PITTSBURGH — Elroy Face, a six‑time All‑Star reliever who helped lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to the 1960 World Series title and later was inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame, has died. He was 97.
Death and reaction
The Pirates announced in a news release that the team was contacted by Face’s son, Elroy Jr., and informed that the former pitcher died earlier in the day at an independent senior living facility outside Pittsburgh in North Versailles, Pennsylvania. Face was eight days shy of his 98th birthday. No cause of death was provided.
Team chairman Bob Nutting issued a statement saying, “It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we mourn the passing of Pirates Hall of Famer Elroy Face, a beloved member of the Pirates family.” Nutting added: “Elroy was a pioneer of the modern relief pitcher — the ‘Baron of the Bullpen’ — and he played a critical role in our 1960 World Series championship.”
Career highlights
Face played 16 major league seasons with Pittsburgh (1953–68), Detroit (1968) and Montreal (1969). Selected to six All‑Star teams, the 5‑foot‑8 right‑hander compiled a 104‑95 record with a 3.48 ERA. He appeared in 848 games, starting only 27, and compiled 191 career saves — although saves did not become an official statistic until 1969.
He holds the National League record for wins in relief with 96 and set the major league mark for relief wins in one season after going 18‑1 with a 2.70 ERA in 1959. In 1960 he topped the National League with 68 appearances and 61 games finished.
Face made four relief appearances in the 1960 World Series, posting a 5.23 ERA in 10 1/3 innings and closing out Pirates wins in Games 1, 4 and 5 as the underdog Pirates upset the New York Yankees on Bill Mazeroski’s famous Game 7 home run.
Inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame in 2023, Face is the club’s career leader in appearances with 802. The team noted that, if saves had been an official stat before 1969, he would also hold the franchise record with 188.
Personal life and legacy
Face was born in Stephentown, New York, on Feb. 20, 1928. He is survived by his three children, Michelle, Valerie and Elroy Jr., and his sister Jacqueline, the Pirates said.
Face’s role as a pioneering relief pitcher earned him the nickname the “Baron of the Bullpen,” and his performances in the late 1950s and 1960 helped shape the modern usage of relievers in Major League Baseball.
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