Gene Clines, a 10-year major-league vet who spent his first five seasons with the Pirates and was part of their 1971 World Series winning team, has died.
He was 75 years old.
Clines’ Pirate career began when he was selected in the sixth round of the 1966 amateur draft. He made his major-league debut four years later, and went on to hit .277 with 645 hits, five home runs, 341 runs scored and 71 stolen bases over his career.
Clines was also part of the first all-minority lineup in baseball history on Sept. 1, 1971, batting second and playing center field.
When he arrived at Three Rivers Stadium for that game, Clines said he remembered a clubhouse attendant telling him “the Homestead Grays are playing today.”
“It wasn’t until the National Anthem that I’m looking to my left and I’m looking to my right and, lo and behold, it was all brothers out there,” Clines told our Tom Reed in July.
“That was one of the most prideful days of my entire career,” he added later. “It’s like setting a record and having it still stand 50 years later.”
Following his playing career, Clines coached in the big leagues with the Cubs, Astros, Mariners, Brewers and Giants, as well as a coordinator with the Dodgers.
“Gene was a speedy outfielder who was a key member of our 1971 World Series team,” Pirates president Travis Williams said in a team statement confirming Clines’ passing. “He made a tremendous impact on the game, not only as a player after his career with the Pirates, but also as a long-time coach in the big leagues.
“It was an honor to have Gene back in Pittsburgh this past September to recognize him and his teammates from our 1971 World Series Championship team who took the field as part of Major League Baseball’s first all-minority lineup. It was a joy to talk to him about his deep passion for baseball, his love for his teammates and his appreciation for the city of Pittsburgh. Our hearts go out to his wife Joanne, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
