Clines Reflects on Clemente, Stargell, and the Team of Color

By Danny Torres 

Dec 31, 2006

FLUSHING, NY- 35 years ago on September 1, 1971, observers in the press box and in particular, as legend has it, a Pirate batboy noticed that the Pittsburgh Pirate lineup consisted exclusively of African-American and dark-skinned Latin American players. This would be a significant date in major league history considering the United States was still at war in Vietnam where a large number of African-American and Latinos were dying in an unjust war while racial division was still an ongoing battle being fought in America. Yet baseball would be "America's game" and a Pirate manager, Danny Murtaugh said it best by stating, "When it comes to making out the lineup, I'm color blind." Amazingly only 11,278 at Three Rivers Stadium witnessed history unfold, as the Pirates went on to defeat the Phillies 10-7.

Former Pirate and 10-year veteran, Gene Clines was on that unbelievable team playing center field between his two mentors, Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente. Clines, who is also the former hitting coach of the Chicago Cubs, spoke exclusively to LATINOSPORTS and reflected on being a part of that historical team, what he learned from Clemente and Stargell and the advice he imparts to today's MLB players.

Danny Torres (DT): If you had to take a moment and think about it, what was it like playing between Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell?

Gene Clines (GC): It was a dream come true. When I played high school baseball in California, the bat I used was a Roberto Clemente model bat. Not ever thinking I would play with him, next to him on the outfield or be one of his teammates. As a kid growing up, I admired Clemente and to finally get a chance to play along side of him was truly a dream come true.

DT: In 1971, it was probably a dream come true for Clemente to see a mixture of races on his team, if by accident, can you talk about the 'All-Minority Team' or as I like to call it the 'All Brother Team'? I heard it was a batboy that noticed it?

GC: (Laughter) I've been thinking about who that batboy was for a long time. It wasn't till the National Anthem that I thought about what was said. I'm in center field, I look to my right and there's Clemente. I look to my left, there's Stargell. Then I said, "Oh my God." (laughter) The press tried to make it look so negative and Danny Murtaugh summed it up perfectly. They asked him you know you made history today because there’re nine black ballplayers on the field. Murtaugh's perfect statement was "I put the nine best ballplayers out that night that I thought could win for us." That was the bottom line, we went out to win. It didn't matter who was out there. We had the same goal; to win.

DT: It's been 35 years, talk about the chemistry of the '71 team that won the World Series?

GC: That '71 team was so special because as a unit, 25 players did everything together. If there was a kid who had a birthday party, a function at my house, or a party at Clemente's house, we all showed up. We were always there. Being in that clubhouse that was crazy at times, we could get on each other, joke with each other or call each other names, it stayed in that clubhouse. If you messed with one Pirate on that ballclub, you're messing with the whole team. That's how close we were. You talk about a 'Dream team,' I don't think you'll ever have a team that was as close as that Pirate team.

DT: Where were you when you heard the news of Clemente's passing? It's been 34 years since that tragedy occurred.

GC: I was at home and I was in bed. My wife woke me up. I thought it was a dream and she said there was a plane crash, Clemente was on it and he died. I went back to sleep so when I woke up later on I talked to my wife, I told her that I had this strange dream. She said it wasn't a dream but that it actually happened. I was in a total shock.

DT: After Clemente's passing, you knew what you got from Clemente but what advice did Willie Stargell impart on to you?

GC: It was like the passing of the torch. I was fortunate to be around those guys and they were my mentors. They showed me how to play the game, how to play the right way and to respect the game. Stargell received the torch and kept it going. I learned so much from those two men and I've passed on what I learned to all my players. I can't say enough about them because they meant so much to me.

Here's the historical lineup card as it was presented that day on September 1, 1971:

posted 2 December 2007