"In the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates, no team has been more memorable than that of 1960. In the decade before, the team produced only two winning records: a second-place finish in 1958 and in 1959. In 1960, they put it all together to win the pennant. Their reward was a trip to the World Series against the favored New York Yankees. This book tells the story of that magnificent team and its glorious victory, which will be etched into the minds of Pittsburgh baseball fans forever." --

Sweet ’60: The 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates is the joint product of 44 authors and editors from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) who have pooled their efforts to create a portrait of the 1960 team which pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the last 60 years. Game Seven of the 1960 World Series between the Pirates and the Yankees swung back and forth. Heading into the bottom of the eighth inning at Forbes Field, the Yankees had outscored the Pirates, 53-21, and held a 7–4 lead in the deciding game. The Pirates hadn’t won a World Championship since 1925, while the Yanks had won 17 of them in the same stretch of time, seven of the preceding 11 years. The Pirates scored five times in the bottom of the eighth and took the lead, only to cough it up in the top of the ninth. The game was tied 9–9 in the bottom of the ninth. At 3:36, Bill Mazeroski swung at Ralph Terry’s slider. As Curt Smith writes in these pages: “There goes a long drive hit deep to left field!” said Gunner. “Going back is Yogi Berra! Going back! You can kiss it good-bye!” No smooch was ever lovelier. “How did we do it, Possum? How did we do it?” Prince said finally, din all around. Woods didn’t know—only that, “I’m looking at the wildest thing since I was on Hollywood Boulevard the night World War II ended.” David had toppled Goliath. It was a blow that awakened a generation, one that millions of people saw on television, one of TV’s first iconic World Series moments.

In 1960, Major League Baseball reached a crossroads in its history. Facing a challenge from the Continental Baseball League, the owners of the original 16 major league teams elected to admit new clubs. This in-depth look at that pivotal season--the last played with only the original 16 teams--follows the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates on their march to the 1960 World Series. The trials and triumphs of these two teams reflect the changes, large and small, that came to define the sport in the following decades--surnames on the backs of the uniforms, exploding scoreboards, the increasing impact of international players, and foremost of all, expansion. Marking the end of the "Golden Age" of baseball and the beginning of the ascendancy of professional football as the national pastime, this historic season witnessed the intersection of the past and future of American professional sports.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the most storied histories in the annuals of baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia captures these fabulous times through the stories of the individuals and the collective teams that have thrilled the Steel City for 125 years. The book breaks down the team with a year-by-year synopsis of the club, biographies of over 180 of the most memorable Pirates through the ages as well as a look at each manager, owner, general manager and announcer that has served the club proudly. Now updated through the 2014 season, The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia will provide Pirates fans as well as baseball fans in general a complete look into the team's history, sparking memories of glories past and hopes for the future. Highlights include: • Single-season and career records • Player and manager profiles • Pirates award winners • Synopses of key games in Pirates history Now fully updated, this is one of the most comprehensive books ever written about the Pirates, and a resource that no Bucs fan should be without. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

“Takes readers inside the clubhouse, the dugout, and the bullpen-not to mention the airplane, the train and the hotel room-in ways no sportswriter ever has.” — Washington Post “Rich and always interesting....This is the most authentic and convincing book about baseball I have ever read.” — Los Angeles Times “Funny, candid, and even more interesting because it doesn’t chronicle an exceptional season (something Brosnan reserved for his second book, Pennant Race, 1962), this book was a game changer.” — Booklist “One of the best baseball books ever written. It is probably one of the best American diaries as well.” — New York Times

Chronicles the fifty greatest games in the history of the Pittsburgh baseball team from 1900 to the present, providing box scores and analyses for each featured matchup.