PNC Park - Former Pitt. Ballparks Page 1 - Forbes Field
Three Rivers Stadium
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Pirate and Future Hall of Fame Baseball Great Roberto
Clemente made his historic 3,000 hit on September 30, 1972.
Doug Harvey, umpire, is shown handing him the ball on the field.
Courtesy citizensmedal.com
Groundbreaking: April 25, 1968
First National League game: July 16, 1970 (Reds 3, Pirates 2)
First NFL game: September 20, 1970 (Oilers 19, Steelers 7)
Last NFL game: December 16, 2000
Last National League game: October 1, 2000
Implosion: February 11, 2001
Surface: Tartanturf, 1970-82 (Full-dirt infield 1970-72); Astroturf, 1983-2000
Baseball capacity: 47,971 (With tarps); 59,000 (True capacity); 61,000 (football)
Architects: Deeter Ritchy Sipple, Michael Baker, Jr. and Osborn Engineering
Construction: Huber, Hunt & Nichols
Owner: City of Pittsburgh
Cost: $55 million ($35 million actual construction cost; $20 million land acquisition & site development)
Dimensions:
Foul lines: 340 ft (1970), 335 ft (1975)
Power alleys: 385 ft (1970), 375 ft (1975)
Center field: 410 ft (1970), 400 ft (1975)
Height of fences: 10 ft
Hosted World Series: 1971, 1979
Hosted All-Star Game: 1974, 1994
Unlike Forbes Field, which was built in four months, Three Rivers Stadium would require more than two years. Also unlike Forbes Field, the cost would be many times higher: $55 million compared to $2 million. The elctronic scoreboard alone would set the city back $1.5 million.
The multi-tier facility overlooking the formation of the Ohio River was ready for occupancy on July 16, 1970. It recieved its baptism by night and 48,846 attended the rites. They discovered a symmetrical arena, a synthetic turf and baselines measuring 340 feet to the foul poles, 385 feet in the power alleys and 410 feet to center field. They also saw the Pirates drop a 3-2 decision to the Cincinnati Reds. Shades of the Forbes Field inaugural 61 years earlier.
Photo courtesy baseballtrips.net
5 Great Moments at Three Rivers Stadium
Courtesy of The Sporting News
The end of the Pirates' 1972 regular season didn't have much suspense in terms of postseason implications -- Pittsburgh had already clinched the NL East. However, the 13,119 fans at Three Rivers Stadium for this Saturday afternoon game against the New York Mets were hoping to see Pirates star Roberto Clemente become the 11th member of the 3,000-hit club.
Clemente almost got hit No. 3,000 in the first inning on Sept. 29. He reached safely on a high bouncer that was bobbled by Mets second baseman Ken Boswell. Clemente thought it was a hit but the official scorer, Luke Quay, charged Boswell with an error. Clemente would later say scorers around the league had robbed him of two batting titles during his career.
In the season's last game, Clemente delivered. In the fourth inning, Clemente doubled off New York lefthander Jon Matlack into the left-center field gap. After the game, Clemente said, "I dedicated the hit to the Pittsburgh fans and to the people in Puerto Rico."
This great moment became bittersweet just three months later when Clemente was killed in a plane crash delivering earthquake relief to Nicaragua.
2. Mike Schmidt hits his 500th home run (April 18, 1987)
Although Schmidt's 500th career homer may not have brought great joy to Pittsburgh fans, it was still one of the most significant events at Three Rivers Stadium.
The Phillies had a comfortable 5-0 lead over the Pirates, but Pittsburgh rallied for six runs in the bottom of the eighth, the last three on a home run by Johnny Ray, to take a 6-5 lead.
In the ninth, Juan Samuel kept the game alive for the Phillies with a hard slide into second base to break up a potential a game-ending double play. After a walk to Von Hayes, the Phils had two on and two out, and Schmidt came to the plate looking for his 500th homer and a chance to win the game.
Pirates reliever Don Robinson fell behind 3-0. Schmidt pounded the next pitch over the wall in left for No. 500 and an 8-6 Phillies victory. After the game, Schmidt told reporters the homer was "the greatest thrill of my lifetime."
3. Game 4 of the 1971 World Series (Oct. 13, 1971)
The first night game in World Series history was a thrilling one for Pittsburgh fans. The Pirates, playing in their first Fall Classic since 1960, lost the first two games of the Series at Baltimore but won Game 3, 5-1, on a three-hitter by Steve Blass.
In Game 4, Pirates starter Luke Walker gave up three runs, thanks in part to a pair of infield singles and a passed ball, and was pulled after just two-thirds of an inning. Pittsburgh came back in its half of the first with RBI doubles by Willie Stargell and Al Oliver to make the score 3-2. Oliver tied the game with an RBI single in the third.
The Pirates then took the lead, 4-3, in the seventh on an RBI single from Milt May. Pirates relievers Bruce Kison and Dave Giusti pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit –- a double in the second -- to give Pittsburgh a 4-3 win and even the series at 2.
Pittsburgh won Game 5 at Three Rivers 5-0 before heading back to Baltimore. After losing Game 6, 3-2, the Pirates won the world championship with a 2-1 victory in Game 7.
4. Smith's homer saves no-hitter (July 12, 1997)
In 1997, the Pirates weren't expected to be close to .500, much less first place, but before their game against the Astros on July 12, Pittsburgh was just one game back of Houston in the NL Central standings.
For the first time in the history of Three Rivers, the stadium was sold out for a game that wasn't the home opener, and the Pirates didn't disappoint their fans.
Pittsburgh starter Francisco Cordova pitched nine no-hit innings, but when Cordova got the third out in the ninth, there was no wild celebration. Instead, the Astros took the field for the bottom half of the inning because the Pirates had also failed to score. Cordova threw 121 pitches, and Pittsburgh manager Gene Lamont had no choice but to pull Cordova despite his great performance. Pirates reliever Ricardo Rincon pitched a perfect 10th to keep the no-hitter alive.
In the bottom of the 10th, the Pirates had two on and two out when Lamont summoned Mark Smith to pinch hit. Smith hit a pitch off Astros reliever John Hudek into the third level of seats in left field for a 3-0 Pittsburgh win and the first combined extra-inning no-hitter in major league history.
5. Milner's grand slam beats Phillies (Aug. 5, 1979)
The Pirates were in a tight race for the NL East pennant with the Montreal Expos and were wrapping up a five-game series with the Phillies, who were very much in the race and had won the division the past three years. Pittsburgh won the first three games and the series was finishing up with a Sunday doubleheader.
In the first game, Philadelphia's Greg Luzinksi hit a grand slam to help put Philadelphia on top 8-3. The Bucs then rallied against Steve Carlton and tied the game 8-8. In the bottom of the ninth, the Pirates had the bases loaded and one out. Steve Nicosia, who was 4-for-4 in the game, was the scheduled batter, but Pittsburgh manager Chuck Tanner decided to pinch-hit with John Milner. The Phillies brought in reliever Tug McGraw, and Milner belted McGraw’s first pitch for a game-winning grand slam. The Pirates won the second game, 5-2, to complete a five-game sweep, but many credit Milner's slam as the hit that led the Pirates to the division title.
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"Franco's Immaculate Reception," Steelers fan John Flanigan said without hesitation. "At that time it was the greatest play ever. It's still the greatest play."
It's described in the NFL Insider, the league's stadium program, as The Immaculate Reception (12/23/72). The most famous play in Steelers and possibly NFL history.
That's it. No recap of what happened. No retelling of the story of Jack Tatum and John "Frenchy" Fuqua and Franco Harris. No need.
The play has been replayed throughout NFL history. And the debate still rages on what exactly happened.
In 1972 if a forward pass touched an offensive player, it had to touch a defensive player before another offensive player could legally catch the ball. Intended to discourage tip plays, the rule put the Immaculate Reception in dispute.
The Raiders will tell you the 4th-down pass from quarterback Terry Bradshaw hit Fuqua last before Harris miraculously grabbed the ball just before it touched the turf at Three Rivers. The Steelers will tell you the ball hit Tatum.
The few people who know for sure have kept it a secret.
As for the fans in Three Rivers that day, Flanigan says, they had no idea, "not until he scored."
Fifty-nine year old Ray Friem offered a similar account.
"I was just standing and shocked, trying to figure out what happened. I saw the pass. I saw it hit Tatum or Fuqua or whoever it hit," he explains. "For a second it got real quiet and then the place erupted."
But in 30 seasons of football and baseball -- Pittsburgh's Pirates also called Three Rivers home -- the stadium has meant more than just the Immaculate Reception to most fans.
"The Immaculate Reception. When Miami beat us with the fake kick," said fan Bill Seaman. "There's got to be 30 or 40 games that stand out. To pick one is tough."
One fan recalled a 1979 game against Houston in a blizzard. Another remembered the silence in the place after losing the 1994 AFC Championship Game to San Diego on the final play.
For many of the younger Steelers fans, it's the 1995 AFC Championship Game that stands out. That game came down to the final play when a Hail Mary pass by Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jim Harbaugh fell just out of the reach of wide receiver Aaron Bailey.
The play marked another one where the fans were in the dark about what exactly happened.
"We were in the corner of the end zone where the play happened, and we couldn't tell," Jason Morelli, 24, said.
Said Paul Zaitz: "I didn't know [what happened]. But after the play I saw all the towels flying through the air."
And seeing the yellow Terrible Towels, a Pittsburgh staple since the '70s, was surely an indication that the Steelers had won.
On Saturday, they waved a final time in Three Rivers. The crowd chanted Dee-Fense one last time as former Steelers enjoyed one more standing ovation at Three Rivers. And most fans approached the closing of the old park with mixed emotions.
"I didn't think it was necessary," said Daren DeArmit of building a new stadium. "There isn't a bad seat in the house."
But that won't stop Steelers fans from heading to the new place in droves, and trying to re-create the magic of Three Rivers right next door.
Sam and Dawn Spence, Pittsburgh residents and long-time Steelers and Pirates fans, have just one special request.
"The nachos," Sam said. "They better have the same nachos at the new place."
Brian Murphy, a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is covering the NFL on TSN's Ultimate Road Trip. Reach him at tsnbrian@aol.com.
Q&A with Steve Blass
TSN: You played at Forbes Field and Three Rivers Stadium. What did you think of Three Rivers when it first opened?
Blass: Well, we were very excited. Even though Forbes was a plus for the pitchers, it was like a 1,000 years old. Everything about Three Rivers was new and exciting, including air-conditioning in the clubhouses.
It was an exciting time. Anything new is exciting and we were curious about what it was going to be like to play on Astroturf. We also knew we had a pretty good team taking shape.
As a pitcher, I knew the ball was going to fly a little better because the walls at Three Rivers didn't have those big numbers like Forbes. I also knew the faster surface was going to lead to more hits.
However, there were some things that happened that we hadn't thought about. As a pitcher, you were able to get a lot more double-play ground balls. Also, sometimes hits would get to the outfielders so fast that runners would have to be held up at third.
TSN: What was your favorite memory of Three Rivers as a player?
Blass: I would have to say when I threw a three-hitter in Game 3 of the 1971 World Series (against Baltimore) when we were down two games to none.
Another kind of more subtle memory was after we won the seventh game in Baltimore. We got back into Pittsburgh late and we were going to have a Big party on a yacht but to get there we had to walk through Three Rivers. Well, there was some kind of competition between these marching bands, so it was a real surreal experience. We're walking across the field after winning the World Series and there are all these marching bands around. It was kind of a weird scene.
TSN: What was your favorite memory of Three Rivers as a broadcaster?
Blass: Well, one of the most exciting was back in 1997 with (Francisco) Cordova and (Ricardo) Rincon teaming up for a no-hitter and Mark Smith hitting a home run in the 10th inning to win it.
The playoff game in 1992 where Bob Walk beat the Braves was a great one -- I have never heard so much noise. The portable bleaches they brought out that were normally used for football were shaking up and down it was so loud.
TSN: If there was something you could take home from Three Rivers to put in your basement, what would it be?
Blass: You know, I've been thinking about that. When attendance started going down here, they covered the upper deck seats in the outfield with these big tarps with the different World Series championships on them. I wouldn't mind having the 1971 one although that would take a pretty big basement. I think having the pitching rubber would be pretty neat, too.
I remember when we were playing our last games at Forbes Field. The on-deck circle wasn't just a piece of rubber but was actually embedded in the surface. I decided I wanted that and earmarked it by writing my name on it with a laundry marker. However, when I went to get it, it was gone. It is hanging up in Copperstown now and my name is still on it. Now, I can say I'm in the Hall of Fame. That's as close as I'm going to get.
TSN: What will the new ballpark mean for the city of Pittsburgh and specifically Pirates baseball?
Blass: Well, for the Pirates, I think it is going to really jump-start fan interest and for the city it should be a shot in the arm. If those things happen, it is money well-spent. When you build something like this, you want it to be something the whole city can be proud of. The new park will help attendance, but you'd better be good in a couple of years.
I have mixed feelings about leaving Three Rivers. I have a lot of great memories there but time marches on. I like the idea of having a baseball-only stadium and it (PNC Park) will have a lot of neat things. The wall in right field will be 21 feet high in honor of Roberto Clemente.
any other player in Three Rivers Stadium history.
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Notes, Facts & Features
Largest crowds: Baseball - 59,568, July 12, 1994, All-Star Game;
Football - 61,545, vs. San Diego, Jan. 15, 1995 (playoff)
Hosted AFC Championship games in 1972, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1995, 1996, 1998
Hosted NLCS in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1990, 1991, 1992
Talk of replacing Forbes Field with a new municipal stadium began as far back 1948. In the late 1950s a site was chosen, but another decade would go by, filled with labor disputes and political fights, before ground was finaly broken for the stadium in 1968. Construction delays pushed back Three Rivers scheduled opening from April to June, 1970.
The Roberto Clemente statue dedicated in 1994.
Three Rivers Stadium got its name because it sat where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers join to form the Ohio River. It was built on the former site of Exposition Park, home of the Pirates from 1891-1909.
Markers were painted on seats in the upper deck where Willie Stargell’s home runs landed.
The St. Louis Cardinals’ Bob Gibson pitched a ho-hitter against the Bucs on August 14, 1971. Forbes Field had never seen a no-hit game in its 61 seasons.
The Honus Wagner statue and Barney Dreyfuss monument were moved to Three Rivers Stadium from Forbes Field in 1970.
A piece of Forbes Field's brick wall (406 marker section in left-center field) and the Babe Ruth plaque showing where his last home run landed were moved to the Allegheny Club at Three Rivers Stadium.
The Allegheny Club (Actually a private, non-profit organization) provided fine dining in an atmosphere of Pirates historical photos and memorabilia. The club provided excellent views of the playing field from the inner viewing area, and the Point, downtown Pittsburgh and Mt. Washington from the outer dining area.
Three Rivers Stadium's interior surface measured 159,894 square feet covered by 128,226 square feet of Astroturf with underground drainage.
The footprint of the stadium itself was 27 acres. There were 33 acres assigned to parking, and Clemente Memorial Park and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial occupy 24.2 acres. The grand total of land use was 84.2 acres
In 1975 the outfield fence was brought in by five-to-ten feet to make room for additional seats in center field
In 1993 the Pirates covered a large section of the outfield upper-deck seating sections with a grey tarp in order to "reduce" seating capacity.
Historical Highlights
July 16, 1970 - Opening Day of the Three Rivers Stadium era.
August 14, 1971 - The Cardinals' Bob Gibson becomes the first opposing pitcher in history to no-hit the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
May 30, 1971 - Willie Stargell clocks a Ken Holtzman pitch deep into the right field upper deck at Three Rivers Stadium, one of four he will park there, and the Corsairs coast to a 10–0 romp over the Cubs. Bob Moose is the victor over Holtzman.
October 13, 1971 - In the first night World Series game ever, the Bucs defeat the Orioles, 4-3.
September 30, 1972 - Roberto Clemente doubles off the Mets' Jon Matlack and records his 3,000th major league hit.
December 23, 1972 - Franco Harris' "Immaculate Reception" of a Terry Bradshaw pass edges Oakland, 13-7, for the Steelers' first playoff win.
July 23, 1974 - The stadium's first All-Star Game; Pirate Ken Brett gets the win in a National League victory.
January 4, 1976 - The Steelers capture their second straight AFC crown, again eliminating Oakland, 16-10.
August 9, 1976 - John Candelaria shuts down the Dodgers, 2-0, to become the first Pirate to pitch a no-hitter in Pittsburgh since 1907.
January 7, 1979 - The Steelers clinch a third appearance in the Super Bowl with a 34-5 blowout of Houston.
October 14, 1979 - Down three games to one in the World Series, the Pirates start their winning comeback behind veteran Jim Rooker with a 7-1 defeat of Baltimore.
January 6, 1980 - The Steelers make it four AFC Championships in four tries with a 27-13 victory over Houston.
May 3, 1985 - Long-time Pirates' voice Bob Prince returns to the microphone to call a nine-run inning as the Bucs bounce the Dodgers, 16-2.
August 11, 1985 - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band draw the largest concert audience in the city's history - 65,935.
October 7, 1990 - A statue honoring Steelers founder Arthur J. Rooney is dedicated outside Gate D.
May 5, 1991 - Rookie Jeff Bagwell of the Astros clobbers a 456-foot home run into the upper left field seats in Three Rivers Stadium in a 6-4 victory over the Pirates. He is the 9th player to reach the upper deck at Three Rivers.
September 27, 1991 - The Pirates clinch their third consecutive division crown by defeating the Mets, 4-2.
July 12, 1994 - The National League ends a string of All-Star Game losses with a 10-inning victory at Three Rivers Stadium. A statue of Roberto Clemente is dedicated outside Gate A.
January 14, 1996 - The Steelers survive a last second Hail Mary pass to beat the Indianapolis Colts 16-14 in the AFC Championship Game and advance to their fifth Super Bowl appearance.
July 12, 1997 - Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon pitch the first extra-inning, combined no-hitter in major league baseball history, in a 3-0, 10th inning win over the Houston Astros.
October 1, 2000 - After Sister Sledge sings the National Anthem to a season-high crowd of 55,352, the Cubs edge the Pirates, 10-9, in the final game to be played at Three Rivers Stadium. The Bucs have a chance when the first three batters in the 9th single, but three outs follow, including the final PO by Mark Grace, who is then hugged by his teammates. Bucs soon-to-be manager Gene Lamont gets a 2-minute standing O when introduced.
February 11, 2001 - Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, the home of the Pirates since 1970, is imploded before thousands of onlookers.
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Click on titles for more info
The Men in the Mustard Hats
Gregory Spalding
The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia
David Finoli
Forbes Field: Build-It-Yourself: With an Introduction and History
Len Martin
Branch Rickey in Pittsburgh: Baseball's Trailblazing General Manager for the Pirates, 1950-1955
Andrew O'Toole
The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip
by Joshua Pahigian, Kevin O'Connell
Fodor's Baseball Vacations: Great Family Trips to Minor League and Classic Major League Ballparks Across America
by Bruce Adams
America's Ballparks
by Kenneth Hogan
Ballparks of North America: A Comprehensive Historical Reference to Baseball Grounds, Yards and Stadiums, 1845 to Present
by Michael Benson
Storied Stadiums: Baseball's History Through Its Ballparks
by Curt Smith
Synopsis courtesy of The Sporting News
All copyrighted material remains the property of its original authors.