MORE THAN A DECADE HAS PASSED since Willie Stargell died, but his impact is felt by scores of those he left behind—family, friends, former opponents and countless fans who watched him windmill his bat and send baseballs flying to the upper reaches of stadiums across America. His legacy also includes the Willie Stargell Foundation Inc., whose mission is to provide funds to support kidney disease research and treatment for those afflicted with kidney disease, according to its website. Stargell’s name also is associated with the dialysis center at Wilmington, North Carolina–based New Hanover Regional Medical Center, which was renamed “The Willie ‘Pops’ Stargell Dialysis Center” in 2006 in recognition of a generous gift made in Stargell’s memory. According to the foundation website, Stargell spent the last five years of his life receiving dialysis treatments and he wanted others who needed similar treatments to receive it in a “comfortable and relaxed setting.”1
Margaret Weller Stargell, Stargell’s widow, serves as the president of the foundation’s board of directors. The foundation’s work is ongoing; in 2012, the group awarded $50,000 in grants—$5,000 each to the UNC and Duke Kidney Transplant Outreach Programs, $10,000 to the DaVita Kidney Emergency Fund, and $30,000 to the New Hanover dialysis center that bears Stargell’s name. The foundation’s major fundraiser is a golf tournament held each November; the 2012 tournament was the 10th annual.
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Stargell also reentered the public consciousness in a major way in the summer of 2012 when the U.S. Postal Service unveiled a 45-cent First-Class Forever stamp in his honor. Also featured on the new stamps were Joe DiMaggio, Larry Doby and Ted Williams. The unveiling of the stamps coincided with the annual Baseball Hall of Fame Weekend celebration in Cooperstown, N.Y., and events commemorating the new stamps also took place in New York, Cleveland, Boston and Pittsburgh.
Weller Stargell, contacted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at her home in Wilmington, said she loved the stamp design, which depicts Stargell in a late–1970s era “We Are Family” gold shirt, in his batting stance. “I think it’s Willie,” she said. “It’s vibrant. He comes to life on that. It is an extraordinary honor for an extraordinary human being. To know he will be on a forever stamp to be remembered for years to come is overwhelming, and it warms my heart.”2 Steve Blass said he was thrilled to hear of the stamp honoring his long-time teammate “and I wish Willie was here and we could have a glass of wine together. He goes beyond just being a great ball player.”3
Stephen Kearney, executive director of stamp services for the U.S. Postal Service, told the Post-Gazette that Stargell’s inclusion in the stamp group was recommended by the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee, a group that reviews 40,000 suggestions a year for new stamps. After the stamps were unveiled to the public, the Postal Service launched a campaign on August 8 that it called “8 on 8”—encouraging fans to mail eight letters to their friends and family using the Stargell stamp. “Willie’s amazing ability and appeal connected with people in Pittsburgh and the nation throughout his Hall of Fame career,” Joe Meimann, the Pittsburgh postmaster, said in a press release issued by the Postal Service. “Now his image can once again connect people together by sending his stamp on a letter to friends and loved ones.”
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Stargell’s image likely won’t disappear when the commemorative stamps do. A Pittsburgh resident named Gregory Gibson Kenney will see to that. Kenney, a professionally trained actor who operates an organization known as Educate Us Productions, uses a theatrical setting to bring historical figures to life for school groups and other gatherings. Among the historical figures Kenney portrays is Stargell, whom he tried to emulate while growing up in the city. “He was left-handed and I’m left-handed,” Kenney said of Stargell. “Playing pickup baseball, as you do as a kid, he was always my guy.”4
Stargell met Kenney while the latter was re-enacting part of the life of Stargell’s former teammate, Clemente, at a Pittsburgh Pirates fan festival and the two had a chance to talk. The conversation resulted in a 30-minute presentation that takes audiences into Stargell’s life as a young child all the way until his retirement as a player in 1982. “I try to include little pieces of history that folks would never know about,” Kenney said. “That’s what the program is all about.” Kenney said the program doesn’t just look at the high points of Stargell’s life. He mentions the struggles that the slugger went through during the 1971 World Series, for example. Although Stargell never got to see Kenney perform the program, several members of Stargell’s family had a chance to take it in during a presentation at the Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh. “The family loved it so I think he would approve,” Kenney said.
Even though it’s been more than 30 years since Stargell last swung his mighty Louisville Slugger, Kenney believes the former slugger remains relevant due to his own unique story. “Everyone might not know his story but they know about ‘We Are Family,’” Kenney said. “It’s a great experience and everyone who watches it takes something from it and can put it into their own lives. For Willie, the lesson is that hard work and determination will get you there every single time. It’s all about working hard—dreams don’t come true without hard work. We can tell our kids that they can be anything they want to be, but sometimes we leave out the fact ‘if you’re willing to work hard.’ The message is, don’t be afraid to put in the time and you’ll see results.”