1909-1912 Pittsburgh Pirates

We just received a collection that consisted of only Pirates players from the T205, T206, and T207 sets. Although the modern Pirates organization hasn't experienced much success, this collection reminded us that those early Pirates teams were some of the best in professional baseball. Aside from Honus Wagner, whose career we have already discussed in our W600 blog, there are many notable Pirates from the first decade of the 20th century.

The cards from this particular collection were printed at a time when the Pirates had just won the World Series. The 1909 Pirates team, which finished the season at 110-42, had outstanding starting pitching - all of their starters had an ERA under 3 and winning percentages over 0.600. Howie Camnitz, who was featured prominently in this collection, had his best year ever, going 25-6. This collection also includes Bobby Byrne, the third baseman who led the league in hits (178) and doubles (43) in 1910. In 1913, one year after the T207 cards were issued, both Byrne and Camnitz were traded to the Phillies.

The early Pirates teams are definitely some of the most fun to collect because there were so many talented players with so many great cards. If you are interested in selling any Pre-War cards, please click here.

Pittsburgh Pirates

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The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions, in addition to the distinction of playing in the first modern World Series. The Pirates are also often referred to as the Bucs or sometimes the Buccos (derived from buccaneer).

First franchise to win a World Series on a home run (1960 World Series) in the decisive 7th game. The only other team to meet this feat is the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993, who accomplished it in the 6th game of the Series (non-decisive, i.e. there would have been another game had they lost this one). First ever Major League Baseball game broadcast on the radio, a game between the Pirates and the host Philadelphia Phillies aired August 5, 1921, on KDKA (AM) Pittsburgh. The Pirates won the game 8–5.

See what Dean’s Cards has to offer on their Pirates Team Page!

Retired Numbers	1, 4, 8, 9, 11, 20, 21, 33, 40, 42
Colors
Black, gold, white
Name
Pittsburgh Pirates (1891–present)
Pittsburgh Alleghenys (1887–1889) Allegheny (1882–1886) (Also referred to as "Infants" in 1890 and Pittsburg for a time)
Other nicknames
The Bucs, The Buccos
Ballpark
PNC Park (2001–present) Three Rivers Stadium (1970–2000) Forbes Field (1909–1970) Exposition Park (II) (1891–1909) Recreation Park (1884–1890) Exposition Park (I) (1882–1883)
Major league titles
World Series titles (5)	1909 • 1925 • 1960 • 1971 1979
NL Pennants (9)	1979 • 1971 • 1960 • 1927 1925 • 1909 • 1903 • 1902 1901
Central Division titles (0)	None
East Division titles (9)	1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1974 1975 • 1979 • 1990 • 1991 1992