The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball (MLB) club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They compete in the Central Division of the National League (NL), and play their home games at PNC Park, formerly at Forbes Field and Three Rivers Stadium (the latter's name is derived from the three rivers the Allegheny and the Monongahela, which join together to form the Ohio River.) Founded on October 15, 1881 as Allegheny, the franchise has won five World Series championships. The Pirates are also often referred to as the "Bucs" or the "Buccos" (derived from buccaneer, a synonym for pirate).
The franchise joined the NL in its eighth season in 1887 and was competitive from its early years, winning three NL titles from 1901 to 1903, playing in the very first World Series in 1903 and winning their first World Series in 1909 behind Honus Wagner. The Pirates have had many ups and downs during their long history, most famously winning the 1960 World Series against the New York Yankees on a game-winning home run by Bill Mazeroski, the only time that Game 7 of the World Series has ever ended with a home run, still to this day. They also won the 1971 World Series with Roberto Clemente and the 1979 World Series under the slogan "We Are Family", led by "Pops" Willie Stargell. Overall the Pirates have won five World Series and lost two.
After a run of regular-season success in the early 1990s (winning three straight East Division titles), the Pirates struggled over the following 20 years, with 20 consecutive losing seasons—the longest such streak in North American professional sports history—before posting a winning record in 2013 of 94–68 to qualify for the NL Wild Card before advancing to the NL Division Series round where they lost in 5 games to the St. Louis Cardinals.