Three Rivers Stadium

On April 25, 1968 Pittsburgh Mayor Joe Barr presided over the groundbreaking ceremony and the construction of Three Rivers Stadium finally began. The site for the new Stadium was on the exact spot as Exposition Park. As far back as 1948 there was talk about replacing the now aging Forbes Field with a municipal stadium. The expense of restoring the park to its original glory would have been prohibitive. While the need for a new stadium was clear what was unclear were the answers to the many questions that were being asked about the new facility.

Where would the new Park or Stadium be built? What kind of facility would it be? Finally, where would the money come from? For nearly two decades local politicians, fans, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Pittsburgh Steelers would wrangle over these issues.

Artist rendering of the open ended proposal

One plan included a park with an open end that would sit on the north side and face the Golden Triangle.

One proposal included building the new park over the Monongahela River. The new facility would sit atop a double-leveled parking garage and span the river. The proposed building would still allow boats to pass underneath. Another proposal suggested an open-sided stadium that would provide a view of the City of Pittsburgh and would be situated on the North Side. 

Truly, the problem of needing a new Ball Park was not unique to Pittsburgh. In the 1960's Washington DC, St Louis, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh all sought to replace their aging ballparks. A new concept of building a multi-purpose facility that could house both Baseball and Football became a popular idea.

The new style for these Stadiums was known as the "Cookie Cutter", because of their resemblance to the kitchen implement used to cut round cookies. What made a stadium a "Cookie Cutter" was that there were no open-ends to them. Their exterior walls extended around the complete structure.     

The very first "Cookie Cutter" stadium built was RFK Stadium in Washington DC. Built in 1961 RFK still stands today and is now the new home of the National League's Washington Nationals. St. Louis' Busch Stadium opened its doors in 1966. Still in the late 60s Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were all looking to erect the same sort of facility.

On June 30, 1970 Cincinnati opened what was then called Riverfront Stadium. Sixteen days later Pittsburgh open Three Rivers Stadium. Finally, Veterans Stadium open in Philadelphia in April of 1971. All of these facilities would ultimately become the home of both Baseball and Football teams.

 On July 16, 1970 after countless delays... the new Stadium opened its doors for its first ever event. Construction work on the facility both inside and outside the Stadium was still on going. Because of a recent rainstorm, in order to get to the game, fans needed to walk on wooded planks placed in the uncompleted muddy parking lots.  Fans at home were able to watch the event on Television as the Pirates relaxed a long-standing blackout of televising home games for the occasion. 

As was the case when Forbes Field opened, so too there would be plenty of hoopla for Three Rivers Stadium inaugural game. There was a 20-car motorcade loaded with dignitaries that wound its way through downtown and Northside during the lunch hour. Fans began gathering near the Stadium as early as noon. The Stadium opened its doors for the first ever event at 6:00 pm. 

People came to the event from near and far. Because the parking lots near the Stadium were not completed, parking was at a premium. Some 5,000 fans used the Gateway Clipper Fleet to get to the game. Most fans parked in town and rode one of the 250 Buses employed on that special occasion. A record number of 16,300 riders used the special stadium run buses on that day. Yet others walked across the bridges to North Side to get to the game. Among those who chose to stroll were Pittsburgh Mayor Pete Flaherty, and his wife Nancy.  

There were plenty of other dignitaries as well. Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, National League President Chub Feeney, Pirate Chairman John Galbreath, Buc President Dan Galbreath, and world famous singer/actor Bing Crosby who was a Pirate Vice President, were in attendance. Pittsburgh native Billy Eckstine, who grew up just blocks away from the new facility, sang the National Anthem.

There was a brief  ceremony where Mayor Flaherty told the crowd. "It's your stadium. Enjoy it."  Hall of Famer, ex Pirate third baseman, Pie Traynor threw out the ceremonial first pitch.  While standing near his seat along the first-base line he made a short toss to Pirate Catcher Manny Sanguillen and told him: "Good luck to you."

As was the case with the opening of Forbes Field there were conflicting reports about the attendance. The crowd was officially listed at 48, 846. But it was later reported that the Pirates had sold all 50, 200 seats. Fans in the crowd were for the most part in awe of the new facility. It was the biggest crowd to ever attend an event in Pittsburgh to date. One fan sitting in the top row of the top tier told a reporter "Wow, what a park. It's sort of scary up here, but I'm getting used to it."

A fan in the box seat section near third base found it hard to believe that the field surface was not grass but tartanturf. After finally being convinced he said, "I'll be."

Not everyone was so impressed though. Greentree native John Gazdik told a Pittsburgh Press reporter. " Everything looks too artificial . . . not like a ballpark should look like. I'm just not that excited about it. Give me Forbes Field." And, an unnamed usher told the same reporter "You don't sit close enough. It's like watching it on color TV." 

There was trouble with the water supply on that day. All of the new facilities' water fountains, toilets and spigots were dry. That didn't stop the fans from enjoying themselves. Beer sales were reportedly very brisk. The opening of Three Rivers Stadium brought the sale of beer back to the ballgame. There had been a ban of Beer sales during the last years of Forbes Field.

Along with all the other new things that came along with the opening day came a brand new uniform for the Pirates. The Bucs donned the first ever knit uniforms. The uniform shirts were the first to have no buttons on the front.  Regarding the new uniforms the report on the front page of the Pittsburgh Press wrote: The Pirates wore eye-catching white uniforms that featured gold and black caps, pullover tops, stretch pants and new design baseball socks.


 Pirate Manager Danny Murtaugh's starting pitcher was Dock Ellis. In the Pirate half of the first inning, third baseman Richie Hebner got the Stadium's first ever hit, a single off Reds starter Gary Nolan. Hebner advanced to second after a Nolan wild pitch. Then, with two outs, Al Oliver smashed a double to right field, scoring Hebner.

The Pirates would hold the 1-0 lead until the fifth inning, when Reds third baseman Tony Perez slammed a 2 run homer off Ellis to give Cincinnati a 2-1 lead. But, the Bucs would even the score in the sixth inning when Pirate slugger Willie Stargell hit his 17th round tripper of the season. The score remained tied until the ninth inning when, when Red first baseman Lee May's single, plated Perez who had singled earlier, and advanced to second after Ellis had issued a walk to Johnny Bench. In the bottom of the ninth the Bucs were retired in order and the Cincinnati Reds won that first ever game at Three Rivers Stadium.

Upon leaving a woman fan quipped. "It was beautiful . . . all except the score and those uniforms."
 
Shortly after Three Rivers Stadium's opened, local baseball fans began realizing that the "Cookie Cutter" stadium lent itself better to football than it did to baseball. During this era, many of the game's venues had changed. Along with the new Stadiums other subtle changes happened as well. Games went from being played in a park, or on a field, into a Stadium. The older facilities like Forbes had grandstands, bleachers and open-ended center fields. Thus allowing for great panoramic views. The 'Cookie Cutter" had confining walls that seemed cold compared to views of buildings and trees that surrounded the older parks. 

Although Three Rivers Stadium took two decades to become a reality it would have a comparatively short time of existence. Yet, in her brief thirty years of existence, Three Rivers Stadium became the home to an unparalleled level of success for the hometown teams. Pittsburgh teams won an unprecedented six World Champion titles during that time. No other "Cookie Cutter" stadium can boast the same level of success, as did Three Rivers Stadium.

The Steelers would win four Super Bowls. They happened  in 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979. The Pirates would win two World Series championships. The Pirates first World Series victory at Three Rivers Stadium occurred in 1971, the other in 1979. In addition to that Three Rivers played host to 7 NFL, AFC championship games, and 9 National League Championship Series.

The two most memorable events to happen in Three Rivers included the "Immaculate Reception," and Roberto Clemente's historic 3000th hit. Both Clemente's hit and Franco Harris' catch happened in the same year. On September 30, 1972 Clemente slashed a double into the gap in left center, and became only the eleventh player in the history of the game to garner 3000 hits in a career. Then, less than two months later, and two days before Christmas, Steeler running back Franco Harris caught a deflected pass from Terry Bradshaw and galloped for a touchdown to give them the victory over their most hated rival, the Oakland Raiders. The Play is widely recognized as the greatest play ever in the NFL.  Tragically, less than two weeks later Clemente was killed in a plane crash while attempting to help victims of a recent earthquake in Nicaragua.

As many Baseball Parks were turning into stadiums that seemed to look alike, so too, were the very symmetrical fences that surrounded the field of play. When Three Rivers opened the, the dimensions were 340 feet down each line, with the power alleys being 385 each, and dead center was 410. In an obvious effort to aid the long ball those dimensions were shortened in 1975 to 335 to the corners, 375 in the alleys, and 400 for straight away center. The fences stood 10 feet high.

Along with the modern Stadiums came other subtle changes that saw the 1970 Pirates being the first team to don knit style uniforms. To go along with those kinds of on field changes came the influence of Television to the game. Until 1971 no World Series game had ever been played under lights. Three Rivers was the host of that first-ever World Series night game. On October 13, 1971 in the fourth game of the Series America watched on in prime time as the Pirates beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 at Three River Stadium.

Three Rivers Stadium hosts two World Series

1970 NLCS:
On October 3, 1970 in it's first year Three Rivers played host to the NLCS. In 1970 the Pirates had won the NL East while the Cincinnati Reds took the West. The first two games of the Series happened in Three Rivers Stadium. The Pirates did not fair well as the Reds swept the scheduled 5 game set by scores of 3-0, 3-1, and 3-2.  In game one in front of 33,088 fans, the Reds scored 3 unanswered runs in the 10th inning. Game two saw the Bucs lose again as Roberto Clemente had the teams only RBI. There were 39,317 fans in attendance. The final game moved to Cincinnati where the Bucs managed to score only 2 runs off RBI singles by Al Oliver and Willie Stargell. The Reds got 2 runs in the opening inning of the contest when Tony Perez and Johnny Bench clubbed back-to-back round trippers. The Reds scored a single run in the eighth inning when Bobby Tolan singled in Ty Cline and gave the Reds a 3-2 lead that would stand.

The 1971 NLCS:
For the second year in a row the Pirates made it into the NLCS. This time the opponent was the San Francisco Giants. The Giants had two problems in this Series. They were Roberto Clemente and Bobby Robertson. The two combined to knock in 10 runs. Robertson had 4 homers. The scheduled 5 game set was won by the Pirates 3-games-to-1. The first two games were in San Francisco. The Giants took the Series opener with a 5-4 win. It would be their only win on the Series. The Bucs would win the next three contests by scores of 9-4, 2-1, and 9-5.  In game three Pirates starter Bob Johnson won a pitcher's duel over Juan Marichal. In game three and four the attendance at Three Rivers were 38,322 and 35,487 respectively.

The 1971 World Series:

In only its second year Three Rivers Stadium was already playing host to the Fall Classic. It would be the Pirates sixth World Series appearance. Three Rivers Stadium would host games, 3, 4, and 5 of the Series and each contest was played before a capacity crowd.  In 1971 their opponent would be the Baltimore Orioles. Both teams had 3 future Hall of Famer's on their rosters. The Birds had Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer , and Frank Robinson. The Bucs had Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente, and Willie Stargell.

On paper this Series looked like a mismatch. The Baltimore Orioles had four great reasons for experts to come to that conclusion. They were Dave McNally, Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar and Pat Dobson.  All four were starting pitchers and all four had won 20 games in the 71 season.  The Birds also had power hitters in Boog Powell and Frank Robinson. Yet, none of these 6 players were regarded the best player on that team. It was their third baseman Brooks Robinson. At the time Robinson was considered to be the best at his position. Experts pointed to his spectacular defensive plays. Offensively, in the 1971 season Robinson had knocked in 92 runs, while batting a solid .272 and clubbing 20 homers.  

What the experts forgot to consider was the stage that became the 1971 Series was the one that Roberto Walker Clemente, the Pirate right fielder, had been looking for since his rookie season in 1955. The proud Clemente was quoted as saying... "Pitch me outside, I will hit .400. Pitch me inside, and you will not find the ball. "  In other words bring on those four 20 game winners. Let's see what happens.
                           
The 1960 World Series hero Bill Mazeroski had only one plate appearance in the 71 Series. But, while collecting his second championship ring, Maz also had the privilege of watching Clemente, the only other holdover from the 1960 team, prove those experts to be dead wrong.  

Clemente, you see, was a rather accomplished fielder himself. In the 71 campaign he had 2 errors on the season. Yup...You read it correctly... two.  In 280 chances he was successful in completing the play 278 times. Of those successful ones, 4 were double plays, and 11 of those were throwing (put-out) assists. With the bat in his hand, he already held 4 batting titles in his 17 seasons in the Big Leagues. In 1971 he didn't win the Batting Title, but he had a  .341 batting average, while knocking in 86 runs. 


The first two games of the Series were held in Baltimore. Things did not go the Bucs way in either of those contests.  In the first game Pirate starter Dock Ellis, who led the Bucs with 19 wins on the season, gave up two homers that resulted in 3 of the 4 runs the Orioles would score off him, in his 2 1/3 innings of work. The O's would get a 5th run when Don Buford went yard in the fifth inning off Pirate reliever Bob Moose. The homer gave the Orioles a 5-3 lead. That lead stood and the Bucs fell behind 1-0 in the Series. In the second game six Buc pitchers gave up 14 hits (all singles), as the O's timely hitting led to an 11-3 final. Hebner hit a 3 run homer in the 8th that accounted for all 3 Pirate runs.

With the Pirates down 2-0 in the Series, games 3, 4, and 5 saw the World Series travel to Pittsburgh and into Three Rivers Stadium. In game 3, with a crowd of 50,403 watching on, the Bucs certainly had their work cut out for them. The Orioles sent Mike Cuellar (20-9) to the mound and the Bucs countered with Steve Blass (15-8). A loss for the Pirates in this contest would dash the hopes of even the most optimistic of Buc fans.

Much to the delight of the hometown crowd Steve Blass pitched a brilliant game. In his 9 innings of work Blass gave up only 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 8 on the day. Baltimore's Frank Robinson hit a solo homer off Blass in the top of the 7th. The Robinson blast cut the Pirate lead to 2-1. But in the bottom half of the 7th inning Pirate first baseman, Bob Robertson hit a 3 run homer off Cuellar to give the Bucs a 5-1 lead. It would more than Blass would need as he shut the Orioles down the rest of the way and the Pirates won their first ever World Series game in Three Rivers Stadium.  Roberto Clemente went 1-for-4 on the day with an RBI and a run scored. It was his 5th hit in the Series.

The following day Three Rivers Stadium would become the home of the first ever World Series night game. In the opening inning Pirate starter Luke Walker was sent to an early shower after he was touched up for 3 runs on 3 hits while retiring only 2 batters. Bruce Kison the 21-year-old right handed side-armer got the call.

Kison kept the Bucs in the contest by pitching one hit ball in his 6 1/3 innings of work.  The Pirates quickly got back into the game as Al Oliver connected on a 2 run double in the Bucs first inning.  Willie Stargell hit a double in the third inning that plated the Bucs third run and the game was tied 3-3. In the seventh inning Milt May stroked a pinch-hit single that broke the tie and the Pirates went ahead 4-3. Pirate relief pitcher Dave Gusti mowed down the Birds in the games last two innings and the Series was tied at 2-2. Clemente was 3-for-4 on the day.

In game five the call went out to Pirate pitcher Nellie Briles. Briles, was a spot starter in the 71 campaign, but was more than up to the task, as he tossed a 2 hitter, and even helped his own cause with an RBI single. The final score was 4-0 and the Pirates now led the Series 3-2. Bobby Robertson hit his second round-tripper of the Series, while Clemente went 1-for-4 with an RBI.  The Pirates now had a record of 3-0 in World Series play in their brand new home Three Rivers Stadium.

Games 6 and 7 the series moved to Baltimore. The Pirates still had their work cut out for them.  In game six, Clemente batted 2-for-4 with a solo home run but it wasn't enough. Locked in a 2-2 contest the game went into extra innings. The Orioles took the game in the bottom of the 10th after Frank Robinson walked, and took third on a Marv Rettenmund single up the middle. He scored the game winner on a sacrifice fly to center. The Series was now deadlocked at 3 games apiece.

Just as in game three the starters for game seven were Cuellar and Blass. With the game scoreless in the fourth inning Clemente drilled a Cuellar offering over the left-center wall to give the Bucs the lead 1-0. The score remained the same until the eighth inning when Jose Pagan doubled home Willie Stargell, who had just singled. With the Pirates holding a 2-0 lead the Orioles scored in the bottom half of the inning. The Birds had put runners on second and third with only one out. Blass surrendered only one run in the frame when Don Buford plated Elrod Hendricks on a ground out. Blass went on to retire the Orioles one-two-three in the ninth inning and The Bucs were World Champions for the fourth time in six appearances in the Fall Classic.

 Blass had a terrific performance on the seven game Series, as he tossed two complete game victories and gave up only 2 runs in his 18 innings of work. But it was Roberto Clemente who was named the Series MVP. Clemente batted .419 (12-for-29) had two homers and 4 RBI. Just as he did in the 1960 World Series Clemente had hit safely in every game. His clutch hitting performance backed up the challenge Clemente had presented to the Orioles historic four 20 game winning pitching staff. 

Back Row: Jim Nelson, Milt May, Bob Moose, Nelson Briles, Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Bob Veale, Bob Johnston, Dock Ellis, Bob Robertson, Richie Hebner, Roberto Clemente
Middle Row: Team Physician Dr Joseph Finegold, Trainer Tony Bartirome, Bill Mazeroski, Jackie Hernandez, Dave Cash, Gene Alley, Gene Clines, Willie Stargell, Dave Giusti, Al Oliver, Luke Walker, Charlie Sands, Traveling Secretary John Fitzpatrick, Equipment Manager John Hallahan
Front Row: Vic Davalillo, Jose Pagan, Coach Bill Virdon, Coach Don Leppert, Coach Frank Oceak, Manager Danny Murtaugh, Coach Don Osborn, Coach Dave Ricketts, Steve Blass, Manny Sanguillen
 

1979 NLCS:
Just as he had done throughout the season, in the 79 NLCS Series, Pirate first baseman Willie Stargell had single handedly lifted his team with his magical bat. In the opening game against the Reds, "Pops" hit an 11th inning, 3 run shot that not only won the game, but also set the tone for the Series. Dave Parker won the second contest with a clutch RBI single in the 10th inning. The third game was the only 79 NLCS game played at Three Rivers Stadium. It was sealed when Stargell smashed a two run homer in the 4th that gave the Bucs a 6-0 lead. The Bucs would win that game by a 7-1 score, and clinch a World Series berth for the second time in the decade. The Pitching staff gave up only 5 runs in the 3 games.  Stargell was named the series MVP. Against the Reds, Stargell had exploded for 2 homers, and 6 RBI, while going 5-for-11 (.455 BA).       

The 1979 World Series:
The 79 Series would feature the Bucs and Birds again. This World Series would include 3 future Hall of Famers. Baltimore had two, in Jim Palmer, and Eddie Murry, while the Bucs had Willie Stargell.  Just as it did in the 71 Series Three Rivers Stadium would host games 3, 4, and 5. All three contests were played before sold out crowds.

Both The Pirates and the Orioles came into the Series on fire. The Orioles brushed off the California Angles in the ALCS 3-1. The Bucs on the other hand did not need 4 games to dispatch the Reds. Despite the Pirates impressive 3 game sweep of the "Big Red Machine", most experts were expecting the Os to take the Series. After all the Orioles had won 102 games in 79.

The Orioles of 79 did not have 4 starters with 20 wins each but their pitching staff was the backbone of the team. In the 79 campaign the O's staff  led the junior circuit with an ERA of 3.26. There were 6 pitchers on the Orioles staff with 10 or more wins. To go along with the great hurlers the Birds had 3 hitters with 25 or more homers.

Again, as was the case in the 71 Series what the experts failed to consider was the determination of a single player who played for their senior circuit opponents. Heading into the 1979 season most of those same experts believed that Pirate first baseman Willie Stargell at the age of 39 had more than lost a step. In the 1977 and 78 seasons the aging Stargell had missed 139 games due to injury. But in 79 Stargell proved the experts wrong. Despite missing 36 games the man who his fellow teammates affectionately referred to as "Pops" played well enough to earn a co-MVP honors from the National League.  Other players may have had more impressive stats but none could match his uncanny ability to get big hits in special moments.

Stargell was the Pirate fun loving leader on the field and in the clubhouse. A clubhouse full of players who were such a close group that that by the time the World Series began the name of " Fam-A-Lee" was their handle. A popular song by Sister Sledge We are Family became the teams' theme song. The city of Pittsburgh was intoxicated by the teams' magic and the song added tremendously to the fervor.

 Yet another thing the experts ignored was that the Pirates were the best hitting team in the NL. Pirate right-fielder Dave Parker led the team in almost ever-important offensive category. Additionally, the Bucs staff also had 6 pitchers with 10 or more wins.

Often times in the month of October the weather can be a factor and during the 1979 Series the weatherman did not cooperate. Games were being played at temperatures in the mid thirties. The Series would see the teams opening with the first two games in Baltimore. The next three would come to Three Rivers Stadium and the final two (if needed) would return to Baltimore.  

In game one Pirate pitcher Bruce Kison would manage to record only one out in the first inning, while giving up 5 runs (4 earned) to the Birds. Kison left the game with an injury. While 5 Pirate pitchers would combine to limit the Orioles to only 3 hits and no runs the rest of the way, the Bucs made a gallant try to make a comeback. The Bucs scored two unearned runs that cut the Baltimore lead to 5-3. In the eighth Stargell hit a solo shot that would bring the Bucs closer at 5-4. In the ninth inning the Bucs would threaten but could not pull out the victory.

The second game saw a pitchers duel. The Pirates Bert Blyleven gave up only 2 runs in his six innings of work, while Baltimore's Jim Palmer allowed 2 runs in 7 innings. In a 2-2 contest Manny Sanguillen got an RBI pinch single that gave the Bucs a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth inning. Don Robinson who had shut out the Birds in the seventh and eighth innings was the winning pitcher. Bucs reliever Kent Tekulve earned the save by sending the Orioles down in order in the ninth.

In game three, the first game of the Series at Three Rivers, things did not go well for the home-team. The Orioles roughed up Pirate starter John Candelaria and reliever Enrique Romo for 7 runs. The Orioles would go on to win the game by an 8-4 score before 50,848 fans. Willie Stargell would go 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the losing cause. The Birds now held a 2-1 lead in the Series.

In game four the two teams found themselves in a contest that appeared to be going the Bucs way. With a 4 run burst in the second inning the Bucs were off to a good start. Heading into the top of the eighth inning the Bucs held a 6-3 lead. All of that would swiftly change as the Birds would pummel Don Robinson, and Kent Tekulve with 6 runs on 5 hits. The outburst proved to be too much as the Orioles would take game four by the score of 9-6 in front of another sellout crowd of 50,883. Pirate bats would bang out 17 hits in but it was not enough as the Birds now held a commanding 3-1 edge in the Series.

In game one Pirate Starter Bruce Kison was injured and from there it seemed, with the exception of Blyleven's solid performance in game two, nothing was going right for the Buc's pitching staff. In the first four games the Pirates had to call upon the bullpen 12 times. Most of those outings were unsuccessful. The bullpen staff was weary for all the wear, and just as important, because their best performers were getting pounded. Now with the team on the brink of being eliminated at home and needing to go to the overworked bullpen again to find a starter for game five. The Orioles on the other hand were having things their way. The Pirates would face the Os 23 game winner in Mike
Flanagan, in game five.

The call went out to journeyman 37-year-old left-hander Jim Rooker, who had won only 4 games in his 16 starts in 79.  With the Pirate pitching staff needing a rest and the team desperate for a win to stay alive in the Series, Rooker promptly retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced.  But in the fifth inning he gave up a single run.  The Bucs trailed 1-0. Rooker was pinch hit for in the fifth inning and the Pirate manager Chuck Tanner played one his hunches. He called upon starter Bert Blyleven to keep the Orioles at bay.  

In the bottom of the sixth trailing by a run the Pirate bats went to work. Over the next three innings the Bucs would score 7 unanswered runs against Flanagan and three Orioles relievers. They would nickel and dime them. Pirate shortstop Tim Foli was 2-for-4 with 3 RBI, as third baseman Bill Matlock went 4-for-4. The Pirates had improved to 2-3 in the fall classic, but now needed to win two games on the road in Baltimore. The game would be the final World Series event ever at Three Rivers Stadium. The crowd of 50,920 fans would go home a winner. Just as important the fans now seemed to share the same sort of optimism that the team felt.

We are Family was far from finished though. And the teams captain Willie Stargell let the media know that. In the first 5 games the Pirates had averaged 12 hits per game. He told reporters, "We can hit, and if the weather cooperates, and we get some pitching, we'll be just fine. "

In game six the Pirates handed the ball to lefty John Candelaria. The "Candy Man" turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. He pitched 6 scoreless innings before being pulled for a pinch hitter. But Orioles starter Jim Palmer had been just as effective. After six innings the score was 0-0. In the top of the seventh the Buc bats started to click and just as in game five they were scoring runs via the single and the sacrifice fly. They followed up the 2 run seventh with another "Punch and Judy" routine. When the game was finished the score was 4-0 as Tekulve blanked the Birds over the final three innings while giving up only one hit. After 6 games all things were even.

In game seven another pitching duel was underway. The Os were first to draw blood. In the bottom of the third inning they scored on a solo home run by second baseman Rich Dauer. Pirate starter Jim Bibby pitched only 4 frames but had surrendered only 1 run on 3 hits. The score remained 1-0 Baltimore until the top of the sixth inning. With a runner on first Willie Stargell stepped to the plate. With all the drama that is the World Series, here was Stargell’s chance to work his magic once again. He clubbed a shot in to the nighttime air that would clear the fence and give the Bucs a 2-1 lead.

The game was far from being over but for most Pirate fans that had so enjoyed this 79 team somehow knew that nothing could stop the Fam_A_Lee now. Three Pirate relievers Don Robinson, Grant Jackson and Tekulve shut out the Birds while allowing only one hit in the final five innings. The Bucs put a punctuation mark on the victory by scoring 2 more runs in the ninth inning.

Willie Stargell had won it all. He was the NL season Co-MVP, the NLCS MVP, and now was the World Series MVP. In the Series he went 12-for-30 (.400 BA) with 3 home runs and 7 RBI. Pirate closer Kent Tekulve had three saves. Tim Foli, Dave Parker, Bill Matlock and Phil Garner all batted over .300 on the Series. Garner was an astounding 12-for-24 with 5 RBI.           

Back Row: Bill Robinson, Bert Blyleven, Omar Moreno, Dave Parker, John Candelaria, Jim Bibby, Kent Tekulve, Willie Stargell, Bruce Kison, Don Robinson
Middle Row: Grant Jackson (obscured), Rennie Stennett, Matt Alexander, Manny Sanguillen, Tim Foli, John Milner, Mike Easler, Dale Berra, Lee Lacy, Rick Rhoden, Traveling Secretary Charles Muse
Bench Row: Ed Whitson, Trainor Tony Bartirome, Coach Al Monchak, Coach Harvey Haddix, Manager Chuck Tanner, Coach Bob Skinner, Coach Joe Lonnett, Jim Rooker, Enrique Romo
Seated on Ground: Steve Nicosia, Batboy Steve Hallahan, Batboy Steve Graff, Phil Garner, Ed Ott
Missing from picture: Bill Madlock, Dave Roberts  
MLB 1969 Expansion creates A new Playoff Format

MLB 1969 Expansion creates A new Playoff Format
 
In 1969 Baseball welcomed 4 new teams into the league. Both the American League and National League added 2 teams. The expansion meant that each league would have 12 franchises. With the introduction of the new teams came a brand new format. For the first time in the history of Major League Baseball teams would be placed into 2 divisions in each league.  1968 was the last season where all ten teams in each league played for their respective Pennants.

The expansion created two divisions in each league. They would be called the Eastern and Western divisions. Each division had 6 teams that would vie for the divisional title. The new format would match the Western Division champions against the Eastern Division champions in a playoff to determine the Pennant winner for each league.

The Pirates would win a total of 9 Eastern Division Titles. All of those happened while the team called Three Rivers Stadium home. The Pirates managed to win only 2 National League Pennants. In both the 1971 and 1979 seasons the Pirates would win the National League Pennant. Both times the team would ultimately prevail in the World Series.  

Of the remaining 7 post-season appearances the Pirates would lose to the Cincinnati Reds 4 times. In the 1970, 72, 75 and 1990 seasons the Reds would eliminate the Pirates. In 1974 NLCS playoff the Pirates lost to the Dodgers.  In 1991 and 92 The Pirates came up short to the Atlanta Braves.

Of all of those playoff losses there were 2 that were particularly painful.

1972 and 1992 the most memorable playoff losses
In 1972 the Pirates were the defending World Champions. In the regular season they compiled a record of 96-59 and easily won the Eastern Division championship. Their opponent was the Cincinnati Reds who posted a 95-59 mark while winning the Western Division. The series was deadlocked at 2-2 and game five would determine the National League Pennant.

The fifth game of the series was held at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium. The Pirates took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. The Reds scored in the third inning on a solo homer by Cesar Geronimo cutting the lead to 2-1. The Pirates scored a single run in the fourth inning to take a 3-1 lead. In the Reds fifth inning Pete Rose socked a run producing double and the score was now 3-2 Pittsburgh

The score would remain the same until the Reds ninth inning. The picture looked bright, as the Bucs would send star relief pitcher Dave Giusti to the mound to shut down the "Big Red Machine". But, Red catcher Johnny Bench lead off the inning and greeted Giusti with a solo home run, and tied the score at 3 apiece.  Giusti then, gave up back-to-back singles placing runners on first and second.

Bob Moose then replaced Giusti. Moose retired Geronimo on a fly out to right field. Bob Foster who was a pinch runner advanced to third on the play. Darrel Channey then made the second out in the inning when he popped out to short and runners remained at the corners. But Moose, while facing pinch hitter Hal McRae, would throw a wild pitch in the dirt that would get past Pirate catcher Manny Sanguillen allowing Foster to score the Series winning run.

Twenty years later the Pirates found themselves in the same kind of situation, this time against the Atlanta Braves. They were holding a lead while heading into the games final frame. With the score 2-0 Pirates and ace Doug Drabeck on the mound, things appeared to be going the Bucs way. But Drabek gave up a leadoff double to Terry Pendleton. Then Dave Justice got on base after error by Buc second baseman Jose Lind. Drabek then issued Sid Bream a walk to load the bases. Stan Belinda replaced Drabek and Ron Gant lifted a sacrifice fly to left that scored Pendleton. Belinda then dug an even deeper hole when he walked Damon Berryhill and loaded the bases again. Brave pinch hitter Brian Hunter was retired on a pop out to short. The Pirates were now only one out away from winning the series. The next batter Francisco Cabera singled to left and plated Justice and Bream. Bream an ex Pirate who was a notoriously slow runner managed to score all the way from second despite a gallant try by Pirate left fielder Barry Bonds to gun down the chugging first baseman. The Braves had won 3-2 and for the Pirates it was the last time the team would play in a post-season contest.   

Pittsburgh Pirate Championships

Three Rivers Stadium Time-line and facts

Upper deck homers
The upper deck at Three Rivers Stadium was 70 feet off the ground. It became a target for power hitters. Pirate slugger Willie Stargell accomplished the feat 4 times. In the Stadiums first two years he clubbed three of the towering shots. Bobby Robertson and Bobby Bonilla are the only two other Pirates to accomplish the feat. Stargell hit his fourth upper decker on May 31, 1973.

Seven different players accomplished the feat eight other times. Jeff Bagwell was the only player other than Stargell to do it more than once. Bagwell did in once in 1991 and again in 1996. The Philadelphia Phillies Greg Luzinski connected on the longest shot in a regular game. His ball was measured at 483 feet.

During the home run derby at the 1994 All Star game Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas sent a ball soaring a whopping 519 in the contest.

No Hitters

Pittsburgh had never witnessed a no-hitter. But on August 14, 1971 finally it happened. Future Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, of the St Louis Cardinals, threw a no hit game against the Pirates.

Five years later John Candelaria tossed a no hitter by shutting out the Dodgers 2-0 on August 9, 1976. It was the first no hitter ever pitched by a Pirate pitcher in Pittsburgh.

Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon tossed the first ever combined, extra inning no-hitter on July 12, 1997 The Pirates won 3-0 over the Houston Astros.  The night also held a salute to Jackie Robinson. The Pirates and every other team in Baseball retired Robinson’s # 42. The gesture was a salute to Robinson who broke the racial barrier for good. 

Three Rivers Stadium Time-line

1970: The Honus Wagner Statue (Gate C) and the Dreyfuss Memorial Gate A) are moved to Three Rivers Stadium.

July 16 1970: Three Rivers Stadium opens The Bucs lose to the Reds 3-2

September 1, 1970: The Pirates field what is believed to be the first ever all minority lineup

October 13, 1970: The first World Series Night game. The Bucs win the game 4-3

September 30, 1972: Roberto Clemente becomes only the 11th player in Baseball history to get 3000 hits.

December 23, 1972: Franco Harris makes the Immaculate Reception

April 6, 1973: The Pirates retire the Roberto Clemente's No. 21 There were 51,695 fans in attendance 

July 23, 1974: Three Rivers Stadium is the home of the All Star Game. The National League wins 7-2

September 16, 1975: Rennie Stennent goes 7-for-7 in a single game. It is a modern day major league record.

April 10, 1976: Longtime Pirate play-by-play announcer Lanny Frattare broadcasts his first ever game for the Bucs.

July 4, 1976: Phillies catcher Tim McCarver hits a grand slam but is called out when he passes a teammate on the base paths- It is the Nations 100th Birthday.

August 9, 1976: John Candelaria tosses the first-ever no hitter by a Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher in Pittsburgh. The Bucs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0. It was Three Rivers Stadiums 500th game.

August 5, 1979: Pirate Manager Chuck Tanner pulls catcher Steve Nicosia who was 4-for-4 on the day and replaces him with John Milner. Milner promptly slugged a grand slam that leads to a come from behind victory. The win is believed to propel the Pirates on to the National League Pennant.

May 3, 1985: Long time Pirate Broadcaster Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Prince is honored. The aging Prince was suffering from cancer at the time. He announces his last ever baseball game. Prince was fired 10 years earlier in what was reported as one of the most inexplicable decisions in Pirates history. The Bucs go on to beat the Dodgers 16-2

1985: The Cocaine Scandal... The Pirate Clubhouse at Three Rivers Stadium is said to have cocaine use occurring inside its doors. Many Pirates are implicated. Pirate parrot mascot is known to be involved. 

August 11, 1985: Three Rivers Stadium holds its largest crowd ever. 65,935 attend a Bruce Springsteen concert

April 18, 1987: Mike Schmidt hits his 500th homer. 

Oct. 7, 1990: A statue honoring Steelers founder Art Rooney is dedicated.

September 22, 1992: Phillies infielder Mickey Morandini makes an unassisted triple play against the Pirates.

July 8, 1994: The Statue of Roberto Clemente is unveiled.

July 12, 1994: Three Rivers Stadium is the home of the 65th All Star Game The largest crowd ever to watch Baseball in Pittsburgh is in attendance. The crowd of 59,568 also was treated to the recently unveiled bronze statue of Roberto Clemente.

1995: The city celebrated 25 years of baseball at Three Rivers Stadium.

February 14, 1996: Kevin McClatchy heads up a group of financial partners that buy the Pittsburgh Pirates. The sale ensures the team will remain in Pittsburgh.


July 12, 1997: Francisco Cordova (nine innings) and Ricardo Rincon (one inning) combine to pitch a no hitter. It is the first ever combined no hitter, extra inning in MLB history. The Pirates win the game in dramatic fashion when pinch hitter Mark Smith hits a three run homer. 

 1997: Gate C area is revamped. The Honus Wagner statue moves down toward the river... ticket booths/turnstiles are also moved. 

1997: The stadium replaces the field-level seats. The new seats have a cup-holder and offer more room for the fan.

April 7, 1999: PNC Park holds its ceremonial groundbreaking. The Sixth Street Bridge is renamed the Roberto Clemente Bridge.

October 1, 2000: Pirate Hall of Famer Willie Stargell throws out the final ceremonial pitch. The ailing Stargell is presented in a surprise fashion much to the enjoyment of the fans. The crowd of 55,351 is the largest regular season game crowd ever at a Baseball game in Pittsburgh. The Pirates fall 10-9 to the Cubs.

December 12, 2000: The Pittsburgh Steelers play the final game at three Rivers Stadium.

The fate of Three Rivers Stadium is sealed

Even from its beginning Three Rivers Stadium seemed to be doomed. The multi-purpose Stadium was not well suited for baseball. It was better suited for football but still, even the Steelers had issues regarding the facility. In the early nineties nearly every city that had the multi-purpose stadium sat up and took notice when the Baltimore Orioles moved into Camden Yards.  

On April 6, 1992 Camden Yards opened its doors and a new era of Baseball only parks began. Two years later in 1994 Jacobs Field open in Cleveland. The movement away from the multi-purpose facility was well under way. The new parks were built in the classic style of the old parks like Pittsburgh's Forbes Field. Additionally, these new parks gave their teams much more revenue than the outdated cookie-cutter Stadiums could not. Fans were impressed as both Camden Yards, and Jacobs Field held capacity crowds every game.

The fans loved the new Parks because they offered the charm of the old style parks. Gone were the symmetrically rounded fences, and artificial turf, that had caused many athletes to become injured. Manicured grass, and fences that were unique to each park replaced them.

Even the most venerated multi-purpose Stadium of all, the Houston Astrodome, was scheduled for the wrecking ball. In the 1993 baseball in Pittsburgh was in big trouble. The ownership group that had hastily bought the team from the Galbreath family was eager to sell the Pirates. There were rumors that an out of town group would buy the franchise and move it to another city.

The ownership group saw the salaries of baseball players skyrocketing. Many of the stars of the successful teams that
won three consecutive division titles in the early nineties were either already gone or finishing up their contracts. A new owner would have to be found. Baseball fans in Pittsburgh were worried. They wondered... How could Pittsburgh lose its baseball team that had played here for over 100 years?

Among the potential buyers was John Rigas. Rigas was the owner of the Television cable company Adelphia Communications Corp. But his offer did not include enough cash for Major League Baseball, so that deal fell through.

 Then, along came Kevin McClatchy and his group of investors. The 36-year-old McClatchy was from Sacramento, Calif., and many thought he was eager to grab the franchise and take it to the west coast with him. Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy and his baseball counsel, Bill Newlin, were anxious to know if McClatchy was sincere about keeping the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

The three men sat down and discussed the matter in early September of 1995. After emerging from their meetings Newlin told Robert Dvorchak of the Post-Gazette.

"We had a three-day window to make up our minds on whether we’d back this guy," Newlin said. "We had to get to know him as a person first. We wanted to know what was in his heart. We made a people judgment. We couldn’t have picked a better person."

Soon after the meeting Murphy and McClatchy agreed to a lease. But McClatchy was seeking a new baseball only park like Camden Yards and Jacobs Field. McClatchy told the media "I knew I couldn’t make this thing work long-term in Three Rivers Stadium." 
 
Yet, problems still stood in the way of the sale. Major League Baseball still needed to approve the sale and on October 25, 1995, National League President Len Coleman made the announcement that the city’s lack of commitment for a new ballpark could kill the sale.

In the beginning of the negotiation process a new park was believed to be an important part of the deal but now Major League Baseball was requiring it. If the Pirates were to remain in Pittsburgh a new park would need to be built, and the City of Pittsburgh would have to promise to have the funding in place.

While McClatchy continued to seek more investors, Newlin went to work on acquiring the funds for a new park. Then, on November 8, 1995 Major League Baseball gave a preliminary approval to McClatchy’s offer. Yet, the league was still not satisfied with City's timetable for building a new park. Murphy promptly promised to build the park even before having any funds in place. The City of Pittsburgh was required to have the new facility built by opening day of 2001. A clause was included that if the timetable was off course McClatchy would be able to trigger an escape clause.

The deal was finalized on Feb. 14, 1996. McClatchy's Pittsburgh Pirates Acquisition Inc. had purchased the Pirates for $90 million. The deal set the wheels in motion to a new baseball park in Pittsburgh. With that in place now Three Rivers Stadium days were numbered.

Three Rivers Stadium in its brief thirty-year history had played to many a full house. Now fans were informed that the cookie cutter facility would be imploded. On that fateful day fans could watch on, as she would come tumbling to the ground. On Sunday February 11, 2001, Pittsburghers watched on as 2700 timed explosions that lasted for about 10 seconds. 4800 pounds of dynamite imploded the building. The event took only 19 seconds.

 "This is a very bittersweet day for me," Mayor Tom Murphy told the media. "I remember being here at the last baseball game of the '95 season when we weren't sure that we were even going to have a team anymore."

They Bombed it! 

In April of 2001 PNC Park opened it's doors. While on my way to watch the first game at PNC, I asked my younger brother Mike, who has Down syndrome, what had happened to Three Rivers Stadium? "They bombed it, he replied. He was delighted on this day in particular because his beloved Pirates were staying in Pittsburgh and he would now be able to watch his favorite team in a brand new Park    

On to PNC Park