Night Owl Cards

The Pirates are in the playoffs and everyone seems to be happy about this. Every last baseball fan is dusting off their Kent Tekulve references, although personally I'd be more impressed if someone mentioned Bruce Kison or Steve Nicosia. I'm pleased to see the Pirates back, too, because I remember a time when Pittsburgh was in the postseason consistently. I especially remember 1979, the first postseason in which I stayed up to watch every last World Series game. It was my first experience with the totality of the postseason, what it meant and who the players were. And what an introduction. The "We Are Fam-i-lee" Pirates are one of the most beloved championship teams of our time. They had style, character and talent. They had the underdog thing going (down 3 games to 1 in the Series). And they were led by their Papa Bear, Willie Stargell, who distributed gold stars for good performance. This year's Pirates, although a crowd favorite, can't compare. The...