Bob Friend: He was Pittsburgh’s all-time workhorse

Star of 1950s-60s Pittsburgh Pirates teams dies at his home at age 88

In the 130-year history of the Pittsburgh Pirates, no pitcher made more starts, pitched more innings or struck out more batters than Bob Friend.
But that’s not the most remarkable thing about the 16-season career of Friend, whose death of a cardiac arrest at age 88 was announced Monday night. This is: across 16 seasons, nearly all of it with the Pirates, he never spent a day on the disabled list.

Friend was the essence of reliability beginning with his rookie season, as a 20-year old in 1951. Making his first appearance out of spring training in late April for a terrible team destined to for seventh place, he made 22 starts and a dozen relief appearances encompassing nearly 150 innings.

Over the next several seasons, the Pirates lingered in or near the National League basement, but Friend pitched steadily and learned his craft. By 1955, with his team still mired in last place, Friend nonetheless led the league with a 2.83 ERA, the first player in history to do so on a tail-ender. Despite his team’ ineptitude, he won 14 games that season, losing only 9.

In 1956 Friend pitched a league-leading 314 innings, making 42 starts plus seven relief appearances. One year later he led in workload again, this time with 277 innings across 38 starts. In 1958, he won a league-leading 22 games.

Friend made just one post-season appearance, that coming in the Pirates’ remarkable 1960 World Series victory against the Yankees. That was the series Pittsburgh won on Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off Game 7 home run despite being out-scored by New York 55-27.

Friend pitched twice in that series and succeeded only in embellishing the series imbalance. In Game 2, he pitched four innings and took the 16-3 defeat. In Game 6 with a chance to win it for Pittsburgh, he lasted just two innings, allowed five runs and lost 12-0. For the series, he had a 13.50 ERA.

Friend, whose nickname of ‘Warrior’ derived from his astonishing reliability, remained with the Pirates through 1965, compiling a 191-218 record in more than 3,500 innings of work that included 477 starts and 91 relief appearances. He was traded that December to the Yankees. Sold to the Mets in June of 1966, he retired at season’s end and went into local politics. From 1968 through 1976, he was the controller in Allegheny County.

For his career, Friend recorded 1,734 strikeouts, 1,682 of them in a Pittsburgh uniform.

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Friend, who had completed work on his Purdue degree by taking off-season classes for seven years, got into the investment business and worked until his retirement in 2001.

Born Nov. 24, 1930 in Lafayette, Indiana, he attended Purdue but left soon after when Branch Rickey offered him a contract.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described Friend as a nervous figure on Pittsburgh Pirates game days, continually pacing back and forth. It quoted Friend acknowledging that characteristic to Myron Cope, at the time a Post-Gazette sports writer. “Sure I’m a little keyed up when I pitch,” Friend said. “When I’m not, I don’t pitch very well.”

Rest in peace, Bob Friend.