PITTSBURGH -- Hall of Famer Willie Stargell said Thursday he hopes to be released from a three-week hospital stay by Labor Day but declined to comment specifically about his health problems.

Stargell, the Pittsburgh Pirates' career leader in home runs and RBI, has been hospitalized in Pittsburgh since early August, undergoing blood tests and kidney dialysis, according to several Pirates sources.

A former Pirates teammate, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Stargell has undergone dialysis for several years. Dialysis is used to eliminate impurities from the blood during kidney failure.

The Pirates declined again to comment specifically about Stargell's illness but issued a statement he gave to a team official.

"Let me begin by thanking my well-wishing fans for their concern after hearing of my hospitalization," Stargell said. "I have, in fact, been in the hospital for three weeks for management of a recent illness."

Stargell denied a report that he will require hospitalization for another three weeks.

"Recent reports speculate that I am to be hospitalized for at least three more weeks," he said. "To the contrary, it is anticipated that I will be discharged to enjoy the upcoming holiday at home.

"Again, thank you for your concern and trust that I am doing well," Stargell said. "I look forward to resuming my position soon for the playoffs and the World Series as a special assistant to the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates."

News of Stargell's illness caused phones to ring continuously at the Pirates' offices as concerned fans sought more information about his condition.

Stargell, 58, spent at least several weeks in a Pittsburgh hospital, checking in under an assumed name, before being moved to another hospital, the sources said. He hopes to be discharged by this weekend, but did not say if he would be readmitted soon for further tests or treatment.

The 1979 National League co-MVP has had recurring health problems for about 10 years, including heart trouble while he was an Atlanta Braves coach in the late 1980s.

The Pirates front-office staff member who spoke to Stargell expected to talk to the Hall of Famer's wife, Margaret, but Stargell himself fielded the call from his hospital bed in Pittsburgh.

The Pirates' official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described Stargell as "upbeat and positive."

Pirates managing general partner Kevin McClatchy, who has cautioned team employees against commenting about Stargell's health, also issued a statement.

"We in the Pirates' family have always been respectful of Willie's personal request for privacy regarding his health," McClatchy said. "The club has been aware of his health problems since he returned to the Pirates in 1997 and we have been sympathetic to his needs and wishes.

"There is no greater icon for Pirates baseball and professionalism than Willie Stargell, and we hope that the media shows him the amount of respect that he deserves in this matter," McClatchy said. "The entire Pirate "Fam-A-Lee" wishes him well in his recovery and we hope to see 'Pops' back at the stadium very soon."

Stargell, then a 38-year-old first baseman seen as several years past his prime, led the 1979 Pirates, nicknamed the "Fam-A-Lee," to the franchise's last pennant and World Series title.

Despite aching knees that limited his mobility and playing time, Stargell hit 32 homers to share the NL MVP award with Keith Hernandez of St. Louis.

He also won the MVP awards in the NL playoffs and World Series, hitting the go-ahead homer in the Pirates' World Series Game 7 victory in Baltimore. He hit a career-high 48 homers -- the most by any Pirates player in the last 49 years -- during the 1971 World Series title season.

Meanwhile, the Pirates' 1979 World Series championship trophy apparently was stolen from the Allegheny Club, a private restaurant located in Three Rivers Stadium, sometime late Wednesday or early Thursday.

The trophy originally belonged to the John W. Galbreath family, who owned the team in 1979. Following the deaths of Galbreath and his son, Dan, the former Pirates president, the trophy was sold to the Allegheny Club.

Police were investigating.