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PNC Park is everything a ballpark should be - urban, open and intimate. The Pirates claim, and rightly so, that it is the best ballpark in the country. To understand just what PNC park represents to the Pirates and the city of Pittsburgh, however, you first have to understand the events which brought us to this day.
The Pirates' roots in Pittsburgh date back to April 15, 1876 when the Pittsburgh Alleghenies played in the city's first professional baseball game held at Union Park. The following year, the franchise was accepted into the minor league International Association, but the team and league disbanded after the 1877 season.
Baseball returned to Pittsburgh for good in 1882 when the Alleghenies put their team back together and joined the American Association. Games were played in an early version of Exposition Park on Pittsburgh's north shore.
The Alleghenies entered the National League on April 30, 1887 with their first game at Recreation Park, located at the corners of Grant and Pennsylvania Avenues along the Fort Wayne railroad tracks on the North Side. In 1890 the Alleghenies were renamed the Pittsburgh Pirates after "pirating" second baseman Louis Bierbauer away from the Philadelphia Athletics American Association team. The following year they moved into a new home, Exposition Park, situated along the Allegheny River between the former site of Three Rivers Stadium and the new home of PNC Park. As a matter of fact you can find the bases from Exposition Park outlined in white paint in the former parking lot of TRS.
June
30, 1909 brought the first Pirates game at Forbes
Field, a classic Major League Baseball Park. Forbes Field, named for
General John Forbes, a British general who, during the French and Indian War
(1758), captured Fort Duquesne and renamed it Fort Pitt, was located in the
Oakland district of Pittsburgh, at the entrance to picturesque Schenley
Park. Forbes Field, with a capacity of 35,000, hosted the World Series four
times (1909, 1925, 1927, 1960) and the All-Star Game twice (1944, 1959).
It's dimensions and look changed many times over its long history. It was
a gem of a ballpark but after 61 years had finally outlived its usefulness
and on June 28, 1970, 44,918 fans were present at the final game to say
goodbye. A few physical
reminders of the great ballpark still exist including home plate, a
plaque which marks the spot where Bill Mazeroski's 1960 World Series winning
home run left the park and a portion of the left-center wall.
The much anticipated Three Rivers Stadium, named after the three rivers (Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers) that converge at downtown Pittsburgh, opened on July 16, 1970. It was just a little too big and too sterile to be a good ballpark, however, and never quite lived up to expectations. TRS is an important part of Pittsburgh history and has celebrated many Major League 'firsts' including the first ever night World Series game during the 1971 series (which the Pirate's won) and Roberto Clemente's 3000th major league hit. The stadium has also hosted two All-Star Games (1974, 1994) and witnessed the largest crowd (59,568) to ever watch a professional baseball game in Pittsburgh during the 65th Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 12, 1994.
The newest chapter of Pirate history began on February 14, 1996, when Kevin McClatchy and his group of investors purchased the Pirates franchise from Pittsburgh Associates with the condition of building a baseball-only ballpark within five years. Ceremonial groundbreaking for PNC Park took place on April 7, 1999 and opening day took place just two years later on April 9, 2001 with a sellout crowd of 36,954.
Now in their 115th National League season, the Pittsburgh Pirates are proud of their history filled with five World Championship wins; legendary players including Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski; and some of baseball's most dramatic games and moments.
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What
Makes PNC Park so Special?
