PITTSBURGH -- Vern Law was the first one on the bus the day the Pirates won the 1960 pennant. An Elder for the Mormon Church -- the reason why his “Preacher” and “Deacon” nicknames stuck -- he didn’t want to take part in the team’s debauchery as it celebrated clinching the National League.
Instead, the party came to him. Broadcaster Bob Prince was the next one on the bus and cut Law’s tie off. Teammates followed, wanting to pick up their ace pitcher and rip off his shirt and shoes. Law fought it, and in the process, a teammate was too rough and Law’s right ankle popped.
“Every time I threw the ball, it hurt,” Law said. “But I wanted to stay in, regardless.”
Law played through the pain and capped one of the greatest pitching seasons in the history of the franchise. He was named to two All-Star Games -- and was the winning pitcher in the second -- and became the first Pirate to win a Cy Young. He pitched three games that World Series, earned wins in Games 1 and 4 and started the deciding Game 7 as the Pirates pulled off one of the greatest upsets in the sport’s history over the Yankees.
That 1960 season may be the year Law is best remembered for, but it was one of just 16 he had with the Pirates. The Deacon wrapped his career near the top of every Pirates pitching leaderboard, establishing himself as one of the greatest arms in team history.
This week, that will become official when Law is inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame alongside 1971 World Series champ Al Oliver and National Baseball Hall of Famer Kiki Cuyler. The ceremony will be Thursday, and the annual Hall of Fame Game will be Friday against the Rockies.
“It’s a capstone of my career,” Law said of the honor. “I could be more excited if my wife was here to share it with me, but I’ve got a lot of grandkids and great-grands and great-great grands. This will be a memory for them and for me.”
VaNita Law passed in 2023 after the pair had been married for 73 years. There will still be plenty of family there for Law this week, with the 95-year-old right-hander estimating there being 60-90 in attendance.
“When you start counting, you better have a computer,” Law joked.
Being able to share this lifetime achievement with his biological and Pirates families in his “second home” of Pittsburgh is going to be special. It will also be a chance to relive that 1960 championship. Even after 162 career pitching wins, those wins in his three World Series starts defined a Hall of Fame career.
“I wanted to go out a winner, not a loser,” Law said. “You live that every day of your life. I was convinced that I’m not going to lose. This is just another game, and we’re gonna win it. All of the guys had that attitude.”
That attitude had to be learned the hard way, and Law was one of the few who was there every step of the way.
When Law broke into the Majors in 1950, the Pirates' roster largely consisted of veterans who just wanted to stay in the Majors and young players who didn’t know how to win. After two years in the Majors, Law voluntarily served in the Army during the Korean War, missing the 1952 and '53 seasons.
When he returned in 1954, the Pirates were still struggling, but were now a young team with direction. Over the next two years, the pieces of a champion started coming together. 1960 National League MVP Dick Groat. Roberto Clemente. Bob Friend.
The rise was slow but fruitful, but Pirate fans saw it rise. Law remembers going past a drugstore during Spring Training in 1960 that had a banner celebrating that the Pirates were going to win the World Series that year. That successful called shot has stuck with Law for years.
“It took us 10 years together to get a championship,” Law said. “… It took a while, but it was worth it.”
In reflection, there’s a case to be made that the 1960 World Series was one of the most consequential championships in Pittsburgh’s history. It had been 35 years since the Pirates -- or any local team -- had won a championship. In the decades since, the Pirates won two more and the Steelers and Penguins combined for 11 championships.
“Pittsburgh now is the city of champions,” Law said. “It was nothing since 1925. Can you imagine, 1925 to 1960? That’s a long time without having a champion. We started what’s now known as the city of champions.”