In his heyday, everything King Midas touched turned to gold. Yet in the 1970s, Three Rivers Stadium was a super bowl, literally so for the Steelerswho went on to conquer four National Football League titles in their first 10 years playing at the stadium. Ballplayers initially embraced the Parrot as wellthough not for the same reason as the fans. 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. 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. The stadiums only physical feature that remains where it once stood is an obelisk-style beacon for Gate D, which could be found in a grassy area outside the south end zone of Acrisure Stadium. three rivers stadium home plate location - howfenalcooksthat.com [11] The sight lines were more favorable to football; almost 70% of the seats in the baseball configuration were in fair territory. It was the second ballpark to be located across the river from downtown Pittsburgh as the Pirates had played at Exposition Park from 1890 to 1909. Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA (2023) - LocalGymsAndFitness . [36], In 1975, the baseball field's outfield fences were moved 10 feet (3 m) closer to home plate, in an attempt to boost home run numbers. It contained a symmetrical monotony with all the personality of a breakfast buffet bowla bowl detached from the river in a wasteland of parking areas, wrote author Rob Lubove. Driving directions to Three Rivers Stadium Home Plate Location The stadium, which took more than 2 years to build at a cost of $55 million, seated 47,971 fans for baseball games, and 59,000 for football games. 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. Workmen ease into position the last upper deck beam topping off Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, Dec. 10, 1969. 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. 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. Tuesday 00:00 . three rivers stadium home plate location three rivers stadium home plate location. Pittsburgh Pirates, 1970-2000Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL), 1970-2000Duquense University (college football), 1971University of Pittsburgh (college football), selected gamesPittsburgh Maulers (USFL), 1984, 792 W. General Robinson Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Deeter Ritchey Sipple (DRS), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Left field line: 335 feetLeft-center field: 375 feetCenter field: 400 feetRight-center field: 375 feetRight field line: 335 feet, July 16, 1970Cincinnati Reds 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 2, October 1, 2000Chicago Cubs 10, Pittsburgh Pirates 9, August 14, 1971Bob GibsonAugust 9, 1976John CandelariaJuly 12, 1997Francisco Cordova (9), Ricardo Rincon (1), 1974National League 7, American League 21994National League 8, American League 7 (10 innings). 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. The stadium's name was derived from the junction of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, where they formed the Ohio River, the "Golden Triangle". Call: (847)636-5450 [63] The first hit in the stadium was by Pittsburgh's Richie Hebner, in the bottom of the first inning. Buying was a consortium of private and public sources, meant as a stopgap to keep the team in Pittsburgh and buy time to find a longer-term owner who had yet to come along. [72] In the 1995 AFC Championship game, the Steelers' Randy Fuller deflected a Hail Mary pass intended for Indianapolis Colts receiver Aaron Bailey as time expired, to send the franchise to their fifth Super Bowl. 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 An automatic tarp, which wasnt so much meant to replace the grounds crew as it was to make their jobs easier, made everyones life miserable one night late in 1970 when it crashed back into the trench where it was stored; a rain delay became a suspension of the game until the next day while the apparatus was fixed. Opened on July 16, 1970. You could sit in the stands and see Flagstaff Hill and Schenley Park. Three Rivers Stadium (demolished) - Virtual Globetrotting 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. The Steelers would lose the following week at Three Rivers to the Miami Dolphinson their way to being the first undefeated team in the Super Bowl erabut the Steelers permanently shed their loser image, beginning a brilliant run of football that would net them four Super Bowl trophies over a six-year period. Numerous strikes in a city heavily represented by unions pushed back the scheduled first game from Opening Day 1970 to midseason; Every day they delay making the move is taking money out of my pocket, complained Pirates star slugger Willie Stargell, who had enough of Forbes Field and its endless outfield dimensions. Jul 18, 1998. THREE RIVERS STADIUM - Ballparks of Baseball Doug Harvey hands Roberto Clemente the ball after he doubled off the Mets' Jon Matlack for his 3,000th career hit on September 30, 1972. [45] The venue also served as the premiere of the 1994 Disney film Angels in the Outfield which, despite being based around the California Angels, paid homage to the original 1951 film, which featured the Pirates in "heavenly" need.[46]. 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. [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). Photographed By Harry S. Coughanour, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, circa 1970. Spectators are easily distracted by mesmerizing views of downtown Pittsburgh, the Allegheny River and the Sixth Street Bridge, now named after Pirates legend Roberto Clemente. Three Rivers structural concrete was grounded down and recycled for nearby parking lots. By this time, the Pirates publicly threw their hands up and declared that perhaps a move out of town wouldnt be such a bad idea. Open now. = Team's stadium under construction or refurbishment at time 1 = A team used the stadium when their permanent stadium was unable to be used as a result of damage. This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 04:17. Perhaps a live ball was helping to bring the fans in; Three Rivers yielded a stadium-record 171 home runs in 1999then 172 in 2000. Numerous seats were auctioned off, including 3,727 of the blue field level seatssnapped up by the minor-league Long Island Ducks. [38][39] The field originally used "Gamesaver vacuum vehicles" to dry the surface, though they were later replaced by an underground drainage system. 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. Posing with a group of kids, Pirates first baseman Bob Robertson shows off the buttonless, double-knit uniforms broken out for the first game at Three Rivers Stadium. [59] The newspaper has revisited the issue and reported several times that the website remained active. Three Rivers Stadium - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - BallparkReviews.com The Panthers played their full home schedule there for the 2000 season, going 74. 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. Three Rivers Stadium, home to the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1970 through 2000, was located in the North Shore section of Pittsburgh. [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. Even the four expansion teams from 1969 had recorded inaugural Opening Day victories.13 As for the Pirates, they had now played their final opener at Old Lady Forbes.14 They would play 41 more games in the historic ballpark before moving to their new home, Three Rivers Stadium, on July 16. With both facilities have come collateral development only dreamed about a half-century earlier, with a modern mix of parking, dining, business and green space; per example, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has relocated its headquarters right at the point where Three Rivers southeast (Gate C) entrance was once located. [40], Due to Three Rivers Stadium's multi-purpose design, bands including Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, and The Who hosted concerts at the venue. It was named in February 1969 for its location at the confluence of the Allegheny and . Almost as surprisingly, the fans returneddrawing over two million in both 1990 and 1991, the only two times they would reach the figure at Three Rivers. The formal closing ceremony centers on home plate. [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. Following the season on New Years Eve, Clemente boarded a DC-7 in his native Puerto Rico on its way to Nicaragua to provide aid for victims of a recent earthquake; the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean moments after takeoff, killing Clemente and four others onboard. three Rivers Stadium Seats Set of 4 connected w/Cert from Free Markets [26][27] The team donned new uniform designs for the first time that day, a similar plan was for new "mini-skirts" for female ushers. Time to say goodbye design Seat prox. The following year, the stadium was the site of the Immaculate Reception. The Honus Wagner statue, which used to stand outside of Forbes Field, stood outside of Three Rivers Stadium. Players might have had a chance to enjoy the Allegheny Club after the game, but left fielders in particular didnt care for it during; the reflection of the stadiums lights off the clubs mass faade of windows made catching line drives in left an adventure. The statue was originally located in Schenley Park, just beyond the left-field fence of Forbes Field. Verbal hostility from spectators in state of Pennsylvania wasnt just restricted to Philadelphia; Forbes Field was somewhat notorious as a place for fans who did more than boo. Advertisement. Things to Do in Three Rivers, California: See Tripadvisor's 15,126 traveler reviews and photos of Three Rivers tourist attractions. Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium and sports on the Northside of Pittsburgh Operating as usual 10/01/2022 Remembering Roberto: Home plate memorial honoring his 3,000th hit to be placed in the North Shore https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/remembering-roberto-home-plate-memorial-honoring-his-3000th-hit-to-be-placed-in-the-north-shore/