--- title: Pittsburgh Pirate Fans Rejoice as the Bucs Win the World Series, 1960 description: In celebration of the Pittsburgh Pirates' first winning season in 20 years, LIFE presents George Silk's photo of Bucs fans cheering on high. canonical: https://time.com/3877951/pittsburgh-pirate-fans-rejoice-as-the-bucs-win-the-world-series-1960/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-09-06T15:40:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:50.464Z og:title: Pittsburgh Pirate Fans Rejoice as the Bucs Win the World Series, 1960 og:description: In celebration of the Pittsburgh Pirates' first winning season in 20 years, LIFE presents George Silk's photo of Bucs fans cheering on high. og:url: https://time.com/3877951/pittsburgh-pirate-fans-rejoice-as-the-bucs-win-the-world-series-1960/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51efae978b3dd9f7/69884a9ee53abaae4c4dd198/silk_d_ic_wp.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Pittsburgh Pirates Fans, 1960 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pittsburgh Pirate Fans Rejoice as the Bucs Win the World Series, 1960 twitter:description: In celebration of the Pittsburgh Pirates' first winning season in 20 years, LIFE presents George Silk's photo of Bucs fans cheering on high. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51efae978b3dd9f7/69884a9ee53abaae4c4dd198/silk_d_ic_wp.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Cathedral of Cheering: Pittsburgh Pirate Fans Rejoice, 1960 by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Sep 6, 2013 3:40 PM UTC  University of Pittsburgh students cheer wildly from atop the school's Cathedral of Learning as they watch the Pittsburgh Pirates win their first World Series in 35 years (against the Yankees), Oct. 13, 1960. University of Pittsburgh students cheer wildly from atop the school's Cathedral of Learning as they watch the Pittsburgh Pirates win their first World Series in 35 years (against the Yankees), Oct. 13, 1960.George Silk—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Sep 6, 2013 3:40 PM UTC The longest losing-season streak of any professional American sports team in history is over. After 20 years **—** _20 solid years_ **—** of posting fewer than 81 wins, the Pittsburgh Pirates and their long-suffering fans not only have a winning season on their hands; they might just have a pennant in their near future. As of this writing, the Bucs boast an 83-60 record, and are in a battle with both St. Louis and Chicago for the National League Central pennant. Here, in celebration of a storied franchise shattering a 20-year curse of utter mediocrity, LIFE.com presents George Silk’s magnificent photo of Bucs fans cheering the Pirates’ 1960 World Series victory over the Yankees from atop the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning. Silk’s picture is beautiful, thrilling and vertiginous **—** not unlike the Pirates’ 2013 season thus far **—** and might be the single greatest portrait of baseball fans ever made. Today, at least, it’s certainly the most apropos. _— Ben Cosgrove is the Editor of LIFE.com_  University of Pittsburgh students cheer wildly from atop the school's Cathedral of Learning as they watch the Pittsburgh Pirates win their first World Series in 35 years (against the Yankees), Oct. 13, 1960. 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