Pride of Provo: Vern Law inducted into Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame
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- Pittsburgh Pirates great and Provo resident Vernon Law speaks Thursday as he is inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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- Former BYU baseball player Vern Law has been inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
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- Pittsburgh Pirates pitching great and Provo resident Vernon Law, left, talks to another former player before Law’s induction Thursday into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Law was part of the 1960s Pirates World Champion team, and that year became the club’s first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award.
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- Kids admire the stadium before the induction ceremony Thursday into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One is wearing a jersey honoring Pittsburgh pitching great and Provo resident Vernon Law, who was part of the 1960s Pirates World Champion team, and that year became the club’s first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award.
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- Three generations of the Law family (from left): Vance Law, Vern Law and Adam Law, pose for a photo.
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- Pittsburgh Pirates great and Provo resident Vernon Law speaks Thursday as he is inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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- Top National Leaguers gather in dressing room at Yankee Stadium after winning 29th All-Star game, 6-0, over American League, July 13, 1960 in New York. From left: Stan Musial, Willie Mays, Vernon Law, Ed Mathews and Ken Boyer. Law was winning pitcher. The others all hit home runs to give Nationals their second straight All-Star win.
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- Vernon Law, Pirates pitcher, as he pitched to Billy Gardner of the New York Giants during 7th inning of their ballgame at the Pole Grounds, New York City in September 5, 1955. Gardner got the first hit off Law right after this picture was taken to spoil his bid for a no-hitter.
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- Pittsburgh Pirates pitching great and Provo resident Vernon Law, right, shakes hands with Pirates Chairman of the Board Robert Nutting during Law’s induction Thursday into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Law was part of the 1960s Pirates World Champion team, and that year became the club’s first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award.
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- Pittsburgh Pirates pitching great and Provo resident Vernon Law, left, gets help putting on his Hall of Fame jacket from Pirates Chairman of the Board Robert Nutting during Law’s induction Thursday into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Law was part of the 1960s Pirates World Champion team, and that year became the club’s first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award.
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- Pittsburgh Pirates great and Provo resident Vernon Law enjoys the ceremony Thursday as he is inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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- Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Vernon Law, who pitched against the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series throws out a ceremonial first pitch as the team honored the 1960 World Champions before the start of an interleague baseball game against the Cleveland Indians in Pittsburgh, Saturday, June 19, 2010.
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- A plaque honors Pittsburgh Pirates pitching great and Provo resident Vernon Law, who was inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. Law was part of the 1960s Pirates World Champion team, and that year became the club’s first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award.
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- Vernon Law
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- Vernon Law
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- Pittsburgh Pirates pitching great and Provo resident Vernon Law, right, shakes hands with fellow inductee Al Oliver during the induction Thursday into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Law was part of the 1960s Pirates World Champion team, and that year became the club’s first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award.
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- Pittsburgh Pirates great and Provo resident Vernon Law speaks Thursday as he is inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
One of the greatest aspects of sports are the stories, even if they happened more than 60 years ago.
Vern Law — nicknamed “Preacher” and “Deacon” by his major league baseball teammates for his religious affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints — has a story that lives in Pittsburgh Pirates lore, a legend that never diminishes in the telling.
On Thursday, Law was inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed on only 35 members after Law, Kiki Cuyler and Al Oliver were added in the Class of 2025.
Law’s story is much more than his performance in the 1960 World Series, winning three games including Game 7 as the Pirates pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sports against the New York Yankees.
According to a story written by Alex Stumpf of mlb.com, Law was the first player on the team bus after Pittsburgh won the National League pennant weeks earlier. When his celebrating teammates joined him, the picked up their ace pitcher and ripped off his shirt and shoes. In the process, Law’s right ankle popped.
“Every time I threw the ball, it hurt,” Law said. “But I wanted to stay in, regardless. I wanted to go out a winner, not a loser. You live that every day of your life. I was convinced that I’m not going to lose. This is just another game, and we’re gonna win it. All of the guys had that attitude.”
After capping the 1960 season with a win in Game 7, Law solidified himself a spot in the hearts and minds of every current and future Pirates fan.
Now, he’s rightfully in the organization’s Hall of Fame.
“It’s a capstone of my career,” Law told mlb.com. “I could be more excited if my wife was here to share it with me, but I’ve got a lot of grandkids and great-grands and great-great grands. This will be a memory for them and for me.”
Law turned 95 years old in March, making him the 11th oldest living major leaguer. He was born and raised in Idaho and spent 16 years in the major leagues (all with the Pirates) while also serving in the military from 1951 to 1954. In 1960, he finished 20-9 with a 3.08 earned run average and was awarded the Cy Young. The right-hander completed his career with a a record of 162-147 with an ERA of 3.77 and 1,092 strikeouts.
Law’s wife, LaNita, passed away in 2023 after 73 years of marriage. The Laws had six children: Veldon, Verl, Vance, Vaughn, Varlin and VaLynda. Vance Law, a major leaguer himself for 12 seasons, coached the BYU baseball team from 2000 to 2012 and Vern Law spent time on his son’s staff with the Cougars. One of Vern Law’s grandsons, Adam, is currently an assistant coach for BYU.
More than 50 family members came to Pittsburgh to support Law at the franchise’s Hall of Fame Game on Friday.
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