PITTSBURGH SPORTS LEGENDS OF THE PAST

 

SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2024: It was a cold and windy day in Pittsburgh, with off and on snow and rain showers. With the two games here in Pittsburgh scheduled for the evening, I ended up spending much of the day hunkered down in my Room at the Holiday Inn – North Shore.

I did walk about a half of a mile down North Shore Drive to a place called Burgatory for a late lunch. It is sort of like an upscale version of Red Robin. The food was good, but I have to say it was overpriced.

I spent the rest of the afternoon back at the Holiday Inn. With my first game scheduled to tip at 7:10 p.m. I decided to order my Lyft Ride at 5:30 p.m.  While I was waiting for the Lyft in the Lobby, I was able to talk to some of the few Kentucky Fans that were still in town.  Needless to say, the sting of their first-round loss to Oakland hadn’t worn off. They were still upset and wanted Coach Calipari Fired.

It took my Lyft about 20 minutes to arrive and the short drive up to the PPG Paints arena took a little over 20 minutes due to heavy traffic around the Arena. It was 6:20 p.m. when my driver left me out at the Main entrance.

On the way to my seat, I stopped at the Primanti Brothers concession booth and grabbed myself a sandwich and a drink to take with me to my seat. I have to say the concession sandwich was nothing to write home about.  While I have always enjoyed the Primanti Brothers Restaurant Sandwiches, the sandwiches at the concession stand were soggy and really not very good.

The first game between North Carlina State and Oakland, tipped right at 7:10. The game was back and forth all the way and ended up being tied at the end of regulation.  I must say that just about the entire arena, including myself, was pulling for Oakland. In overtime, the game remained close, but N. C. State pulled out the victory 79-73.

The final game of the evening was between Creighton and Oregon. It would have to go some to beat the excitement of the first game but danged if it didn’t. It was a close, back and forth game, and it too was tied at the end of regulation.  In overtime Oregon grabbed a quick 5-point lead and it looked like they would come out on top. But a late 3-pointer by Creighton followed by a turnover that led to two points with less than 5 seconds to go tied the score again at the end of the first overtime.

The second overtime was all Creighton as they stopped Oregon at every turn and ended up winning the game 86-73. Two Overtime Games was a great way to end my in-person basketball season.

Ot was really cold as I waited for my Lyft back to the Hotel. Thank goodness he was close by, and I only had to wait about 5 minutes. The ride back to the Hotel took only about 10 minutes and by 12:20 a.m. I was back in my room.

And with that, my in person basketball season has come to and end.

SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2024: With the games over, my time here in Pittsburgh is also over,and it’s time for me to move on. I didn’t get back to the hotel until well after midnight last night, so I slept in and didn’t get down to the hotel breakfast until 8:30. By the time I finished breakfast and checking out of the hotel it was a little after 9 a.m.

There were a couple of cemeteries that I wanted to visit that were only about 5-miles north of here. So, my first stop of the day was at the Christ Our Redeemer Catholic Cemetery.

Christ Our Redeemer is also known as North Side Catholic Cemetery. It dates back to about 1888 when the Redemptorist Fathers and St. Philomena Parish established the cemetery as its parish cemetery.  Today the large cemetery covers about 165 acres and is the final resting place of the area’s most prominent citizens.

If you are a football fan, especially a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, you will recognize the name Rooney.  Here buried just a short distance from the mausoleum, are the graves of Art and Dan Rooney.

Art Rooney was the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He served as the team’s president and chairman from 1933 unit his death in 1988.  While he retained the titles of President and Chairman, he stepped away from the day-to-day management of the team following the Steeler’s victory in Super Bowl IX. He turned the operation and management of the Steelers over to Dan.

During Dan’s tenure as the head of the Steelers, the team won 15-division Championships, 8 AFC championships and a record 6-Super Bowls.  Dan Rooney also served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland from 2009 to 2012. He joined his father, Art, in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

It is just a short walk from the Rooney Graves back to the Mausoleum. Here in the Chapel Mausoleum, we find the crypt of perhaps the greatest Pittsburgh Steeler Head Coach of all time. Pro Football Hall of Famer, Chuck Noll.

Chuck Noll accepted the Steelers Head Coaching Position in 1969. It would be his only Head Coaching job. For 23 years, from 1969 until 1991, Coach Noll led the Steeler to an overall record of 209-156-1.

He coached such legendary players as Jack Lambert, “Mean Joe” Greene, L. C. Greenwood, Franco Harris, Rocky Bieier, Terry Bradshaw, John Stallworth and Lynn Swan. He also led the Steelers to four Super Bowl Championships. Coach Noll passed away at the age of 82 on June 13, 2013, from the complication of Alzheimer's.

There is another well-known personality resting on the second floor in the mausoleum of the Good Shepherd.  Here we find the crypt of legendary professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino.

Bruno Sammartino was born in Italy and during World War II his family were forced to hide from the

Nazi’s. After the way Bruno and his family fled to America and settled in Pittsburgh where he attended high school. He took up weightlifting and was discovered by a local wrestling Promoter in 1959 which led to his long association with the Worldwide Wrestling Federation where he won the WWWF championship in 1963. 

He captured the championship in Madison Square Gardens, from “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers in a match that lasted less than 2-minutes. He would hold the title until 1971 when he dropped the championship to “The Russian Bear” Ivan Kolor. Later in 1973 he regained the Title and would hold on to it for another 4-years, Injuries began to take their toll on Bruno and he lost the title to “Superstar” Billy Graham and he was never able to win the title back.

In 1981 he announced his retirement. In retirement his health improved, and his body healed. He felt good enough to return to the ring in 1984 and remained active until 1988 when he retired for the final time.

Being retired from the ring, Bruno became an outspoken critic of Vince McMahon and the direction he was taking the WWE.  Despite his criticism he was inducted into the WWE Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2013.

Bruno Sammartino passed away at the age of 82 here in Pittsburgh on April 18, 2018.

My final stop before leaving the Pittsburgh Area was at West View Cemetery, next door to Christ Our Redeemer Cemetery. He we find the grave of Baseball Hall of Famer Barney Dreyfuss.

Barney was born in Germany on February 23, 1865, and came to America in 1881 where he became a baseball Fan. In 1899 he became the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates and from 1900-1932 he was the team’s president and general Manager.

During his 32-years as the Team’s owner he built Forbes Field in 1909. It was the first modern steel
frame stadium.  His Pirates finished first in their division 26 times, winning the National League Pennant 6-times. The Pirates were World Series Champions in 1909 and 1925.

Barney Dreyfuss passed away at the age of 66 on February 5, 1932. He was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

After wrapping up my visit to West View Cemetery, it was time to say goodbye to Pittsburgh. Where am I going? Well, I have a couple of Options. I am just not sure which one I am going to take. Stay tuned to find out.