Sailing the Three Rivers to the Title: Pittsburgh's 1971 Voyage of the Pirate Ship [Paperback]

Gregory S. Spalding (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1570870136 | ISBN-13: 978-1570870132 | Publication Date: June 1995

Relive the 1971 voyage of the Pittsburgh Pirate ship with author Greg Spalding in SAILING THE THREE RIVERS TO THE TITLE, the only book ever written about that fine team.

Fans will remember this Bucco team for its comeback after trailing 2-0 in the World series against what many considered a superior Oriole team. Yet it also stood as Roberto Clemente's shining moment, that time when the world's baseball fans discovered "The Great One," as he batted .414 and won the MVP Award. For that reason, as well as his humanitarian efforts, the Pirates dedicated a statue in his honor during the 1994 All-Star Game festivities.

Greg grew up listening to Bob Prince and Nellie King paint great pictures of the '71 Pirates, which included Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Al Oliver, Dock Ellis, Manny Sanguillen, Steve Blass and many other popular players, on the canvas of radio and desired to put together his own compendium about the team he loved.

On top of the season chronology, the author celebrated the world championship squad with a poetic rhyme, a Clemente pictorial, player and coach bios, and individual chapters about Roberto Clemente and Bob Prince.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"And Spalding's book is a welcome addition to the sporting bookshelf. It is a long overdue book on a team that deserves more celebration and examination. It is unique because it comes from purely a fan's perspective and will no doubt resurrect a sack full of memories." -- David Smith, Gateway Publications, August 10, 1994

"It brings back many good memories and I will refer to it often." -- Former '71 Pirate Milt May in a personal letter to the author

"Thank you so much for a copy of SAILING THE THREE RIVERS TO THE TITLE. The All-Star Game brought back so many great memories of Clemente, Stargell, etc. Your book brings back even more." -- Chris Berman, ESPN, in a letter to the author

"The book should be a source of enjoyment for Bucs fans who want to rekindle memories of a championship team that never received, until now, the recognition accorded other teams. The 1971 team, despite the presence of the revered Clemente, has taken a back seat in appreciation when compared to the 1960(Mazeroski's homerun) and 1979("We Are Family")World Series titlists." -- Dan Albaugh, World-Wide Collector's Digest 12/97

"The point of view is that of a fan, and Spalding makes no effort to hide the fact that, like many of us, he loves the Bucs. His esteem for Clemente especially shines throughout the book." -- Jim Sankey, Grove City Allied News, 9/14/94

From the Author

"I really got into the team, and it is very underappreciated. I liked the personalities like Sanguillen and Al Oliver and Stargell and Clemente. I liked their character."

"This book is the fulfillment of a baseball dream to me."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Professional Pr (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570870136
• ISBN-13: 978-1570870132
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,499,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars '71 Bucs deserved better, April 10, 2004

By 

W. S. Capuano (Ballston Spa, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sailing the Three Rivers to the Title: Pittsburgh's 1971 Voyage of the Pirate Ship (Paperback)

This is a topic that deserves much better than this book. I, like the author Greg Spalding, have fond memories of the Pirates '71 Championship team, and am a huge Bucs fan. That doesn't mean I could write a great book about that season, and neither did he.
He dwells far too much on a 1991 reunion of the team than on the season itself. Even worse, he includes no in depth interviews/recollections of the players involved on the team, many of whom he met in 1991. There is really no insight as to what went on that season, when there's plenty of material, such as Clemente's last great season, Mazeroski's last real contributions to the team, Danny Murtaugh's managerial style, Dock Ellis' personality, Bob Veale's demotion to the bullpen, etc. There just is no depth to the book; it's really just a love letter from Spalding to the team.
Also, the photos, many of which he took himself, are quite poor, adding little to the book.
The Pirates 1972 Yearbook and a highlights record album also from 1972 do a much better job of addressing this great season, and either is recommended over this disappointing book.

3.0 out of 5 stars Not great, but one of the few books about the '71 Pirates, November 13, 2009

By 

SC Pitt Fan (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sailing the Three Rivers to the Title: Pittsburgh's 1971 Voyage of the Pirate Ship (Paperback)

Not quite as in-depth as most people would like considering the lack of books written about the 1971 Pirates, but for about $10 it wasn't a horrible buy either.

The author describes the season, highlights some of the players and talks about a reunion the team had in the early ninties. There was not a lot of interview and commentary by the players, mostly the author's reflections and the general story itself.

Lots of photos, although most are from far away and very few closeups. Not great quality, although shots of the ceremony honoring Roberto Clemente were interesting to see.

This book is probably for Pirate fans only, but again not a horrible buy for the price, provided you are not expecting a 200-300 page expose.