Pittsburgh Pirates 1979

Nola McConnan

Out of stock

Watercolor Painting

Nola McConnan

This beautifully framed piece features an original piece of watercolor artwork glass-framed in an attractive two inch wide black resin frame with a double mat. The outer dimensions of the framed piece are approximately 17” wide x 24.5” high, although the exact size will vary according to the size of the original piece of art.

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$795.00 USD - Price includes framing as well as fast, free shipping with UPS

This beautifully framed piece features an original piece of watercolor artwork glass-framed in an attractive two inch wide black resin frame with a double mat. The outer dimensions of the framed piece are approximately 17” wide x 24.5” high, although the exact size will vary according to the size of the original piece of art.

At the core of the framed piece is the actual piece of original artwork as painted by the artist on textured 100% rag, water-marked watercolor paper. In many cases the original artwork has handwritten notes in pencil from the artist (be sure to “See the actual artwork without the frame” elsewhere in this website). Simply put, this is beautiful, one-of-a-kind artwork.

The outer mat is a rich textured black acid-free mat with a decorative inset white v-groove, while the inner mat is a complimentary colored acid-free mat reflecting one of the team’s primary colors. The website image of this framed piece shows the mat color that we suggest (Yellow), but since each piece is custom framed, we are happy to use whatever color mat you wish (depending on availability) – our standard mat colors are:

Light Blue / Dark Blue / Brown / Maroon (close to brown) / White / Silver / Gold / Yellow (bright yellow) / Green (dark green) / Orange / Purple / Red (bright red, somewhat close to PMS 186)

Beneath the artwork is a silver plate with black text describing the original artwork. The text for this piece will read:

This original, one-of-a-kind watercolor painting of the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates uniform is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this Pittsburgh Pirates uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other Pittsburgh Pirates products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Nola McConnan for Maple Leaf Productions Ltd. 1979 was a World Series winning season for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Beneath the silver plate is a 3” x 9” reproduction of a well known, best-selling print that celebrates the history of the team. The print beautifully illustrates the chronological evolution of the team’s uniform and shows you how the original art was used in the creation of this print. If you look closely, you will see that the print features the actual artwork being offered for sale. The 3” x 9” print looks like this:

The piece is framed with an extremely high quality framing glass. We have used this glass style for many years with excellent results. We package every piece very carefully in a double layer of bubble wrap and a rigid double-wall cardboard package to avoid breakage at any point during the shipping process, but if damage does occur, we will gladly repair, replace or refund. Please note that all of our products come with a 90 day 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Each framed piece also comes with a two page letter signed by Scott Sillcox describing the history behind the art. If there was an extra-special story about your piece of art, that story will be included in the letter. When you receive your framed piece, you should find the letter lightly attached to the front of the framed piece.

If you have any questions, at any time, about the actual artwork or about any of the artist’s handwritten notes on the artwork, I would love to tell you about them. Simply email me, Scott Sillcox, at scott@heritagesportsart.com and I will tell you everything I can about your original piece of art. The artists and I spent well over ten years of our lives creating these pieces of original artwork, and in many cases there are stories I can tell you about your actual piece of artwork that might add an extra element of interest in your one-of-a-kind purchase.

Please note that all reproduction rights for this original work are retained in perpetuity by Major League Baseball unless specifically stated otherwise in writing by MLB. For further information, please contact Heritage Sports Art at questions@heritagesportsart.com .

 

History

We are family!!!As in 1977 and 1978 the Pirates still have their five uniforms please see the 1977 jersey text above for the five different combinations. This one we have depicted here is a road version featuring a yellow top with black pants. This road is of a double-knit style that most major league teams succumbed to during the 70's and early 80's. It was a pullover style, made of stretchy, synthetic material. The pants were called Sans-a-Belts because the elasticized waistline eliminated the need for a belt. The 1970 Pirates were the first double-knit sans-a-belt team, and the Cards and Astros joined them in 1971. By 1975 two thirds of major league teams had succumbed.After narrowly missing post season play in 1978 when they finished 1.5 games behind the Phillies, the 1979 Pirates made amends as they finished the regular season two games up on the Expos in the NL East with a 98-64 record. This earned the Pirates the right to face the NL West champion Cincinnati Reds in a best of five National League Championship series.The Reds were no match for the Pirates as they rolled by the Reds in three straight games 5-2, 3-2 and 7-1. Willie Stargell went 5 for 11 with 2 home runs and Phil Garner went 5 for 12 with 1 homer, while the Pirates pitching staff combined for a 1.50 ERA, holding the Reds to a collective .215 batting average.Next up were the Baltimore Orioles who went a league leading 102-57 in the regular season. Games 1 & 2 were in Baltimore, with the O's winning the first 5-4 and the Pirates winning game two 3-2 on the strength of a two out top-of-the-ninth single by Manny Sanguillen.The series shifted back to Pittsburgh for 3 games, and the Orioles pounded the Pirates pitchers for 13 hits in a 8-4 O's win in game 3, then added 12 more hits in a 9-6 Baltimore win in game 4. Thus the Pirates had their backs against the wall needing to win 3 in a row.And things looked bleak going into the bottom of the 6th as the Pirates trailed 1-0. But their bats exploded for 2 runs in the 6th, 2 in the 7th and 3 more in the 8th and they cruised to a 7-1 win. The Series now shifted back to Baltimore. On the strength of 6 innings of strong pitching by Tom Candelaria and three innings of shut-out relief by Kent Tekulve, the Pirates won 4-0 and evened the Series at 3 apiece.Game 7. Baltimore. Trailing 1-0 going into the 6th inning of game seven, Willie Stargell smacked a 2-run homer off of Oriole Scott McGregor to take the lead for the Pirates. Meanwhile four Pirates pitchers staff teamed up to four hit the O's and the Pirates added two more runs in the top of the ninth for a 4-1 victory and the Pirates fifth World Series championship (1909, 1925, 1960, 1971 and 1979) vs just two losses (1903 and 1927).Willie Stargell earned the Series MVP, with a batting average of .400, 3 homers, and 7 RBI. On the mound, Kent Tekulve had three saves and four Pirates pitchers each won a game Bert Blyleven, John Candelaria, Don Robinson and Grant (Buck) Jackson.And We Are Family? This was the great Sister Sledge song that the Pirates and Pirates fans adopted as their team song. It embodied the great team spirit and camaraderie that characterized the 79 Bucs, and 20+ years later baseball fans just have to hear the 5 notes We are fam-il-ly and the 79 Pirates immediately spring to mind.We also have to tip our cap to Dave Parker, who in 1979 recorded his 5th consecutive .300+ season. The 6 5 230 pound Parker ended his 19 year Major League career (11 with the Pirates) with a .290 average and a .471 slugging percentage, and he will best be remembered for his tremendous offensive seasons with the 1975-1980 Bucs.On a sad note, Willie Pops Stargell passed away in April 2001 after battling kidney disease.  He was 61 and will forever be remembered as a team leader and gentlemanly father figure.

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