Bucs honor 2025 Pirates Hall of Fame class of Kiki, Oliver, Law 

PITTSBURGH -- The last time Abby Cuyler Smith saw her father, Harold Cuyler, the family patriarch had a request for his daughter.

Make sure the grandchildren know who their great-great grandfather was.

Harold went by “Ki,” just like how his grandfather had the nickname “Kiki” bestowed on him. Kiki Cuyler is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but first became a hero in Pittsburgh when he recorded the winning double in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 1925 World Series.

On Thursday at PNC Park, members of the Cuyler family came together to take part in a celebration of their ancestor. Cuyler joined 1971 World Series champion Al Oliver and 1960 World Series champ and Cy Young Award winner Vern Law as the Pirates Hall of Fame class of 2025.

“Awards like this and moments like this help make his legacy stay alive for us,” Smith said.

This is the fourth Hall of Fame class the Pirates have had since establishing it in 2022, with this trio bringing the total enshrined in team immortality to 29. There was a dinner to celebrate Thursday for the new Hall of Famers, their families, team employees and player and coach alumni. There will also be a pregame ceremony ahead of the Pirates’ game Friday against the Rockies.

This trio holds the distinction of being main cogs of three of the team’s five World Series winning teams.

"You represent three great periods of Pirates baseball," Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said. "The 1925 World Series champions. The 1960 world champions. The 1971 World Series champions. And so for me personally, it's a great reminder of the legacy of this organization. And it's a reminder for me of my responsibility to make sure this organization gets back into a winning culture, a winning expectation and to make sure that every one of you is as proud of the future of this organization as I am of the history of this organization.… It's an obligation we have to this city and it's an obligation we have to you all as Pirate greats who set that bar of where we need to go."

Players received gold jackets, and the Cuyler family received a plaque replica to the one that will be displayed by the team’s Hall of Fame display just inside the center-field gate.

The trio’s credentials certainly speak for themselves, too. Cuyler played the first seven seasons of his 18-year career with the Pirates, ranging from 1921-27. His 369 total bases in 1925 still stand as a franchise record, a campaign where he finished second for the NL Most Valuable Player Award. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968.

Law spent all 16 seasons of his Major League career with the Pirates, ranging from 1950-1967 (he missed the 1952-53 seasons serving in the Korean War). He was the first Pirate pitcher to win a Cy Young, and to this day, the only other Pirate to win the award is Doug Drabek in 1990. In 1960, he was tied for the most complete games in MLB with 18 and won 20 in the regular season, and then went 2-0 with a 3.44 ERA in his three games pitched in the World Series, helping the Pirates upset the Yankees.

Law’s 162 career wins rank sixth all-time in franchise history, and his 364 starts rank third.

Oliver was named to three All-Star Games in his 10 years with the Pirates from 1968-1977. In his decade with the club, “Scoop” ranked fifth among National League players in hits (1,490), doubles (276) and RBIs (717).

While he won a batting title and three Silver Sluggers away from Pittsburgh, his first baseball home holds a special place in his heart because it reminds him of his own blue collar hometown of Portsmouth, Ohio.

“The reason why it means a lot to me is the fact that this is where it all started,” Oliver said.

The night was filled with jokes from Oliver and Law, memories and family, both biological and baseball families. The type of moments one wants to share with those who matter most.

“It's the capstone of my career,” Law said. “It is absolutely wonderful. I thought when I turned 95, all the excitement in my life was over. But, no, this has brought a lot of memories.”