It's getting harder and harder to imagine the Pittsburgh Pirates as a championship caliber (or even a major league) team, but the 1960 roster shocked the world 49 years ago today. It still is amazing that team, which won Game 7 against the feared New York Yankees, doesn't get the historical credit it deserves. Although the Yankees had outscored the Pirates by a score of 46-17 during the first six games, the series was tied heading back to Pittsburgh for Game 7. The Pirates blew a 9-7 lead in the ninth, but they had final ups in the bottom half of the inning. And there was scrawny Bill Mazeroski standing at the plate - a player known more for his glove than his bat - cracking the winning run over the center field wall.While most of the country doesn't even remember this game, a group of Buccos fans and former players still gather at the outfield wall in Oakland to listen to the radio call and commemorate this amazing feat. In a city that has seen 17 years of abysmal baseball, Oct. 13 is recognized as a local holiday for a city starving for meaningful baseball.
that was the series that got me hooked on pro baseballl
ReplyDeleteI know you grew up in the Webster, so it wasn't a quick trip to Pittsburgh... but did you ever go to a game at old Forbes Field?
ReplyDeleteSadly, no. Going to Pittsburgh then was a big deal, and reserved for folks who had more money than we were used to having.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in Mt. Lebanon, I think I was spoiled just being a couple minutes from the trolley. In high school, my buddies loved going to Three Rivers and buying the $3 general admission tickets. The team sucked, but the ball games made for a fun and cheap night out in Pittsburgh.
ReplyDeleteI think your were spoiled growing up in Lebo :-)
ReplyDeleteI've only been to one baseball game in my life... and that was a Reds/Cubs game in Cincy (is that Riverfront stadium? Or something else?)... It beats the hell out of watching a game on TV...
That's a weird irony... Every year, as a child, I couldn't wait until baseball season started. I LOVED playing baseball... but I couldn't stand to watch more than 3 or 4 innings at a time on TV.