Jerry Reuss played 22 big league seasons, for eight different teams and 17 managers. Fifteen of those campaigns he suited up for the Pirates and Dodgers. Though he pitched for just one skipper in Los Angeles – Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda – he threw for three iconic skippers in Pittsburgh.

When the Pirates acquired Reuss in October of ’73, he had 47 wins and 48 losses. Under two-time World Series championship Danny Murtaugh, he flourished. In the left-hander’s first season in Pittsburgh he matched his previous career high with 16 wins. His 3.50 ERA was nearly a quarter of a run better than any previous season. Reuss’ performance helped the Pirates win the Eastern Division crown.

Reuss improved on that in ’75 by going 18-11 with a 2.54 ERA that translated to a 139 ERA+ as Pittsburgh repeated as division champs. In 1976 Murtaugh announced he was retiring at season’s end.

The Pirates had their eye on Oakland’s Chuck Tanner as Murtaugh’s replacement. Athletic’s owner Charlie Finley told them they could have Tanner for a price: three-time All Star catcher Manny Sanguillen and $100,000. Pittsburgh completed the deal on November 5th. In ’77 Tanner became Reuss’s sixth manager. Jerry pitched two seasons for Tanner before a trade to Los Angeles.

Reuss returned to the Steel City 13 years later for his his final big league season. A September call up for Jim Leyland’s 1990 Pirates, Reuss appeared in four contests. That made him the first to play for the three Bucco pilots, Murtaugh, Tanner, and Leyland.

Reuss’s Pirates team from 1975-1987 John Candelaria duplicated the feat when returned to Pittsburgh to play for Leyland in 1993. Candy and Jerry end up as the only two to play for the Pirates managerial trio.

In this handwritten letter Tanner writes about 1979 World Series MVP Pops Stargell. Reuss, Tanner, Candelaria and Stargell shared the Pittsburgh dugout in 1977 and ’78.

Tanner writes, “Willie was the leader of our team on the field and off the field. He was like a 10 diamond karat ring on your finger to manage. What an honor I had.” The Pirates manager then pens his name at the bottom. Also shown is an autographed Donruss baseball card of the Buccos’ skipper.

The honor of toeing the rubber for a team’s first game of the season is reserved for the staff ace. A hurler bestowed with the responsibility is recognized as #1 on the staff. Jerry Reuss earned the distinction of Opening Day starter four times for three different teams during his career.

His first kicked off the year in 1974 with his Pirates up against Bob Gibson and the Cardinals. Reuss pitched seven innings, allowing four runs on 12 hits and five walks. Cooperstown’s Gibson gave up four runs over eight innings. Neither pitcher earned a decision in the Pirates’ 6–5, ten-inning win.

Three years later Reuss made his second Opening Day start in 1977, again facing the Cardinals. The 6’5” left-hander took the loss as St. Louis exploded for a 12–6 victory.

In 1980 Reuss had his career year. The following season the Dodgers tabbed Reuss to start the ’81 opener. The day before the game, while shagging balls in the outfield Reuss suffered a calf injury that caused him to begin the year on the shelf.

The following year the southpaw got the Opening Day nod for the defending World Series champion Dodgers. He surrendered six runs—only two earned—on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.

His final Opening Day assignment came in 1989 with the White Sox. Two months shy of his 40^th birthday, Reuss dominated. He threw seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball to earn his first win in an opener.

Shown here is the player’s contract for Bob Gibson. It’s from 1974, the same year Reuss squared off against Gibby in Jerry’s first Opening Day bid.

Jerry Reuss enjoyed a fine 22-year major league career. His greatest season came with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1980.

Reuss made 29 starts with 8 relief appearances. The National League Pitcher of the Month in June, Reuss pitched a no hitter on the 27^th of that month. His performance earned him a second All Star selection. In the Mid Summer Classic held at Dodger Stadium, Reuss struck out all three batters he faced to earn the victory in the NL’s 4-2 win.

By season’s end, Reuss tied his career-high with 18 wins, good for fourth-most in the National League. His 2.51 ERA was third, behind only Cooperstown’s Don Sutton and Steve Carlton. Reuss’s six shutouts tied him for the most in either league.

After finishing 7-14 with a 3.54 ERA the year before, Reuss was named the 1980 National League Comeback Player of the Year. His outstanding performance also earned him a second-place finish in Cy Young voting.

Shown here is a baseball card signed by 1980 Cy Young Award winner Carlton. The Phillies left-hander posted league-leading totals in starts, innings, wins, strikeouts, ERA+, and WAR.

The card commemorates Carlton surpassing Bob Gibson as the National League’s all-time leader in strikeouts in his 1980 Cy Young season.

After his finest big league season in 1980, the Dodgers tabbed Jerry Reuss as their Opening Day starter for ’81. The night before the game Reuss suffered a calf injury that delayed his season.

The Dodgers made the decision to go with rookie Fernando Valenzuela in his stead. Fernando responded with a complete-game 5-hit shutout. By May 15^th he had 8 wins against no defeats. During the run Fernando pitched seven complete games and a 9-inning outing that the Dodgers won in the 10^th. Five of those contests were shutouts.

Valenzuela took the game by storm, creating a phenomenon known as “Fernandomania”. By season’s end he was the NL’s Cy Young winner, a Silver Slugger recipient, and a World Series champion.

The tremendous start to Valenzuela’s stellar 17-year big league career was enabled in part by Reuss’s injury.

Shown here is the 1981 Topps Dodgers Prospect card featuring  Mike Scioscia, Valenzuela, and Jack Perconte. It is autographed by each player.

In 1981 the Los Angeles Dodgers vanquished the New York Yankees to earn the franchise’s fifth World Series title. The triumph didn’t come easy.

New York took the first two games at Yankee Stadium. When the Series moved to Los Angeles, the Dodgers turned the tide. The Boys in Blue nipped the Yanks in a pair of one-run contests in Game 3 and 4.

In pivotal Game 5, Los Angeles pinned their hopes on starting pitcher Jerry Reuss. He responded masterfully. Facing New York ace Ron Guidry Reuss allowed a single run in the second inning.

New York starter Guidry was also on his game. After allowing a first-inning single and a second-inning double, Guidry retired 15 of the next 16 Los Angeles batters. With Guidry dominating and the Yankees clinging to a 1-0 lead, the Dodgers were nine outs away from going down 3-games-to-2 in the Series.

In the top of the 7th, Guidry struck out Dusty Baker. The sleepy crowd hushed. After taking strike one, Pedro Guerrero slammed Guidry’s second offering over the pavilion wall in left-center. The 56,115 Dodger faithful erupted into sustained standing ovation.

When the celebration finally subsided, catcher Steve Yeager stepped to the plate. Guidry appeared to restore order, quickly working the count to 1-ball-2-strikes. With the crowd still buzzing from the Guerrero blast, Yeager belted Guidry’s next offering out of the park to send the crowd into a frenzy.

Reuss recorded the final six outs to give the Dodgers their third-straight one-run victory. His complete-game five-hitter put Los Angeles one game away from a World Series triumph. Three days later the Series resumed in New York where the Dodgers administered a 9-2 Yankee beating to win it all.

Shown here is a ticket to Reuss’ five-hit masterpiece in Game 5 of the ’81 Fall Classic signed by the Dodger left-hander.

As Jerry Reuss’ career wound down, he continued to climb the pitching all-time leaderboard. The ticket shown here is from June 21, 1987 when Reuss won his 195th game and twirled his 38th career shutout.

In each category he passed and tied numbers posted by some of the game’s greats.

The victory pushed him past Babe Adams, Tommy Bridges, as well as the future win totals of both Dwight Gooden and David Cone. Win #195 also pushed him into a three-way tie with Cooperstown’s Ed Walsh, and five-time pennant winner Bob Shawkey who earned the first win in Yankee Stadium history.

His 38th and penultimate career shutout passed Steve Rogers, Eppa Rixey, Randy Johnson, John Clarkson, Vida Blue. It tied Nap Rucker, Billy Pierce, and Stan Covelseki.

Reuss won 25 more games before retiring in 1990. His 220 career victories place him 80th all-time.

When Jerry Reuss claimed his 200th victory on May 9, 1988 he joined Milt Pappas as the only men to reach the plateau without a 20-win season. Pappas finished with 209 wins in 17 years while Reuss tallied 220 victories in his 22 seasons.

Since then Dennis Martinez, Frank Tanana, Charlie Hough, Chuck Finley, Kenny Rogers,Tim Wakefield, and Mark Buehlre have joined them.

Shown here is a 1962 Topps baseball card autographed by Pappas, the first man to tally 200 career wins without a 20-win campaign.

The White Sox Opening Day starter in 1989, Jerry Reuss began the campaign two months shy of his 40th birthday. The durable lefty made 29 starts – his most in four seasons.

The ticket shown here is from his 12th start that year on June 14th. Facing the Indians at Chicago’s Comiskey Park, Reuss allowed three hits and one walk in seven strong innings. The win was the 217th of his career.

The total passed passed Pirates francise career win leader lefty, Wilbur Cooper and tied him with 1968 World Series MVP, southpaw Mickey Lolich. That left only a dozen left-handers ahead of Reuss on the all-time wins list.

Five days later he captured his seventh victory in nine decisions to catch lefty Earl Whitehill. Reuss faded over the stretch, winning one more game with the White Sox before a trade-deadline deal sent him to Milwaukee. Reuss earned the final win of his career with the Brewers before his release at the end of the season.

Unable to land a big league job at the start of 1990, Reuss made 29 minor league appearances for three different organizations. The final stint in the bushes came with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A club in Buffalo. His 4-4 record and 3.52 ERA in 9 starts and five relief appearances earned him a September call up with the NL Eastern Division champion Pirates.

After coming out of the bullpen in his first three games, Jerry got the start on the last day of the season. He pitched 5 1/3 innings in the Pirates 6-3 loss to the the Mets. It proved to be his final big league outing.

Jerry Reuss finished his 22-year big league career with 39 shutouts. That puts him 39th on the all-time list and 13th among lefties. Also at 39th on the list are Hall of Fame right-hander Tim Keefe and Pirates great Sam Leever.

When it comes to lefties, the men in front of Reuss on the all-time shutout list include some of the game’s greatest arms. Fellow Dodgers Sandy Koufax and Claude Osteen have one more whitewashes than Ruess as does Cubs great Larry French.

Hippo Vaughn who earned pitching’s Triple Crown winner in 1918 stands at 41 scoreless complete games alongside Mickey Lolich. The pair of southpaws directly above that are Doc White who won 27 games in 1907, and Hall of Fame Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford who each have 45 shutouts.

That leaves the top-5 left-handers on the all-time shutout list: Eddie Plank (69), Warren Spahn (63), Steve Carlton (55), Rube Waddell (50), and Tommy John (46).

Shown here is a handwritten scorecard kept by Hall of Famer Harry Wright as manager of the Boston Red Stockings. Cooperstown’s Tim Keefe who is tied on the shutout list with Reuss pitched in the September 29, 1881 contest.

Wright also penned his initials “HW” in the space provided to identify the scorekeeper. Along with Keefe who batted eighth in the Troy lineup is Roger Connor who was the career home run leader before the emergence of Babe Ruth.

When Jerry Reuss retired in 1990, only 11 left-handed pitchers in the history of the game claimed more victories. Since then 7 more surpassed his 220 wins.

The list of 18 men ahead of him is littered with Hall of Famers and All Stars alike.

Warren Spahn set the southpaw standard with 363 wins. Five other Cooperstown lefties reached the 300-win plateau. They include Steve Carlton (329), Eddie Plank (326), Tom Glavine (305), Randy Johnson (303), and Lefty Grove (300).

Seven lefties won between 250 to 299 contests. Four of them have a plaque, Jim Kaat (283), Eppa Rixey (261), Carl Hubbell (253), CC Sabathia (251). The three outside of Cooperstown include Tommy John (288), Jamie Moyer (269), Andy Pettitte (256).

Five more southpaws have more than Reuss’ 220 victories and less than 250. Hall of Fame lefties Herb Pennock (241) and Whitey Ford (236) rank ahead of Reuss as do Frank Tanana (240), David Wells (239), and Jerry Koosman (222).

Shown here is a photo commemorating Spahn’s milestone 300th win on August 11, 1961. The lefty great went the distance that night — the 317th complete game of his career — and drove in the game’s first run with a sac fly.

This photo shows fellow 300-game winners Cy Young, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Walter Johnson, and Lefty Grove.