The reason for the only sellout in the short (one year) history of the United States Football Leagues Pittsburgh Maulers at Three Rivers was so that fans could rain boos and ice upon former Steelers QB Cliff Stoudt, appearing for the visiting Birmingham Stallions. These seats were removed from 3 Rivers Stadium the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers & Pirates in Pittsburgh, PA. It was very nice. The field was artificial turf. You can contact Steven at sadams@triblive.com. This is the greatest day of my life, he told reporters. On September 30, 1972, Clemente collected his 3,000th career hit with a fourth-inning double; it would be his last hit of the seasonand, alas, the last of his career. Its not that the Pirates had a choice in Forbes Fields fateat least not after 1958, when they sold the ballpark to the adjacent University of Pittsburgh, which wanted to raze the structure for campus expansion. Three Rivers Stadium implosion seen from Point State Park on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2001. There was much initial praise for Three Rivers as a civic stadium meant to pull the Pirates and Steelers out of far more rustic times, but the compromised tedium many would ultimately slam it and other so-called cookie-cutter stadiums for was still hardly lost on some even as it doors opened for the first time. Phil Hundley, a Deeter Ritchey Sipple architect who was not intricately involved in the Three Rivers Stadium project but was around in 2020 to talk about it, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: It had retail. They were located behind home plate. [60][61] In 2020, nearly twenty years after the stadium had been demolished, the site had finally been taken down due to the domain expiring. Jun 06, 1999 -. Wagner, Kiner and Clemente could all agree that excitement was never in short supply at the Old Lady of Schenley Park. The statue was originally located in Schenley Park, just beyond the left-field fence of Forbes Field. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Many of the sports fans who gathered along the Allegheny River that morning in 2001 had witnessed greatness in the stadium, and they now came to say farewell. [54][55], Like most stadiums demolished during this time whose replacements were located nearby (including the Civic Arena over a decade later), the site of Three Rivers Stadium mostly became a parking lot. This historical marker was erected in 2006 by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. ", The Pittsburgh Steelers played their first game in Three Rivers Stadium on September 20, 1970a 197 loss to the Houston Oilers. DRS principal Dahlen Ritchey, who grew up a big Pirates fan and forever regretted the day he gave away his Game Seven tickets to the 1960 World Series (because he was sure the Pirates would lose), initially lobbied for separate side-by-side stadiums for the Pirates and Steelerswith the Bucs ballpark providing an open view beyond its outfield of downtown. 7/30/1972. [47][48] On October 1, 2000, the Pirates were defeated 109 by the Chicago Cubs in their final game at Three Rivers Stadium. [22] In January 1970, the new target date was set for May 29; however, because of a failure to install the lights on schedule, opening day was delayed once more to July 16. The home of the Steelers and Pirates had been rendered obsolete by the pair of stadiums now flanking the aging concrete cylinder. Appears to be made of some kind of wood. On July 6, 1980, the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 54 in 20inningsthe most innings ever played at the stadium. The first three years of the Pirates final decade at Three Rivers Stadium witnessed the fruits of their labor, winning the NL East each season from 1990-92. Sets of 2-3 Seat Feet- Oak Wood Floor Mounting Brackets - for Three Rivers Double Leg Style Seats. Free shipping for many products! After the initial 10-year contract expired, Heinz Field contracted with Pepsi for exclusive pouring rights, breaking a 50-year tradition with the Steelers. Willie Stargell is the all-time leader in upper deck shots at the stadium, hitting four of the remaining five right-field blasts; Mark Whiten hit the other. Three Rivers Stadium, home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers from 1970 to 2000. Madrid no se detiene en una maana plena de normalidad, aunque con menos gente en las calles y ms policas que cortan por momentos algunas calles . Marker is at the intersection of Art Rooney Avenue and North Shore Drive, on the left when traveling north on Art Rooney Avenue. Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh is demolished by implosion, Feb. 11, 2001. Three Rivers Stadium Home Venues Rock Doo Wop Radio Jazz Pop Blues Thirty Years of Stadium Rock Three Rivers Stadium during its short 30 year existence from 1970 to 2000 hosted almost 50. Even after its implosion, Three Rivers Stadium continued to live on in the bills of taxpayers, who still had to help pay off $40 million of debt on the facility. Before each one of his appearances, the show plays a clip of Greg Brown and Steve Blass (complete with a train whistle) calling Wehner's home run that ended up being the very last in Three Rivers Stadium history. The Ballparks: Forbes Field Removed from downtown Pittsburghs choking smoke and untamed rivers, elegant Forbes Field was built in a vernal, cultural paradise on the outskirts of town, where three was the magic numberfrom three Pirates world titles to Babe Ruths last three homers to the last tripleheader to all those triples. Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds - Sightseeing on the Circle Line June 13, 2021; Sanford Field, Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium, and Sanford Museum May 17, 2020; Fleming Stadium and the North Carolina Baseball Museum April 11, 2020; The West Coast Wrigley Field April 5, 2020; Space Coast Stadium's New Frontier March 17, 2019 [11] The stadium was located in a hard-to-access portion of downtown, making it hard in later years to get in before games and leave after games. Theres no atmosphere in this thing, said Hank Novak, a lifelong ballpark employee for the Pirates. Never mind the possibility of the 100-year flood wreaking havoc on such a complex structure; the U.S. Department of Defense was more concerned with the potentially devastating impact from an act of terrorismbefore that word became a thingand nixed the idea. (Historic Pittsburgh). There was some old-timey substance to the proceedings, as 71-year-old Pirates legend Pie Traynor threw out the ceremonial first pitch; Hollywood crooner and long-time Bucs fan/part-owner Bing Crosby was among the notables in the VIP section. A multi-use facility, it also hosted many concerts and special events prior to demolition on February 11, 2001. . names for church food ministry three rivers stadium home plate location. Three Rivers Stadium * and N.N.L. The man got out, ran onto the field and began kicking footballs through the goalposts. Over 494 career at-bats at the stadium, he batted .337; no other player had a higher average in as many at-bats at Three Rivers. Three Rivers Stadium, the Pirates' and Steelers ' home at the time, had been designed for functionality rather than "architecture and aesthetics". It was moved to Three Rivers Stadium, outside Gate C, on July 21, 1972. You could even throw in the University of Pittsburgh football team, which abandoned their own stadium on campus and borrowed Three Rivers for big games, most notably in a 1976 championship campaign featuring Heisman Trophy running back Tony Dorsett. With 59,568 in attendance, the largest crowd to ever attend a baseball game at the stadium,[33] the National League won 87 in the tenth inning. 7/14/1973. The Allegheny Club doubled as an ode to the past; it included a segment of Forbes Field famed brick wall, and a plaque honoring Babe Ruths final home run (hit at Forbes in 1935). Asset Location: 7500 Thomas Blvd Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208-2577 . [65] The average attendance would peak in 1991, when the Pirates averaged 25,498per game. If 25,000 people go (to Three Rivers) for a game, said one-time Pirate Phil Garner to The Sporting News, most of them will still be there two hours after the game.. No perfect game was ever thrown at Three Rivers, but in 1981 the Pirates Jim Bibby retired 27 Atlanta batters in a row after allowing a leadoff single in the first inning. Three Rivers Stadium. Three Rivers Stadium had a beverage contract with Coca-Cola throughout its history. Bradshaw, desperately escaping Oakland defensive linemen, somehow managed to heave a 35-yard throw down the middle toward running back John Fuquawho was drilled to the ground by hard-hitting Oakland defensive back Jack Tatum. [22] The stadium was named in February 1969 for its location at the confluence of the Allegheny River and Monongahela River, which forms the Ohio River. Home to 14 AFC Central Division champion teams. Ballplayers initially embraced the Parrot as wellthough not for the same reason as the fans. [44] And in 1992, the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrated their second Stanley Cup victory at the Stadium. Three Rivers structural concrete was grounded down and recycled for nearby parking lots. Besides the new stadium itself, there was synthetic Tartan Turf on the field, a cushier, more agreeable alternative to AstroTurf; and the Pirates broke out of the clubhouse as the first team to wear double-knit, buttonless jerseys. Eventually the 1980s came along and concert crowds began to mellow with age. TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. "No matter what happens, when they tear Three Rivers down, a monument ought to be built there. The National League won the game 72 and the Pirates' Ken Brett was the winning pitcher. [14] Pittsburgh hosted its third All-Star Game in 1974. Despite polls which showed that the public was opposed to this plan as well, on February 3, 1999, the state funding portion of "Plan B" passed the Pennsylvania State House and Senate, clearing the way for construction. Dock Ellis and Manny Sanguillen, the battery for the first game back in 1970, threw and caught the ceremonial first pitch. Baseballs acceleration of free agency dollars exposed the widening gulf between big and small markets, and the Pirates clearly represented the latter. A two-story, concrete marker for Gate D is the only portion of Three Rivers Stadium still standing. Advertisement. [34] After the game, former Pirate Willie Stargell threw out the ceremonial last pitch (he died the following April hours before the first regular season game was played at PNC Park). The initiative's defeat led to the development of "Plan B", an alternate funding proposal that used a combination of monies from the Allegheny Regional Asset District (an extra 1% sales tax levied on Allegheny County), state and federal monies and a number of other sources. When they were told no, they put up their hands and signaled touchdown. When Rooney passed away in 1988, his officealready drenched with reference books and memorabiliabecame a library. Returning the following year as a member of the Reds, the Pirates wasted no time abetting the acrimony from his former fans. The Honus Wagner statue, which used to stand outside of Forbes Field, stood outside of Three Rivers Stadium. In 2011, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that the Three Rivers Stadium website was still active, 11 years after the facility's demolition. Despite its ultimate reputation as a mundane hunk of concrete, Three Rivers Stadium did spark some personality with its exclusive Allegheny Club, located in the second level down the right-field line. [30][31] Due to their similar design these stadiums were nicknamed "cookie-cutter" or "concrete doughnut" ballparks. Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History, North Shore inPittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania , Photographed By Mike Wintermantel, April 25, 2010, Three Rivers Stadium. July 16, 2020 8:00 am ET. When Heinz Field opened, Coca-Cola also assumed the beverage contract for that stadium (the Pirates signed a deal with Pepsi for PNC Park before signing with Coke again in 2014), and also became the primary sponsor for the Steelers' team Hall of Fame, the Coca-Cola Great Hall. Yes, Three Rivers Stadium was another one of those venues people now love to hate: A perfectly circular hunk of concrete largely adorned with slightly angled spectator ramps perfectly spaced between four large welcoming gates. They slapped tarps in the upper reaches of the top deck to reduce capacity by 10,000; placed ads on the outfield walls; opened a caf behind the left-field fence, which had slats cut out so patrons could view the game; replaced the original red-and-gold seats with new ones painted in blue; and opened a full-scale restaurant, featuring two bars serving microbrews, near the southeast entrance with glass windows looking out towards downtown Pittsburgh. Adjacent Acrisure Stadium, clad with 68,000 yellow seats, retains the rabid enthusiasm of Steelers fans. However, the ushers' union declined the uniform change for female workers. It was at this venue in 1998 where Sammy Sosa hit his Cub-franchise record 57th homer of the season, besting Hack Wilson, whose record stood for 68 years. [11], In 1958, the Pirates sold Forbes to the University of Pittsburgh for $2 million ($18.8 million today). Flickr photos, groups, and tags related to the "threeriversstadium" Flickr tag. While the Pirates represented baseball tradition, the Steelers represented PittsburghTough, hard-nosed, grim-featured, not so fancy, wrote The Sporting News Furman Bisher. The first World Series night game was played at the stadium on Oct. 13, 1971. [6] The stadium opened on July 16, 1970, when the Pirates played their first game there. Franco Harriss Immaculate Reception happened there on Dec. 23, 1972. The Pittsburgh Steelers played their first game in Three Rivers Stadium on September 20, 1970a 19-7 loss to the Houston Oilers. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). As for the game itself, the Cincinnati Redswho just 17 days earlier debuted in Riverfront Stadium, the appearance and name of which would confuse many with Three Riversedged out the Bucs, 3-2. It was named in February 1969 for its location at the confluence of the Allegheny and . Five years after local authorities said yes to a new stadium, there wasnt even a scope of work; the Fort Duquesne Bridge, conceptualized specifically to carry auto traffic from downtown Pittsburgh toward the stadium, was 90% completewith the last 10% on hold until there was actual progress on the facility. You can see the top of Fort Pittsburgh Bridge (I-279) at the bottom. Its spaciousness was evident from the outside; tall windows stretched upward and across, allowing patrons on cascading levels of table seating and barstools to enjoy the game while eating and/or imbibing. At the first game, the water fountains didnt work, access roads and parking lots hadnt been fully completed, and only 13 of 35 concession stands inside the stadium were operational. Three Rivers Stadium presented itself as a fairer alternative to Forbes Field with its boilerplate field dimensions; no longer did Willie Stargell nor any other player have to drive a ball 400 feet and then hope that it cleared the fence. [57], On September 30, 2012, members of the Society for American Baseball Research marked and painted the home plate and first base of the former stadium on the 40th Anniversary of Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit.[58]. The family paid about $800 for the seats at auction. After getting used to Three Rivers for half a season in 1970, the Pirates first full campaign at the stadium a year later resulted in their first world title since their fabled 1960 run at Forbes Field. In his heyday, everything King Midas touched turned to gold. Franco Harris rushed for 27 100-yard games at Three Rivers Stadium. Losing the view of downtown was a bitter bill for Ritchey to swallow; he would ultimately call Three Rivers Stadium his biggest disappointment as an architect. After his arrest and asked to explain his lapse into mental freefall to do all of these things, the man put the blame on Steelers quarterback Mark Malone, who was finishing up an awful (46% completion rate, six touchdowns, 19 interceptions) season for Pittsburgh. The Steelers sold out every home game from 1972 through the closing of the stadium, a streak which continues through 2008. By the mid-1990s, nobody was making money at Three Rivers, except the Steelerswho continued to sell out every game. [11] As part of the deal, the university leased Forbes back to the Pirates until a replacement could be built. Champions in arms: The Pirates Willie Stargell and Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw earned co-Sportsmen of the Year honors by Sports Illustrated in 1979. The Steelers won 13 home playoff games at Three Rivers Stadium. Three Rivers Stadium also hosted the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers football team for a single season each.[7][8]. [63] The Pirates lifted their television blackout policy for home games so that local fans could see the inaugural game. He hit three of them before anyone else did it even once. The initial chatter toward a modern stadium actually predated the universitys purchase of Forbes by a decade. The scoreboard was located above the centerfield seats in the upper deck. The novel look, which would catch on throughout much of the major leagues in the years to follow, yielded plenty of odd looksand laughsfrom the home fans, comparing the Pirates look to that of a weekend softball team, while one sportswriter said the unis reminded him of long underwear.. Outside of the gates, an homage to the past was erected with the placement of a Roberto Clemente statue. Sister Sledge, the We Are Family authors from the Bucs fabled 1979 campaign, reunited to sing the National Anthem. Mary Ann and her husband were Steelers season ticket holders for 42 years until Paul, 61, passed away that year. A look at Three Rivers Stadium from the top of the upper-deck bleacher seats. Call: (847)636-5450 It was also the site of the very first broadcast of ABCs Monday Night Footballexcept that it was a preseason game held on a Friday night between the Steelers and New York Giants. They are devoid of personality, emotionally indistinguishable even when one knows perfectly well their specific different characteristics, he wrote. The pentagon will be lifted out of its resting . Doormats would have been more appropriate; as the Steelers bounced around Pittsburgh without its own stadium, they were traditional losers who made only one postseason appearance in 37 yearslosing 21-0before moving into Three Rivers. The three succeeding portraits on the covers of this trilogy (which originally appeared volume by volume in 1954, 1959, and 1963) show the ardent young radical journalist and activist, the more mature Soviet tactician and commander of the Red Army, and the snowy-headed exiled sage. If Three Rivers Stadium gave the Pirates an early boost, it completely transformed the Steelers into a long-term powerhouse. Without a hitch, a 1985 Bruce Springsteen gig at Three Rivers drew 65,000, the largest gathering for any event at the stadium. But the Steelers, benefitting from a generous NFL revenue sharing system badly lacking in MLB, played only 10 home games a year, not 81and so the stadium sat drowning in nearly $50 million in debt, while the Pirates were losing up to $10 million a year, borrowing more millions just to stay afloat and knocking heads with the stadium authority to sweeten the Three Rivers lease as they had been doing for years. Stadium Concert. Koch would even get high on his own supply while doing Parrot duty, which must have made for the most kaleidoscopic experience by an employee of the Pirates since Dock Ellis claimed he threw a 1970 no-hitter on LSD. Three Rivers Stadium is imploded as the first rounds of dynamite go off. The Steelers won 17 Monday Night Football games at Three Rivers Stadium. Pirates outfielder John Vander Wal warms up in front of the Kiss It Goodbye sign showing zero games remaining during the final game at Three Rivers Stadium. Signup for our newsletter to get notified about sales and new products. Sunday 00:00 - 00:00. But the river that created the most beautiful valley and the home of the Giant Forest is totally overlook. Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. But not everything was hauled away for disposal. [21] That November, Arthur Gratz asked the city for an additional $3million ($22.2 million today), which was granted. Donned with multiple, vivid uniform combinations of black, gold and pinstripes, the Pirates intensified their exciting brand of ball, particularly excelling at Three Rivers; during a last-gasp effort to steal the 1978 NL East title from the Philadelphia Phillies, they won a major league-record 24 straight games at home. Numerous seats were auctioned off, including 3,727 of the blue field level seatssnapped up by the minor-league Long Island Ducks. Terry Bradshaw was a frequent target of boosbut his successors at the quarterback spot fared far worse. The Steelers warmed up from scratch in their first two years at Three Rivers, with a young, taciturn head coach (Chuck Noll) who made bland wallpaper exciting, and a hotshot Louisiana-born quarterback (Terry Bradshaw) learning the ropes at the pro level. Many other witnesses agreed. Hardware included. [17] As well, its location made it hard to reach from much of the city, with traffic congestion before and after games. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise and National Football League (NFL) franchise respectively. Roughly a decade later, outfielder Andy Van Slyke had a cigarette lighter thrown in his direction; upon picking it up, Van Slyke read an attached message that said, Use this to light a fire under you. His teammate, Bobby Bonillain the midst of an All-Star season in 1988was heavily booed at Three Rivers because his home batting average was 100 points lower than on the road. The final Pittsburgh Pirates home game was on October 1st, 2000 vs. the Chicago Cubs. After being hotly debated throughout the entire southwestern Pennsylvania region the initiative was soundly defeated in all 11 counties; only in Allegheny County was it even close (58-42). [35][36] It had a dirt skin infield on the basepaths for baseball through 1972,[26] until converted to "sliding pits" at the bases for 1973. I-79 restrictions begin Wednesday night in Allegheny County, Inbound Armstrong Tunnel closed as yearlong rehab project begins, Feds want Tree of Life suspect psychiatric examination, $320K makeover planned for Greenfield's Four Mile Run Playground, Models strut the runway with their canines for the Bark and Swagger Dog Fashion Show, Historic Hempfield cemetery seeks volunteers, donors to help care for grounds, 2nd annual 'Restaurant Ramble' features 10 downtown New Kensington eateries, Tom Sizemore, Saving Private Ryan actor, dies after brain aneurysm, TV Talk: Mel Brooks History of the World, Part II belatedly arrives on Hulu, Western Pennsylvania's trusted news source. Pirates organist Vince Lascheid at Three Rivers Stadium on July 5, 1999. three rivers stadium home plate location. PNC Park is a baseball park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Stargell came alive with a career-high 48 homers (his previous high at Forbes was a relatively mere 33), but he wasnt alone on the star chart. The championship chic of Three Rivers Stadiums first decade would hit a celebrated crescendo in 1979. In a 1984 game, 18 fans at a Pirates game suffered burns of various degrees when a rocket from a fireworks display was accidentally fired into the crowd. Architect Dahlen Ritcheys early, dreamy rendition of Three Rivers Stadium consisted most notably of an open view of the Allegheny River and downtown Pittsburgh beyond. [14] A design was presented in 1958 which featured an open centerfield designthrough which fans could view Pittsburgh's "Golden Triangle". Former Pirates manager Chuck tanner acknowledges the crowd before the final game at Three Rivers Stadium. Rivers Stadium Club Features Enjoy Chicago Dogs baseball from the comforts of the Rivers Stadium Club. Explore Academic Pathways Upcoming Events See All Events Mar 03 Cinderella 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm, Tinnin Fine Arts Center View Event Mar 05 Everyone Is a Raider Day 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm View Event Mar 07 Join Choir Jam 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Dahlen Ritcheys vision of side-by-side facilities for the Pirates and Steelers, surrounded by a profusion of development, has finally been realizedeven if it came one generation of sports venue ethos later than expected. Forbes Field wasnt getting any younger, the Pirates patience was thinning, and the university was standing by with the wrecking ball, fingers tapping on the lever. [16] The stadium was located in a portion of downtown difficult to access;[11] political debate continued over the North Side Sports Stadium and the project was often behind schedule and over-budget. Forced to go back to the drawing board, Ritchey had no choice but to artistically cave to the tight budget, designing a fully-enclosed stadium with a symmetrical build that appealed to a more cost-effective solution. However, an archive of the original site still exists, albeit at a different domain name. Meanwhile, the naming of Three Rivers Stadium didnt sit well with many Pittsburghers, who rather would have seen the facility named after David Lawrence, the mayor who first championed the idea of a stadium back in 1948. But the debt needed to be paid and the crowds, as misbehaved as they often were, were massive. Photographed By Unknown, September 30, 1972. Even if they end up building a hockey rink there, they should put some kind of a monument to that area where the Immaculate Reception took place. It's been 20 years since the home of the Pirates and Steelers was imploded before the new stadiums were opened. Ground was broken in April 1968 and an oft behind-schedule construction plan lasted for 29months. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise and National Football League (NFL) franchise respectively.