Pirates honor Courier with Most Valuable Diverse Business Partner Award

by Rob Taylor Jr.

Courier Staff Writer

Both the New Pittsburgh Courier and the Pittsburgh Pirates have been stalwarts in our region. Both entities have been in existence well over 100 years, have attained national acclaim for championships or national awards, and make diversity a priority. 

Legendary Pittsburgh Courier sportswriter Wendell Smith played a vital role in empowering then-Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey to sign Jackie Robinson to a contract with the Dodgers in 1946. Of course, the rest is history, as Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier on April 15, 1947. 

Twenty-four years later, on Sept. 1, 1971, the Pirates made history by having the first all-Black and Latino starting lineup for a major league game. It occurred at Three Rivers Stadium, against the San Francisco Giants, which featured a starting lineup of African Americans Rennie Stennett, Gene Clines, Willie Stargell, Dave Cash, Al Oliver and Dock Ellis. Latino starters were Roberto Clemente, Manny Sanguillen and Jackie Hernandez. 

“It wasn’t maybe as big as Jackie Robinson breaking into the major leagues (in 1947), but it should be up there as far as baseball history is concerned. I think it’s a day that really should be celebrated,” Oliver told Fox Sports in 2016. 

The Courier and the Pirates were on the same team Friday evening, April 19, as the Pirates honored the Courier with its 2019 Most Valuable Diverse Business Partner Award. Team President Frank Coonelly presented the award to Courier Editor and Publisher Rod Doss in an on-field ceremony prior to the game against, ironically, the Giants. 

The Diverse Business Partner program began in Major League Baseball in 1998, as then-commissioner Bud Selig encouraged teams to increase its partnerships and business activities with diverse owned businesses. 

The Pirates had an off-day on April 15, the date known as “Jackie Robinson Day” across MLB. On that day, all teams in action wear No. 42 in honor of Robinson (the Pirates wore No. 42 on April 16 in Detroit when they played the Tigers).  

The Pirates didn’t return

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