Statue of Willie Stargell

The statue was unveiled on April 7, just before the opening of the new PNC Park. Stargell was too ill to attend the ceremony himself and would die two days later, on the day PNC Park hosted its first baseball game.^[3]

To create the statue, sculptor Susan Wagner studied old photographs and video of Stargell along with vintage bats and Pittsburgh uniforms. It depicts Stargell in his iconic batting stance. The base of the statue includes "Stargell stars", a recognition handed out by Stargell toward the end of his career with the Pirates, as well as a quote from Stargell: "Last night, coming in from the airport, we came through the tunnel and the city opened up its arms and I felt at home."^[3]