Pittsburgh Pirates facts for kids

Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
Established	1882
Team logo	Cap insignia
Major league affiliations
National League (1887–present) Central Division (1994–present); ;
	Current uniform
Retired numbers	1; 4; 8; 9; 11; 20; 21; 33; 40; 42;
Colors
	Black, gold, white; ;
Name
	Pittsburgh Pirates (1891–present);
	Pittsburgh Alleghenys (1887–1890); ; Allegheny (1882–1886);
Ballpark
	PNC Park (2001–present); * Three Rivers Stadium (1970–2000); Forbes Field (1909–1970); Exposition Park III (1891–1909); Recreation Park (1884–1890); Exposition Park I, II (1882–1883);
Major league titles
World Series titles (5)	1909; 1925; 1960; 1971; 1979;
NL Pennants (9)	1901; 1902; 1903; 1909; 1925; 1927; 1960; 1971; 1979;
Central Division titles (0)	None
East Division titles (9)	1970; 1971; 1972; 1974; 1975; 1979; 1990; 1991; 1992;
Wild card berths (3)	2013; 2014; 2015;

The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Pirates play their home games at PNC Park; the team previously played at Forbes Field and Three Rivers Stadium, the latter of which was named after its location near the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers. Founded on October 15, 1881 as Allegheny, the franchise has won five World Series championships. The Pirates are also often referred to as the "Bucs" or the "Buccos" (derived from buccaneer, a synonym for pirate).

The franchise joined the NL in its eighth season in 1887 and was competitive from its early years, winning three NL titles from 1901 to 1903, playing in the inaugural World Series in 1903 and winning their first World Series in 1909 behind Honus Wagner. The Pirates have had many ups and downs during their long history, most famously winning the 1960 World Series against the New York Yankees on a game-winning walk-off home run by Bill Mazeroski, the only time that Game 7 of the World Series has ever ended with a home run. They also won the 1971 World Series, led by the talent of Roberto Clemente, and the 1979 World Series under the slogan "We Are Family", led by "Pops" Willie Stargell.

After a run of regular-season success in the early 1990s (winning three straight East Division titles), the Pirates struggled mightily over the following 20 years, with 20 consecutive losing seasons from 1993 to 2012—the longest such streak in American professional sports history before posting a winning record in 2013 of 94–68, qualifying them for the NL Wild Card. They advanced to the NL Division Series round, where they lost in 5 games to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Pirates made the playoffs in both 2014 and 2015, losing in the Wild Card Game both times. The Pirates currently have the longest World Series appearance drought in Major League Baseball among any team with at least one appearance, their most recent showing being their victory in the 1979 World Series. From 1882–2018, the Pirates have an overall record of 10476–10312 (a .504 winning 'percentage')