Pirates to induct ElRoy Face, Bob Friend, Dick Groat, Kent Tekulve into 2nd Hall of Fame class

When the Pittsburgh Pirates announced their inaugural Hall of Fame, Kent Tekulve started to wonder where he stacked up against the franchise’s all-time greats.

Teke came to a humbling conclusion.

“You almost think about it that, if I get really lucky and they work down the list far enough that they get to me, I just hope that I’m still alive,” said Tekulve, 76, of Venetia. “That’s how far down I’m thinking about myself on this list. If I’m really lucky, maybe I’ll still be alive.”

Tekulve was both delighted and surprised to be included in the Pirates 2023 Hall of Fame Class, along with pitchers ElRoy Face and the late Bob Friend and shortstop Dick Groat, that will be enshrined before their game against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 26 at PNC Park.

All four are World Series champions, as Face, Friend and Groat played for the 1960 team that beat the New York Yankees in seven games, and Tekulve was the closer for the 1979 team that beat the Baltimore Orioles in seven games for the club’s last world championship.

“No matter who goes in with you, it’s an honor to go in,” said Face, 95, who lives in North Versailles. “I’ve been selected, and I appreciate it.”

“Welcome to the club.”

Pirates Hall of Famer Steve Blass personally welcomes the newest members to our Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/dxAfivHfoG

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 20, 2023

A three-time All-Star who pioneered modern-day relief pitching when manager Danny Murtaugh moved him to the bullpen in 1957, Face is the team’s all-time leader in appearances (802), and his 188 saves would be a club record if the statistic was official when he pitched. Face had a 100-93 record and 3.46 ERA in 15 seasons with the Pirates, holds the NL record for most games won in relief (96) and the major league record for most relief wins in a season, going 18-1 in 1959.

“The fans appreciated what I was doing because I had all the fans behind me when I came in to pitch,” Face said. “They felt like I did, that it’s another win for us. I didn’t expect to lose. I expected to win all the time. I don’t know where the confidence came from. I guess just because the manager called me to come in for that situation.”

Although Tekulve’s popularity as a sidewinder often overshadows Face’s fame for his forkball, Tekulve has a reverance for how Face’s success paved a path for relievers. Although Tekulve’s 158 saves lead the Pirates, he ranks second among pitchers in games (722), and his 94 wins as a relief pitcher rank second in NL history behind Face.

“He singlehandedly created the role of the closer,” Tekulve said of Face. “I don’t know how it evolved but I know for sure there’s a whole lot of us that wouldn’t have had jobs that followed after ElRoy Face because everybody had to have a closer. The Pirates were on the front end of that. Because of what I did, ElRoy has just always been that guy. I told him, ‘Yes, you created jobs for a lot of us who followed you but you also set the bar pretty freaking high.’ ”

The 92-year-old Groat, a Swissvale native, was an eight-time All-Star who won NL MVP and the batting title with a .325 average as Pirate in 1960.

He had a .290 batting average in nine seasons with the Pirates and the sixth-highest batting average (.303) in baseball from 1957-60, behind Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and Orlando Cepeda and two-time All-Star Joe Cunningham.

With Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski, Groat was a sure-handed shortstop with a knack for knowing where to position himself against hitters to form one of the greatest double-play duos of all time.

Groat ranks third all-time in club history in games played at shortstop (1,242) and led the NL in double plays a record five times, putouts four times and assists twice.

Friend, who died in 2019, was a three-time All-Star who ranks as the Pirates’ all-time leader in starts (477), innings pitched (3,481) and strikeouts (1,682), third among pitchers in games (568) and shutouts (35) and fourth in wins (191).

In 1955, Friend led the N.L. in ERA (2.83). In 1958, he shared the major league lead in wins (22). He led the majors in innings pitched in 1956-57 and in starts for three consecutive seasons.

“The one thing I know about Bob Friend,” Tekulve said, “is, in his Pirates career, he pitched in a four-man rotation — every fourth day, not every fifth day — and never missed a start.”

Tekulve, who spent 12 of his 16 major league seasons pitching with the Pirates, ranks first in NL history in innings pitched by a reliever (1,436 2/3) and second in appearances (1,050). An All-Star in 1980, Tekulve led the majors in appearances three times as a Pirate and shares the team record for most games pitched in one season (94, in 1979).

“It makes you proud of what you’ve done and how people have seen what you’ve done,” Tekulve said, “but it also makes me think, ‘Boy, a lot of people have overrated me.’ ”

The four enshrinees join the 19 members inducted last year in the inaugural class, which includes 14 Pirates in the National Baseball Hall of Fame: Jake Beckley, Max Carey, Fred Clarke, Roberto Clemente, Ralph Kiner, Mazeroski, Willie Stargell, Pie Traynor, Arky Vaughan, Honus Wagner, Lloyd Waner and Paul Waner, as well as four Negro League greats in the Hall of Fame in Ray Brown, Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard.

Pirates pitcher Steve Blass, outfielder Dave Parker and Murtaugh were the only three inductees who aren’t in the Hall of Fame, a number that will increase with this class.

“As an organization, we are proud of the contributions and impact these four men have made both on and off the field for the Pirates, the City of Pittsburgh and our fans,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “Not only are they all World Champions, they have remained pillars in our community for many years. It will be an honor to celebrate each of them later this season at their induction into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame.”