PITTSBURGH — Gene Clines spent 10 years in Major League Baseball as a player, then more than two decades on various coaching staffs during a storied career that included nine different organizations. Yet there's little doubt concerning the date and location of Clines' favorite memories.
Clines, whose passing at the age of 75 was confirmed by the Pirates on Thursday, was a key part of their 1971 World Series-winning club and also a member of MLB's first all-minority lineup, which took the field Sept. 1, 1971.
Honored this past July as part of a pregame, on-field ceremony at PNC Park, Clines and others reflected on what that did for diversity in the sport.
