1963 Pittsburgh Pirates
League	National League
Ballpark	Forbes Field
City	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [1]
Owners	John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas P. Johnson (minority shareholders)
General managers	Joe L. Brown
Managers	Danny Murtaugh
Television	KDKA-TV Bob Prince, Jim Woods
Radio	KDKA Bob Prince, Jim Woods, Claude Haring
←  1962 Seasons 1964 →

The 1963 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 82nd season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 77th in the National League. The Pirates finished eighth in the league standings with a record of 74–88.

Offseason

• November 19, 1962: Dick Groat and Diomedes Olivo were traded by the Pirates to the St. Louis Cardinals for Don Cardwell and Julio Gotay. ^[2]

Regular season

On April 8, Pete Rose made his major league debut for the Cincinnati Reds in a game against the Pirates. He had three at bats without a hit. ^[3]

Season standings

v t e National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Los Angeles Dodgers	99	63	0.611	—	50–31	49–32
St. Louis Cardinals	93	69	0.574	6	53–28	40–41
San Francisco Giants	88	74	0.543	11	50–31	38–43
Philadelphia Phillies	87	75	0.537	12	45–36	42–39
Cincinnati Reds	86	76	0.531	13	46–35	40–41
Milwaukee Braves	84	78	0.519	15	45–36	39–42
Chicago Cubs	82	80	0.506	17	43–38	39–42
Pittsburgh Pirates	74	88	0.457	25	42–39	32–49
Houston Colt .45s	66	96	0.407	33	44–37	22–59
New York Mets	51	111	0.315	48	34–47	17–64

Record vs. opponents

1963 National League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Team	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MIL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SF	STL
Chicago	—	9–9	9–9	7–11	12–6	11–7	9–9	8–10	10–8	7–11
Cincinnati	9–9	—	11–7	8–10	10–8	10–8	8–10	11–7	8–10	11–7
Houston	9–9	7–11	—	5–13	5–13	13–5	8–10	6–12	8–10	5–13
Los Angeles	11–7	10–8	13–5	—	8–10–1	16–2	7–11	13–5	9–9	12–6
Milwaukee	6–12	8–10	13–5	10–8–1	—	12–6	10–8	7–11	10–8	8–10
New York	7–11	8–10	5–13	2–16	6–12	—	8–10	4–14	6–12	5–13
Philadelphia	9–9	10–8	10–8	11–7	8–10	10–8	—	13–5	8–10	8–10
Pittsburgh	10–8	7–11	12–6	5–13	11–7	14–4	5–13	—	5–13	5–13
San Francisco	8–10	10–8	10–8	9–9	8–10	12–6	10–8	13–5	—	8–10
St. Louis	11–7	7–11	13–5	6–12	10–8	13–5	10–8	13–5	10–8	—

Game log

1963 Game Log: 74–88 (Home: 42–39; Away: 32–49)
April: 11–5 (Home: 7–2; Away: 4–3) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 8 @ Reds 2–5 O'Toole Francis (0–1) — 28,896 0–1 2 April 9 Braves 3–2 Face (1–0) Hendley — 29,615 1–1 3 April 10 Braves 3–2 Cardwell (1–0) Shaw Veale (1) 3,601 2–1 4 April 13 @ Reds 12–4 Friend (1–0) O'Toole — 4,481 3–1 5 April 14 @ Reds 1–0 McBean (1–0) Jay — 4,864 4–1 6 April 16 @ Cardinals 3–4 Fanok Face (1–1) — 8,301 4–2 7 April 17 @ Cardinals 3–7 Washburn Cardwell (1–1) — 7,481 4–3 8 April 18 @ Cardinals 3–2 Schwall (1–0) Olivo Face (1) 6,497 5–3 9 April 20 Reds 4–2 Friend (2–0) Jay — 12,235 6–3 10 April 21 Reds 3–8 Maloney McBean (1–1) — 18,070 6–4 11 April 22 Cubs 2–0 Francis (1–1) Hobbie Face (2) 5,289 7–4 12 April 23 Cubs 2–7 Jackson Cardwell (1–2) — 968 7–5 13 April 24 @ Phillies 6–4 Friend (3–0) Short Face (3) 4,485 8–5 14 April 26 Mets 5–2 Haddix (1–0) Jackson Sisk (1) 10,531 9–5 15 April 27 Mets 2–1 Gibbon (1–0) Hook — 8,011 10–5 16 April 28 Mets 3–2 Face (2–1) Stallard — 12,057 11–5
May: 12–17 (Home: 6–7; Away: 6–10) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 17 May 1 Giants 1–5 Sanford Friend (3–1) — 6,122 11–6 18 May 2 Giants 1–2 Marichal Cardwell (1–3) — 9,563 11–7 19 May 3 Dodgers 13–2 McBean (2–1) Sherry — 16,960 12–7 20 May 4 Dodgers 5–0 Schwall (2–0) Miller — 12,037 13–7 21 May 5 Dodgers 3–7 Perranoski Law (0–1) — 18,743 13–8 22 May 6 Dodgers 7–4 Gibbon (2–0) Drysdale Face (4) 5,376 14–8 23 May 7 @ Cubs 4–5 Jackson Cardwell (1–4) — 6,012 14–9 24 May 8 @ Cubs 5–9 Elston Face (2–2) — 6,350 14–10 25 May 9 @ Cubs 1–3 Ellsworth Schwall (2–1) — 5,961 14–11 26 May 10 Cardinals 0–1 Simmons Friend (3–2) — 16,739 14–12 27 May 11 Cardinals 3–2 Law (1–1) Washburn Face (5) 7,743 15–12 28 May 12 Cardinals 1–2 (12) Taylor Face (2–3) Shantz 15–13 29 May 12 Cardinals 4–3 McBean (3–1) Sadecki — 22,280 16–13 30 May 14 @ Giants 1–3 Sanford Friend (3–3) Bolin 14,847 16–14 31 May 15 @ Giants 3–4 Marichal Cardwell (1–5) Bolin 10,386 16–15 32 May 16 @ Dodgers 0–1 Podres Schwall (2–2) — 21,287 16–16 33 May 17 @ Dodgers 3–9 Miller Gibbon (2–1) Scott 34,216 16–17 34 May 18 @ Dodgers 4–6 Drysdale Law (1–2) — 21,140 16–18 35 May 19 @ Colt .45s 5–0 Friend (4–3) Farrell — 8,847 17–18 36 May 20 @ Colt .45s 0–2 Drott Cardwell (1–6) — 5,281 17–19 37 May 21 @ Colt .45s 6–5 McBean (4–1) Umbricht Face (6) 6,329 18–19 38 May 22 @ Colt .45s 4–3 Francis (2–1) Nottebart Face (7) 5,577 19–19 39 May 24 @ Braves 7–2 Friend (5–3) Spahn — 7,731 20–19 40 May 25 @ Braves 0–1 Shaw Gibbon (2–2) — 7,981 20–20 41 May 26 @ Braves 5–2 (11) McBean (5–1) Funk Veale (2) 9,794 21–20 42 May 28 Phillies 1–5 McLish Friend (5–4) — 8,497 21–21 43 May 30 Phillies 7–1 Cardwell (2–6) Mahaffey — 22–21 44 May 30 Phillies 5–6 Culp Gibbon (2–3) Klippstein 19,039 22–22 45 May 31 @ Mets 2–0 Schwall (3–2) Willey — 16,236 23–22
June: 13–17 (Home: 7–8; Away: 6–9) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 46 June 1 @ Mets 10–1 Friend (6–4) Cisco — 11,800 24–22 47 June 2 @ Mets 1–2 (10) Bearnarth Face (2–4) — 24–23 48 June 2 @ Mets 3–4 (10) Hook Face (2–5) — 18,844 24–24 49 June 5 Reds 5–4 Veale (1–0) Tsitouris Haddix (1) 25–24 50 June 5 Reds 4–3 Friend (7–4) Purkey Veale (3) 11,855 26–24 51 June 6 Reds 5–7 Maloney Gibbon (2–4) Henry 26–25 52 June 6 Reds 5–10 Jay Schwall (3–3) — 12,309 26–26 53 June 7 Braves 5–9 Funk Haddix (1–1) Hendley 15,084 26–27 54 June 8 Braves 6–4 McBean (6–1) Cloninger — 9,650 27–27 55 June 9 Braves 4–0 Friend (8–4) Lemaster — 28–27 56 June 9 Braves 3–5 Spahn Cardwell (2–7) Shaw 18,209 28–28 57 June 11 Cardinals 1–3 Gibson Schwall (3–4) — 17,098 28–29 58 June 12 @ Reds 0–3 O'Toole Francis (2–2) — 8,472 28–30 59 June 13 @ Reds 2–4 Tsitouris Cardwell (2–8) — 7,053 28–31 60 June 14 @ Cardinals 2–5 Sadecki Friend (8–5) Shantz 20,874 28–32 61 June 16 @ Cardinals 4–3 (12) McBean (7–1) Bauta — 29–32 62 June 16 @ Cardinals 7–11 Simmons Law (1–3) Taylor 26,020 29–33 63 June 17 @ Braves 9–3 Cardwell (3–8) Cloninger — 8,631 30–33 64 June 18 @ Braves 5–7 (10) Shaw McBean (7–2) — 7,397 30–34 65 June 19 @ Braves 6–2 Francis (3–2) Sadowski Gibbon (1) 6,715 31–34 66 June 20 @ Braves 1–2 Lemaster Haddix (1–2) — 6,496 31–35 67 June 21 @ Cubs 5–6 (10) Elston Gibbon (2–5) — 13,321 31–36 68 June 22 @ Cubs 3–0 Friend (9–5) Ellsworth — 20,761 32–36 69 June 23 @ Cubs 7–6 Haddix (2–2) Hobbie McBean (1) 26,158 33–36 70 June 25 Phillies 4–5 (10) Klippstein Haddix (2–3) Bennett 12,365 33–37 71 June 26 Phillies 2–6 McLish Friend (9–6) — 9,153 33–38 72 June 27 Phillies 4–13 Culp Cardwell (3–9) Klippstein 9,576 33–39 73 June 28 Mets 3–1 Gibbon (3–5) Craig McBean (2) 10,073 34–39 74 June 29 Mets 4–3 McBean (8–2) Bearnarth — 13,846 35–39 75 June 30 Mets 3–0 Friend (10–6) Stallard McBean (3) 12,429 36–39
July: 16–14 (Home: 8–5; Away: 8–9) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 76 July 1 @ Phillies 2–1 Cardwell (4–9) Culp — 37–39 77 July 1 @ Phillies 1–8 McLish Francis (3–3) — 21,661 37–40 78 July 2 @ Phillies 3–2 Law (2–3) Green McBean (4) 6,844 38–40 79 July 4 @ Phillies 0–1 (10) Mahaffey Friend (10–7) — 38–41 80 July 4 @ Phillies 1–5 Duren Gibbon (3–6) — 16,198 38–42 81 July 5 @ Mets 3–1 Cardwell (5–9) Stallard McBean (5) 6,779 39–42 82 July 6 @ Mets 11–3 Schwall (4–4) Jackson Face (8) 22,698 40–42 83 July 7 @ Mets 11–5 Law (3–3) Hook McBean (6) 9,741 41–42 84 July 10 Colt .45s 0–2 Johnson Friend (10–8) Woodeshick 6,517 41–43 85 July 11 Colt .45s 3–0 Cardwell (6–9) Farrell — 6,896 42–43 86 July 12 Colt .45s 2–1 Schwall (5–4) Bruce Face (9) 8,997 43–43 87 July 13 Colt .45s 3–0 Law (4–3) Drott — 6,775 44–43 88 July 15 Giants 2–1 McBean (9–2) Marichal — 45–43 89 July 15 Giants 4–1 Gibbon (4–6) O'Dell — 24,357 46–43 90 July 16 Giants 2–3 Fisher Cardwell (6–10) Pierce 46–44 91 July 16 Giants 3–2 Schwall (6–4) Sanford McBean (7) 23,251 47–44 92 July 17 Dodgers 2–3 Miller Law (4–4) Perranoski 16,658 47–45 93 July 18 Dodgers 5–10 Podres Francis (3–4) Sherry 15,883 47–46 94 July 19 Cubs 9–4 Friend (11–8) Ellsworth McBean (8) 13,670 48–46 95 July 21 Cubs 1–5 Toth Cardwell (6–11) — 48–47 96 July 21 Cubs 6–5 (14) Cardwell (7–11) Warner — 21,576 49–47 97 July 23 @ Dodgers 0–6 Podres Friend (11–9) — 33,167 49–48 98 July 24 @ Dodgers 1–5 Drysdale Francis (3–5) — 30,462 49–49 99 July 25 @ Dodgers 6–2 Sisk (1–0) Koufax — 41,154 50–49 100 July 26 @ Giants 4–6 Fisher Face (2–6) — 27,017 50–50 101 July 27 @ Giants 1–3 Marichal McBean (9–3) — 23,021 50–51 102 July 28 @ Giants 1–3 Sanford Schwall (6–5) — 32,412 50–52 103 July 29 @ Giants 4–5 Duffalo Law (4–5) Pierce 12,089 50–53 104 July 30 @ Colt .45s 8–1 Gibbon (5–6) Brown — 6,976 51–53 105 July 31 @ Colt .45s 6–3 Friend (12–9) Woodeshick Face (10) 6,093 52–53
August: 15–13 (Home: 9–7; Away: 6–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 106 August 2 @ Reds 0–3 Maloney Cardwell (7–12) — 14,807 52–54 107 August 3 @ Reds 5–4 McBean (10–3) Tsitouris — 7,157 53–54 108 August 4 @ Reds 2–5 Purkey Friend (12–10) — 53–55 109 August 4 @ Reds 1–4 Nuxhall Gibbon (5–7) — 18,380 53–56 110 August 6 Braves 3–0 Cardwell (8–12) Lemaster McBean (9) 9,992 54–56 111 August 7 Braves 5–4 McBean (11–3) Raymond — 8,124 55–56 112 August 8 Braves 1–0 Friend (13–10) Sadowski — 9,110 56–56 113 August 9 Colt .45s 6–7 (15) Woodeshick Schwall (6–6) — 56–57 114 August 9 Colt .45s 7–6 (11) McBean (12–3) Drott — 9,420 57–57 115 August 10 Colt .45s 3–2 Cardwell (9–12) Nottebart Face (11) 7,951 58–57 116 August 11 Colt .45s 2–1 Face (3–6) Brown — 8,093 59–57 117 August 12 Colt .45s 4–2 Friend (14–10) Farrell Face (12) 7,240 60–57 118 August 14 @ Mets 2–4 Jackson Schwall (6–7) Bearnarth 9,406 60–58 119 August 15 @ Mets 8–2 Cardwell (10–12) Cisco — 7,822 61–58 120 August 16 Phillies 0–3 Short Gibbon (5–8) — 12,031 61–59 121 August 17 Phillies 3–5 Duren Friend (14–11) — 7,881 61–60 122 August 18 Phillies 1–3 Klippstein Schwall (6–8) — 10,696 61–61 123 August 20 @ Cubs 5–3 Cardwell (11–12) Buhl Face (13) 15,161 62–61 124 August 21 @ Cubs 7–6 McBean (13–3) McDaniel Face (14) 15,341 63–61 125 August 22 @ Cubs 9–3 Friend (15–11) Jackson McBean (10) 9,310 64–61 126 August 23 @ Phillies 2–4 Bennett Schwall (6–9) Baldschun 18,126 64–62 127 August 24 @ Phillies 7–0 Cardwell (12–12) Short — 18,276 65–62 128 August 25 @ Phillies 2–4 (11) Baldschun Face (3–7) — 10,183 65–63 129 August 27 Mets 2–1 Friend (16–11) Cisco — 7,819 66–63 130 August 28 Mets 7–2 Cardwell (13–12) Jackson Face (15) 6,123 67–63 131 August 29 Mets 4–7 Craig Gibbon (5–9) Bearnarth 10,148 67–64 132 August 30 Reds 1–2 Nuxhall Schwall (6–10) Henry 10,924 67–65 133 August 31 Reds 0–6 O'Toole Friend (16–12) Zanni 7,759 67–66
September: 7–22 (Home: 5–10; Away: 2–12) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 134 September 1 Reds 6–4 Francis (4–5) Worthington — 8,820 68–66 135 September 2 @ Cardinals 1–6 Gibson Veale (1–1) — 68–67 136 September 2 @ Cardinals 2–6 Taylor Gibbon (5–10) — 22,458 68–68 137 September 3 @ Cardinals 5–10 Shantz Face (3–8) — 3,925 68–69 138 September 4 @ Braves 0–1 Spahn Friend (16–13) — 6,219 68–70 139 September 5 @ Braves 0–8 Sadowski Parsons (0–1) — 4,699 68–71 140 September 6 Cardinals 1–5 Gibson Cardwell (13–13) — 68–72 141 September 6 Cardinals 5–0 Veale (2–1) Taylor — 11,825 69–72 142 September 7 Cardinals 5–6 Schultz Haddix (2–4) Burdette 8,427 69–73 143 September 8 Cardinals 2–3 Broglio Friend (16–14) Taylor 14,866 69–74 144 September 10 Dodgers 2–4 Koufax Cardwell (13–14) — 11,152 69–75 145 September 11 Dodgers 4–9 Richert Veale (2–2) Perranoski 8,514 69–76 146 September 12 Dodgers 3–5 Podres Friend (16–15) Perranoski 2,644 69–77 147 September 13 Giants 5–4 (13) Friend (17–15) Garibaldi — 6,100 70–77 148 September 14 Giants 3–7 Sanford Cardwell (13–15) Pierce 5,489 70–78 149 September 15 Giants 5–13 O'Dell Schwall (6–11) — 18,916 70–79 150 September 16 Cubs 1–0 Veale (3–2) Jackson — 2,917 71–79 151 September 17 Cubs 1–3 Buhl Friend (17–16) McDaniel 71–80 152 September 17 Cubs 4–3 Haddix (3–4) McDaniel McBean (11) 5,160 72–80 153 September 18 Cubs 1–2 Elston Gibbon (5–11) — 5,891 72–81 154 September 20 @ Dodgers 0–2 Drysdale Schwall (6–12) — 40,476 72–82 155 September 21 @ Dodgers 3–5 Miller Sisk (1–1) — 48,038 72–83 156 September 22 @ Dodgers 4–0 Veale (4–2) Podres Face (16) 36,878 73–83 157 September 24 @ Colt .45s 2–3 Zachary Francis (4–6) Woodeshick 3,144 73–84 158 September 25 @ Colt .45s 1–2 Johnson Sisk (1–2) Farrell 3,118 73–85 159 September 26 @ Colt .45s 4–5 (11) McMahon Face (3–9) — 2,782 73–86 160 September 27 @ Giants 8–3 Veale (5–2) Bolin — 10,725 74–86 161 September 28 @ Giants 2–3 Marichal Gibbon (5–12) — 10,332 74–87 162 September 29 @ Giants 2–4 Sanford Sisk (1–3) O'Dell 33,301 74–88
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Pirates team member

Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

• April 4, 1963: Howie Goss and cash were traded by the Pirates to the Houston Colt .45s for Manny Mota. ^[4]

Roster

1963 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 32 Tom Butters 30 Don Cardwell 26 Roy Face 27 Earl Francis 19 Bob Friend 22 Joe Gibbon 31 Harvey Haddix 32 Vern Law 34 Al McBean 35 Tom Parsons 29 Don Schwall 25 Tommie Sisk 15 Tom Sturdivant 39 Bob Veale		Catchers 16 Ron Brand  6 Smoky Burgess  3 Jim Pagliaroni  2 Elmo Plaskett Infielders 12 Gene Alley  7 Bob Bailey 17 Donn Clendenon 16 Julio Gotay 23 Johnny Logan  9 Bill Mazeroski 11 Dick Schofield		Outfielders 21 Roberto Clemente 5,24 Jerry Lynch 15 Manny Mota 2,14 Ted Savage  4 Bob Skinner  8 Willie Stargell 18 Bill Virdon Other batters  5 Larry Elliot		Manager 40 Danny Murtaugh Coaches 47 Gene Baker 45 Lenny Levy 43 Sam Narron 42 Ron Northey 44 Frank Oceak 41 Don Osborn 10 Virgil Trucks

Statistics

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Awards and honors

All-Star Game

• Bill Mazeroski, second base, (selected as starter but did not play due to injury)
• Roberto Clemente, reserve ^[7]

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Columbus Jets	International League	Larry Shepard
AA	Asheville Tourists	Sally League	Ray Hathaway
A	Reno Silver Sox	California League	Tom Saffell
A	Kinston Eagles	Carolina League	Harding "Pete" Peterson
A	Batavia Pirates	New York–Penn League	Buddy Hancken
A	Gastonia Pirates	Western Carolinas League	Bob Clear
Rookie	Kingsport Pirates	Appalachian League	Al Kubski

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Batavia

Notes

References

• 1963 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1963 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN  978-0-9637189-8-3.