In light of Roberto Clemente's death in a plane crash the following December, while he was on a mercy mission to aid earthquake victims in Nicaragua, many of the '72 Pirates look back with sorrow at that last clubhouse gathering after the heartbreaking playoff game with the Reds. One of Clemente's closest friends on the team, Dave Cash, approached Roberto and said goodbye for the winter. "I remember leaving the clubhouse," said Cash, "and we shook hands and hugged each other. We wished each other well and hoped we could come back and win the next season."

Steve Blass and Dave Giusti, who lived in the same community near Pittsburgh, flew home on the team plane accompanied by their wives. The two couples left the Pittsburgh airport in the same car and drove some distance, as Blass recalled, "in stone silence before stopping at a light. At that point I shouted, 'Everybody out for our fire drill! We've got to lighten up!' So we all got out of the car. We were so pissed off that we all started screaming obscenities. When we got done with that outburst, we all felt better, got back in the car, and drove home."

A last note that might be added about the '72 Pirates involves the untimely death of the pitcher who was on the mound when they saw their championship slip away from them.

Bob Moose was killed in an automobile crash in Martin's Ferry, Ohio, while coming home from a birthday party on October 9, 1976, almost four years to the day he unleashed his infamous wild pitch against the Reds. He had just turned 29.

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