Dave Giusti obit

Pirates World Series champion Dave Giusti dies at age 86

 

He was not on the list.

Pirates World Series champion Dave Giusti has died at age 86, the team announced on Monday.

The Pirates said Giusti, a former pitcher who won the World Series with Pittsburgh in 1971, died on Sunday.

"We are saddened by the loss of such a beloved member of the Pirates family," Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a press release. "He was a vital member of our World Series-winning team in 1971 and spent seven of his 15 big-league seasons with the Pirates before eventually making Pittsburgh his home."

Giusti got his start in Major League Baseball with Houston in 1962. After six seasons with Houston and one in St. Louis, Giusti joined the Pirates in 1970, posting a team-high 26 saves in 66 appearances.

When he won the World Series with the Pirates, Giusti led the National League with 30 saves before pitching 10.2 scoreless innings in the postseason. Giusti led all Major League pitchers in saves from 1970-75. He ranks third all-time among Pirates pitchers in saves, seventh in ERA and eighth in games. He was also a National League All-Star in 1973.

After he retired from playing baseball, the Pirates said Giusti made his home in the Pittsburgh area and was "very active" in the community. He was an officer with the Pirates Alumni Association since its beginning.

"We extend our sincere condolences to his wife, Ginny, his daughters Laura and Cynthia, and the entire Giusti family," Nutting's statement said.

While playing baseball for Syracuse University, Giusti pitched in the 1961 College World Series as a starting pitcher. He signed out of a college as a free agent with the Houston Colt .45s (later the Houston Astros), and played for them from 1962 through 1968. Shortly before the 1968 expansion draft, Giusti was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, who left him unprotected. He was then selected by the San Diego Padres in the third round of the expansion draft. Two months later, Giusti was then traded back to the Cardinals for Danny Breeden, Ron Davis, Ed Spiezio, Philip Knuckles.

 He competed for the fifth starter's role in spring training but lost out to Mike Torrez.

After the 1969 baseball season, Giusti was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. With the Pirates, he was converted into a relief pitcher by manager Danny Murtaugh, and Giusti soon became one of the leading relief pitchers in the National League. Using his sinking palmball heavily, Giusti recorded 20 or more saves in each of the next four baseball seasons, and he led the National League with 30 saves in 1971 for the Pirates. Giusti appeared in three games for Pittsburgh in the 1971 World Series, earning a save in Game Four. Giusti was awarded The Sporting News Reliever of the Year Award in 1971.

In 1973, Giusti was selected for the National League's All-Star Team. Giusti pitched a one-two-three seventh inning as the National League won the game 7–1.

 

Born: November 27, 1939

Seneca Falls, New York, U.S.

Died: January 11, 2026 (aged 86)

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut

April 13, 1962, for the Houston Colt .45s

Last MLB appearance

September 27, 1977, for the Chicago Cubs

MLB statistics

Win–loss record          100–93

Earned run average     3.60

Strikeouts        1,103

Saves   145

Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Teams

Houston Colt .45's / Astros (1962–1968)

St. Louis Cardinals (1969)

Pittsburgh Pirates (1970–1976)

Oakland Athletics (1977)

Chicago Cubs (1977)

Career highlights and awards

All-Star (1973)

World Series champion (1971)

NL saves leader (1971)

Shortly before the beginning of the 1977 season, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics as part of a ten-player trade – one that also sent Tony Armas, Rick Langford, Doug Bair, Doc Medich, and Mitchell Page to the Oakland Athletics and sent Phil Garner, Chris Batton, and Tommy Helms to Pittsburgh. In August, the Athletics sold Giusti's contract to the Chicago Cubs with whom Giusti finished the season, and after being released by the Cubs in November, Giusti retired from baseball.

Giusti's most valuable baseball pitch was his palmball.