This beautifully framed piece features an original piece of watercolor artwork glass-framed in an attractive two inch wide black resin frame with a double mat. The outer dimensions of the framed piece are approximately 17” wide x 24.5” high, although the exact size will vary according to the size of the original piece of art.

At the core of the framed piece is the actual piece of original artwork as painted by the artist on textured 100% rag, water-marked watercolor paper. In many cases the original artwork has handwritten notes in pencil from the artist (be sure to “See the actual artwork without the frame” elsewhere in this website). Simply put, this is beautiful, one-of-a-kind artwork.

The outer mat is a rich textured black acid-free mat with a decorative inset white v-groove, while the inner mat is a complimentary colored acid-free mat reflecting one of the team’s primary colors. The website image of this framed piece shows the mat color that we suggest (Yellow), but since each piece is custom framed, we are happy to use whatever color mat you wish (depending on availability) – our standard mat colors are:

Light Blue / Dark Blue / Brown / Maroon (close to brown) / White / Silver / Gold / Yellow (bright yellow) / Green (dark green) / Orange / Purple / Red (bright red, somewhat close to PMS 186)

Beneath the artwork is a silver plate with black text describing the original artwork. The text for this piece will read:

This original, one-of-a-kind watercolor painting of the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates uniform is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this Pittsburgh Pirates uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other Pittsburgh Pirates products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Nola McConnan for Maple Leaf Productions Ltd. 1971 was a World Series winning season for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Beneath the silver plate is a 3” x 9” reproduction of a well known, best-selling print that celebrates the history of the team. The print beautifully illustrates the chronological evolution of the team’s uniform and shows you how the original art was used in the creation of this print. If you look closely, you will see that the print features the actual artwork being offered for sale. The 3” x 9” print looks like this:

The piece is framed with an extremely high quality framing glass. We have used this glass style for many years with excellent results. We package every piece very carefully in a double layer of bubble wrap and a rigid double-wall cardboard package to avoid breakage at any point during the shipping process, but if damage does occur, we will gladly repair, replace or refund. Please note that all of our products come with a 90 day 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Each framed piece also comes with a two page letter signed by Scott Sillcox describing the history behind the art. If there was an extra-special story about your piece of art, that story will be included in the letter. When you receive your framed piece, you should find the letter lightly attached to the front of the framed piece.

If you have any questions, at any time, about the actual artwork or about any of the artist’s handwritten notes on the artwork, I would love to tell you about them. Simply email me, Scott Sillcox, at scott@heritagesportsart.com and I will tell you everything I can about your original piece of art. The artists and I spent well over ten years of our lives creating these pieces of original artwork, and in many cases there are stories I can tell you about your actual piece of artwork that might add an extra element of interest in your one-of-a-kind purchase.

Please note that all reproduction rights for this original work are retained in perpetuity by Major League Baseball unless specifically stated otherwise in writing by MLB. For further information, please contact Heritage Sports Art at questions@heritagesportsart.com .

 

History

This home jersey is of a double-knit style that most major league teams succumbed to during the 70's and early 80's. It was a pullover style, made of stretchy, synthetic material. The pants were called Sans-a-Belts because the elasticized waistline eliminated the need for a belt. The 1970 Pirates were the first double-knit sans-a-belt team, and the Cards and Astros joined them in 1971. By 1975 two thirds of major league teams had succumbed.This is also the first time on the poster that we see numbers on the front of the jersey, (the Pirates began wearing uniform numbers on the front of their jerseys in 1962). Uniform numbers first made their appearance on the front of a uniform in 1952 - the Brooklyn Dodgers were the first team to wear uniform numbers on the front of their jersey. The Braves followed suit in 1953, and the Reds joined in beginning in 1956. The 1916 Cleveland Indians actually wore a uniform number on their sleeve, but it wasn't until the 52 Dodgers that the number made it to the front.The Pirates finish the 71 regular season in first in the NL East with a 97-65 record, thereby earning the right to play the NL West Champion San Francisco Giants for the NL Pennant. In game one of the best of five series, San Fran prevail at home 5-4. But the Pirates storm back to take game 2 in San Francisco, then games 3 & 4 in Pittsburgh, thus advancing to the World Series to face the Baltimore Orioles.The first two games were in Baltimore, and the Pirates lost both (5-3 and 11-3). The series headed back to Pitt. Paced by a brilliant 3-hit complete game pitching performance by Blass in game 3, the Pirates make it 2 games to 1. In game 4 rookie pitcher Bruce Kison was called upon to relieve starter Luke Walker after just 2/3rds of an inning, and he replied by tossing 6 1/3 innings of one hit ball, leading the Bucs to a 4-3 win in game 4. The series was squared at 2 apiece.Game 5 was still in Pittsburgh, and starter Nellie Briles tossed a masterful 2 hit shut-out to stake the Pirates to a 3 games to 2 lead. It was now back to Baltimore for game 6 and perhaps game 7. Thus far in the series the home team had won, so Pirates fans had every reason to be worried.Sure enough, the O's tied the series by winning game 6 in dramatic fashion in ten innings (the final score was 3-2 after the Pirates were up 2-0 going into the bottom of the sixth!), thus sending the series to a seventh and deciding game.Game 7 turned out to be everything baseball purists want - a pitchers dual. The Pirates Steve Blass threw a four hitter, and Clemente hit a homer, pacing the Pirates to a 2-1 win and their 4th Championship (previous World Series victories were in 1909, 1925 and 1960). Roberto Clemente is named the Series MVP on the strength of his .414 batting average and two home runs, while Steve Blass chipped in with 2 complete 1 run games.The 1972 season would see Roberto Clemente notch his 3000th hit in nearly the last game of the season, a magical cap to a marvelous career. As every true Pirates fan knows, Clemente would die tragically while in a plane crash on December 31, 1972 as he was flying relief supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake victims.