veale (39) poses for a portrait at Forbes Field. (Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)
When his playing days ended, he eventually moved to the scouting departments of the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees. He would later be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2006, and also helped launch the Negro Southern League Museum in his hometown of Birmingham in 2015.
