Pittsburgh Says Goodbye To 'Walking Pirates Encyclopedia' Sally O'Leary
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Sally O'Leary, a walking encyclopedia of the Pittsburgh Pirates, passed away at 82 following a battle with cancer.
She was knew all the Pittsburgh Pirates of the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s, and probably their wives, kids, and parents, too.
"It was all one big family, and those people are family today. And you could deal with the players very easily. It was a totally different atmosphere than it is today," she said in 2010.
That was 16 years ago when Sally O'Leary retired from baseball. She started on the Pirates public relations staff in 1964. Pirate pitcher Steve Blass likes to say the two of them came up to the big leagues together.
"She and I would go so far back. I was a rookie in 1964 and that was when Sally started, so we were kind of teammates for so, so many years," Blass said.
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O'Leary wrote a newsletter for the Pirates alumni -- letting them know what was going on with the current club. That allowed her to keep in touch with past while following the club every day. She also amassed an impressive collection through the years she proudly displayed in her Cranberry home.
Sally didn't just rub shoulders with the game's brightest stars. She revered all Buccos, not just the biggest names.
"She was a lifer. She just loved the Pittsburgh Pirates. Loved the players, the current players, and not just the Hall of Famers, not just Maz and Willie and Roberto -- but everybody who played for the Pirates," Blass said.
While Sally never threw a pitch or never got a hit, she was a critical cog in the Pirate machine.
"Sally O'Leary was one of the great Pittsburgh Pirates.
