POP'S, ROBERTO, MR. ROGER'S AND PRIMANTI BROTHERS

 

After a very long and enjoyable first day of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday, I had an off day on Friday. There were no games scheduled here in Pittsburgh on Friday, so I used the day to explore Pittsburgh.

While I have been here to the Steel City several times in the past, it has always been for Pirate games and the North Shore Area has always been crowded. So, even though it was really, really cold and there was a threat of rain, I decided to bundle up and walk around PNC Park and the Three Rivers Heritage Trail.

Just across Federal Street from my hotel is Third Base and Left field side of PNC Park. As I make my way up Federal Street, I come to the statue of My Favorite Pirate, Willie “Pops” Stargell.  Willie was a member of the “We Are Family” Pirates that won the 1979 World Series.

I got to meet Willie one time when I was attending a Triple A Ballgame at the old Diamond Ballpark in Richmond, Virginia. Willie had retired from playing and was town scouting. My seats were located next to the Press Box, where I noticed Willie was sitting.

After the game I waited for him to leave the press box and asked him to sign my game program. Even though it was late in the evening, he was so gracious and ended up spending about 10 minutes visiting with me.

Continuing my walk-up Federal Street, I come to the statue of another Pirate Hall of Famer, The Great Roberto Clemente. Many Pirate Fans regard Roberto as the Greats Pirate of All Time. Roberto died at the height of his career when a plane carrying Earthquake Relief Supplies to Nicaragua crashed off the coast of Puerto Rico on December 31, 1972.

The Statue of Hall of Famer Honus Wagner stands outside of the Home Plate Entrance. Honus began his career in 1897 with the Louisville Colonels who were one of four teams eliminated following the 1899 season.  He began his long association with the Pirates in 1900 when Barney Dreyfuss took Honus and several former Colonels to Pittsburgh.

He remained with the Pirates as a player, manager, and coach until 1951.  He was a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 1936, joining Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, and Babe Ruth.

His T206 Baseball card is one of the rarest and most expensive cards. Only 57 of them are known to exist and the last time one came up for sale in 2022, it sold for $7.25 million.

The last statue is located appropriately at the end of Bill Mazeroski Way. It’s the statue of Hall of Famer and hero of the 1960 World Series, Bill Mazeroski.

The Pirates represented the National League against the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series. During the World Series Mazerowski forged a legacy that is still remembered by Pirate fans today. What is often forgotten about Bill’s performance during that World Series is that he actually hit a pair of game winning home runs, but it is best known for the second one which occurred in game seven.

In the bottom of the 9^th inning, Mazeroski faced Yankee reliever Ralph Terry. With the Count 1-0, Bill
smashed a high fast ball over the 406 marker in left-center at old Forbes Field. This was the only home run to end a World Series until 1993 when Joe Carter hit a walk off home run to give the series win to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Just behind the Mazeroski Statue is a section of the Wall taken from Forbes Field which has been demolished. Today the site of the Old Ballpark is on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. All that remains is a lager part of the Outfield wall. The home plate from old Forbes Field is actually encased in glass in Posvar Hall. In a previous trip to Pittsburgh, I was able to visit the site of the old stadium and was able to get in to see home plate.

From the Mazeroski Statue, I walked down the Step to the Three Rivers Heritage Trail that runs along the banks of the Alleghany River. Her directly behind the ballpark, are large baseballs dedicated to the members of the Baseball Hall of Fame who played for the Pirates, the Homestead Grays, and the Pittsburgh Crawfords.

I continued my walk along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, which gave me a great view of the Pittsburgh Skyline and Mount Washington. Just a short walk down the trail from PNC Park is Heinz Field, which is the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As I walked around the stadium, I came up a historical marker that stands where Three Rivers Stadium once stood.  Three Rivers Stadium was not only the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, it was also the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was here that Franco Harris made his “immaculate Reception” in 1972 and where Roberto Clemente got his 3000^th hit also in 1972.

Three Rivers Stadium was demolished in 2001 to make way for Heinz Field. The Pirates moved just a short distance up the river to PNC Park.

Just outside of Heinz Field is a pretty cool statue of Art Rooney who was the founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers and served as the teams Chairman and President from 1933 until 1988. You can actually take your photo sitting next to Mr. Rooney, so I did just that.

Just across from Heinz Field is the very impressive statue of Fred Rogers who was better known simply as Mr. Rogers. He was actually an ordained Presbyterian Minister that went on to host the long running Childrens TV Show, “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood,” which ran from 1968 until 2001.

Mr. Rogers was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania but for much of his life he lived her in the Pittsburgh Area. He passed away on February 27, 2003, and is resting in the Unity Cemetery near Latrobe.

One of the good things about staying downtown is that almost everything you need is in walking distance. So, I continue my walk by making my way across the Roberto Clemente Bridge into the actual downtown area. 

Now no trip to Pittsburgh would be complete without a visit to Primanti Brothers. Not there are several Primanti Brothers located all around the Pittsburgh Area including one in Market Square. The Market Square location is the closest one to where I am staying but I decided to walk down to the Strip District and have lunch at the original Primanti Brothers Restaurant.

It wasn’t a bad walk. Not too cold and only a little over a mile walk. even though it was almost 1:30 in the Afternoon it was still crowded, and I didn’t want to take up an entire table for just one person, so I opted to sit at the bar.

Primanti Brothers never disappoints, and the food is always good and its always a great atmosphere, especially here at the Original restaurant.

By the time I walked back to the Holiday Inn, the rain clouds were moving in. According to my Fitbit I have walked a little over 5 miles. So, I am going to give my knees a rest and just kick back and relax until time for dinner.

A steady drizzle has set in and I opt to just walk across the street and have supper at a restaurant called SoHo. It was a good choice. The food was prepared to order and served hot.

While having supper, I check the NCAA app on my phone and discovered that our two game on Saturday were going to be late. The first game between Oakland and N. C. State is scheduled to tip at 7:10 p.m. and the Nightcap between Creighton and Oregon will tip about 9:40 p.m.

Looks like tomorrow will be another late night.