INPERSON
BY THE
NUMBERS
I
By Jennifer Brozak
t’s hard to imagine a time in Pittsburgh Pirates history when
players weren’t associated with a specific jersey number. Yet, it
wasn’t until June 22, 1932, that the National League decided to
place numbers on the backs of uniforms to make it easier for fans
to follow their favorite players.
Since that iconic moment, players and their numbers have become
inseparable. Mention the number “21” to any Pirates fan, for example,
and they’ll immediately fire back, “Roberto Clemente.”
Perhaps no one in Pittsburgh appreciates the history of these
numbers—and of Pittsburgh sports—as much as David Finoli.
Finoli, 54, is the author of 20 books, all focused on the legendary
history of his three favorite teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates, Steelers and
Penguins. His most recent book, “Pirates by the Numbers: A Complete
History of the Bucs by Uniform Number,” tells the stories of the players
who wore each of the team’s 81 jersey numbers, from Junior Ortiz, who
wore #0, to Joe Beimel, who wore #97.
“Growing up in the area, I’ve always been a huge sports fan, and I’ve
always enjoyed the history of the sports as much as I enjoy watching
them. In fact, it’s probably the part I enjoy the most,” he says.
Finoli’s inspiration for the book came after he spotted a similarly
themed book about the Boston Red Sox in a bookstore. He contacted
the publisher, Sports Publishing, and asked if it would be interested in a
similar book about the Pirates.
“This was probably the most fun I’ve had writing a book,” he noted.
“I’m probably as much of a
historian as I am a writer.”
While doing research,
Finoli had a number of “Aha!”
moments.
“I learned that the Pirates
had two college football
players on their roster—V ic
Janowicz and Paul Giel.
Neither were very good at
baseball, but it was still an
interesting find,” he says.
What wasn’t surprising,
however, was that the #21 is
considered a “tragic” number
in Pirates history: Clemente,
of course, died in a plane
crash in 1972; pitcher Ron
Neccai never recovered from
10 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE | Greensburg-Salem
Dave Finoli is the author of 20 books, all focused on the legendary
history of his three favorite teams: The Pittsburgh Pirates, Steelers
and Penguins.
a torn rotator cuff injury and other physical ailments; shortstop Arky
Vaughan died while trying to help a friend whose boat had capsized.
“Just like Clemente, Vaughan died while trying to help others,” notes
Finoli.
After graduating from Greensburg Central Catholic in 1979, Finoli
majored in journalism at Duquesne University. Despite his passion for
writing, he ended up working in retail; for the past 16 years, he’s worked
as a human resources manager for Kohl’s.
“I absolutely love my job, but I always wanted to get back into writing,”
he explains. After years of thinking about it, he mentioned to his wife
that he wanted to submit an idea for a book to a publisher.
“She told me to do it, or to just keep dreaming about it,” he says with
a laugh. The publisher accepted his proposal. Finoli’s first book, “For
the Good of the Country: Baseball in World War II,” was published by
McFarland Publishers in 2002. His next book, “Kings on the Bluff: The
1955 NIT Champion Duquesne Dukes,” will be published later this year.
It takes him anywhere from a few months to almost a year to complete a
project.
“Sleep is overrated,” he jokes. “I’m just happy to put what I love about
the history of these sports into books.”
“Pirates by the Numbers: A Complete History of the Bucs by Uniform
Number” is available for purchase at local bookstores and online. n