Wilver Dornell Stargell:
(March 6, 1940 – April 9, 2001).
Nicknamed “Pops” later in his career.
American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman who spent all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1962–1982) with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
I love September, especially when we’re in it.
This is a baseball pun:
– Literally, everyone is “in” the month of September.
– Figuratively, “we’re in it” means the team is still ‘in contention for the pennant or postseason’.
September is the final stretch of the baseball season, so Stargell was saying that September is especially enjoyable when the Pittsburgh Pirates are playing meaningful games and still have a chance to win.
👤 Author:
The line is ‘widely attributed to Willie “Pops” Stargell’ (1940–2001), the Hall of Fame first baseman and longtime leader of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
📜 Origin:
The quotation arose from the context of a ‘September pennant race’, probably during Stargell’s playing career in the 1970s. However, most quotation collections give it without a precise date, interview, or contemporary newspaper citation.
Therefore, the safest attribution is:
> “I love September, especially when we’re in it.” — attributed to Willie Stargell
It is sometimes associated generally with the Pirates’ successful late-season runs—particularly their celebrated 1979 season—but there is not enough firmly documented evidence to say that it was first spoken in 1979.
