Bob Friend Career Highlights And Legacy In Baseball
Discover the inspiring journey of Bob Friend, the durable Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher who became a World Series champion and left a lasting mark in Major League Baseball.
Aug 16, 202521 Shares21.1K Views
Bob Friend was that steady force on the mound.He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball, mostly with the Pirates, and helped the team win the 1960 World Series. A four-time All-Star, he once led the entire league in ERA even while pitching for a last-place squad. He logged nearly 3,600 innings, nearly 1,800 strikeouts, and still holds the Pirates’ records for most innings pitched and most strikeouts.
Early Life
Bob Friend was born on November 24, 1930, in Lafayette, Indiana, and grew up nearby in West Lafayette. His father led an orchestra, and until he was sixteen, Friend studied piano seriously. Tragedy struck around the same time, when his father passed away. At West Lafayette High School, Friend stood out in several sports. He played football as an all-state halfback, pitched on the baseball team as an all-state player, and also joined basketball and golf. Many of his family members had gone to Purdue University, and Friend wanted to play college football there. A shoulder injury in high school led him to focus solely on baseball. He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates and enrolled at Purdue in 1949, but he could not play college sports because of rules. Still, he kept going to Purdue during the baseball off-seasons and earned a degree in economics in 1957. During his time there, he also joined the Sigma Chi fraternity.
Career
Bob Friend began his Major League career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1951 and stayed with them through 1965, wrapping up his final season in 1966 split between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. He finished with a win–loss record of 197–230 and a 3.58 earned run average (ERA) in 602 games over his career. Known as “The Warrior” for his incredible durability, Friend set enduring Pirates records in career innings pitched (3,480⅓), games started (477), and strikeouts (1,682). His best years came in the 1950s, he led the National League in ERA in 1955 with a 2.83 mark while pitching for a last place team, then led the majors in innings pitched in 1956 and 1957, and tied for the most wins in the league with 22 in 1958. In the historic 1960 season, he won 18 games with a 3.00 ERA and helped power the Pirates to a World Series title. Throughout his career, he regularly pitched over 200 innings for 11 straight years and often exceeded 260 innings in a season. After retiring from baseball, he continued to give back by helping start the Pirates Alumni Association and serving as a board member until his passing.
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