OnlyBucs

Going into my 60th season going to Pirate games.  Getting to reminiscing about the sights and sounds (not actual game action) that I can remember from when I was a kid and a young adult.  Here is my list.



From Forbes Field

The Longines Clock on top of the LF scoreboard.



The scorboard itself, no lights just numbers that were changed on it. 



The batting cage located in deep LF/CF





The RF screen and crazy corners that Clemente made famous.



The Big "I" which was the rain tarp that was stored underground and was motorized.  When it was needed the machinery shaped like the letter I was elevated and he motors on each end propelled it into place.  No grounds crew getting devoured by the tarp.



They dragged the infield before games using a lawn tractor with the dragging equipment on the back.  It was sponsored by Lenny Levy Chevrolet.  Levy was a part time coach for the Bucs.



The bleachers in LF.  Where all the wino's sat.  After a game there were countless brown bags with broken whiskey bottles on the ground there.



The smell of big old stogie cigars abounded in the air along with the smell of real grilled hot dogs with onions and mustard on them and then stale beer.



Getting an ice cream bar that was stored in big heavy box around the vendors shoulders cooled down by dry ice.



Popcorn sold in megaphones for the kids to use to cheer after they ate the popcorn.  And it was only a quarter.



Box seats were on $5 and they were actually chairs not fancy seats like today.



Parking right across from the ballpark and being about to get a cheap hotdog from the vendor where we parked the cars.



Three Rivers Stadium



Going to load of game with my dad and my octogenarian neighbor.



The field level dugouts



The moveable stands along the base lines so it could be converted for football.



Bif Pocoroba of the Braves hiding under the end of those stands by the Braves bullpen smoking a cigarette.



Getting to know the ushers and to tip them well. Paid its dividends when I might have wanted a seat upgrade.



The seat up in the upper deck where "Pops" hit a gigantic HR.

Standing above the Bucco bullpen and watching and listening to the Bucs relievers hitting on some nice lookin gals that frenquented that area.



First place I ever had nachos and cheese, grew to love that stuff.



Just so many sights and sounds that were funny, fascinating and exciting. All the more reason to go to the games in those days whether the team was good or rotten.



But today, the kids and their parents are treated to so many thing not "baseball" and they place too much importance on the win/lose mentality.



Don't get me wrong here. I want the Buccos to win as much as anyone else but not at the expense of not going to game to spite the BMTIMLB.



If ya got kids takem out to a ballgame and let them see and learn the game like us old timers did. They may love it.

The smell of big old stogie cigars abounded in the air.



Exactly! I don't smoke but that smell even today brings back pleasant childhood memories of Forbes Field.

much of 3RS smelled like a garbage can to me. can't say I "miss" that though, heh.

00323E3E2A183B323F3A3532530 wrote: much of 3RS smelled like a garbage can to me.  can't say I "miss" that though, heh. 


Right, even more stale beer smell and you should have been to Stiller games in the early season when it was warm and the beer got spilled. Now that was even worse than my farts!

The first time I went to Forbes Field  it was in 1961,  I was 9 years old. I believe a scorecard/ book was 25 cents. Also I recall blue section seats were reserved and right behind those seats were gray seats for General Admission. I recall a game in which Donn Clendenon hit a ball which landed on top of the batting cage which was in deep left center field.

Bob Veale shagging balls in right field, telling kids he wasn't allowed to throw balls into the stands, then turning back to the field and casually flipping the ball up behind his back.



Toward the end of a night game at Forbes Field, paper boys would walk through the stands selling the early edition of the next day's Post- Gazette.



The team would sell discount books good for ten general admissions over the course of the season. In the last couple of days of the season, people would stand outside selling the leftover tickets cheap. I remember getting a general admission seat for 25 cents.



Maybe it was just my youth, but the light standards at Forbes seemed incredibly high. There was always a little thrill when saw they had turned the lights on.



Almost stepping right from the streetcar to the ballpark, and vice versa. I remember going to a twinight doubleheader with just kids, making our way home through the crowds and the streetcar, and getting home after midnight.,

Ah yes, the scorecard lineup for a quarter. Had many of those as a kid. What I like about them was that they had the name and number of all the pitchers on the teams in the league. That way when they had another game score up on the scoreboard you could tell who the guys were pitching in that game.



And the streetcars. Wow the kids of this era miss a lot of things that make Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh. The trolly's.



Don't know if any one mentioned the Knot Hole Gang, kids got a cheap tix and sat in the RF stands. Usually for kids from a towns Little League to experience MLB inexpensively.

Just remembered: after a game at Forbes, it was just expected that some part of the crowd would exit via the field of play. I think that in the last couple years at Forbes, that had a patch of Astroturf or Tartanturf behind home plate, so that people could walk on the grass to be used at the new stadium.

Possum - Hall of Fame material.  Thank you. And especially your "words" to the mom's and dads - take the kids out to the game, regularly. Have fun, make something special with kids; it will last a life time. Forget about Nutting, et al, discover the sights and sounds and special connections.



Just a couple of many many many special moments that are forever:

Peanut shell wars (my son was the pirate ship and since I never learned what the exact rules were, My son almost always won laughing a priceless laugh.



The first foul ball he ever got.



Jared Hughes making my son feel special, and his friend.



Walks across the bridge.



Watching Cutch and talking about the Hall of Fame.



So many special wins, and crushing loses.



"CUETO CUETO"



At the unveiling of Maz's  statue, watching his face light up as I showed J "our" leaf on the wall, inscribed

"SpecialMemories

Mom,Dad,andJ"



My son heads off to college this fall. Our summer jammed. Won't be able to make nearly as many games. But if I thought the games and memories were only special to me (how could a little boy understand until much later?) he brought me to tears recently:

Writing essays for college applications, I was his final "set of eyes" to review his work. One essay asked for a significant event that shaped his life that might never be known: he wrote about he and his dad being Pirates fans no matter what, when no one else cared, the importance of being faithful when no else was, of the special joy of  persevering and finally winning.  But the essay led to the most important aspect: he and "his dad did it together, we grew up together at PNC Park".  Honestly, I'm crying as I write this. 



Don't ever let anyone steal the joy of your child away.

Possum (if I recall correctly) gave some other good advice -- don't forget minor league ball. It's a wonderful chance to see players who someday may be stars, at a reasonable cost. And, of highest importance) the food is excellent. What kid wouldn't want a ball park hot dog?