Obituaries
Pirates World Series Hero Dies From Coronavirus Complications
A key contributor to the last Pittsburgh Pirates World Series championship team has passed away.
PITTSBURGH, PA — Grant Jackson, the pitcher who won the seventh game of the 1979 World Series that gave the Pirates their most recent championship, died Tuesday of coronavirus complications. He was 78.
Jackson pitched two and two-thirds innings of relief in the seventh game of the series against the Baltimore Orioles to earn the victory. Pirates reliever Kent Tekulve pitched the ninth inning of the game to nail down the win.
Jackson's Major League Baseball career spanned 1965 to 1982 and included stints with the Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Montreal Expos, Kansas City Royals and the Pirates. He also served as a coach for the Cincinnati Reds.
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Jackson was acquired by the Pirates in a 1976 from the Seattle Mariners, who selected him in their expansion draft but traded him for Craig Reynolds and Jimmy Sexton before he pitched for them.
We are very saddened to relay the news of the passing of former Pirates pitcher Grant Jackson. Grant was the winning pitcher of Game 7 of the 1979 World Series & remained an active member of our Pirates family. Our deepest condolences to the Jackson family. He will be missed. pic.twitter.com/w4CzUrLLIr
— Pirates (@Pirates) February 2, 2021
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