HistoricSiteMarkers
Postwar & Contemporary

First MLB All-Minority Lineup

Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Marker Inscription

On September 1, 1971, Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh started nine African American and Latino players at Three Rivers Stadium, the first time an all-minority lineup took the field in Major League Baseball history. The Pirates would win that season’s World Series.

Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

The Story

On September 1, 1971, Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh filled out a lineup card that made history, sending nine African American and Latino players onto the field at Three Rivers Stadium. It was the first all-minority starting lineup in Major League Baseball history, a quiet milestone that arrived without fanfare that night. That same season the Pirates went on to win the World Series.

Why it matters

The lineup marked how far baseball had traveled since integration, a visible sign of Black and Latino ballplayers claiming their full place in the national pastime.

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Related people

  • · Danny Murtaugh

Themes & tags

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