Three Rivers Stadium    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates 1970-2000. Prior to Three Rivers the Pirates played at Forbes Field (1909-1970).

The Pirates has a long history at Forbes Field including World Series Championships in 1909, 1925, and 1960.  The Pirates won the World Series in 1971 and 1979 during their time at Three Rivers.

Of course, the opening of Three Rivers Stadium meant a farewell to Forbes Field. That ballyard, with its ivy-covered brick wall in the outfield, stood alongside Schenley Park and was the scene of many thrills for sports fans in Pittsburgh for 61 years.   

A new sports era in Pittsburgh began in the summer of 1970 with the opening of Three Rivers Stadium. The Pirates and the Steelers were the prime tenants from the start and Three Rivers became the center of sports excitement for metropolitan Pittsburgh and the Tri-State area.

Three Rivers Stadium was officially opened July 16, 1970, and there were 48,846 fans in attendance.

Three Rivers Stadium got its name because it is situated where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers merge to form the Ohio.  It may be the quintessential "cookie-cutter stadium" - it was symmetrical in shape, used artificial surface, and was a multipurpose sports facility designed so that the Pittsburgh Steelers could play there as well.

 

Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio and Vetran's Stadium in Philidelphia were identical to Three Rivers.  So much, in fact, that you felt like you were sitting in the same stadium no matter which one you were really at.

 

 

Construction of the stadium was begun on April 25, 1968, and took much longer than its predecessor, Forbes Field, which was built in four months.  The stadium was scheduled to open for the start of the 1970 season, but wasn’t ready on Opening Day; nor was it ready for its revised target date of May 29, because the lights had yet to be put in place. Finally, on July 16, the new stadium was ready.

 

 

The stadium sat on a Delaware Indian burial ground, and the location was the site of many battles fought by General George Washington over possession of nearby Fort Duquesne.  It also sat almost precisely on the site of Exposition Park, which housed the Pirates for 19 years from 1891-1909.

 

Three Rivers Field Layout

 

This began the 1970's cookie cutter stadium craze.  New astroturf was being used instead of grass.  The astrotruf allowed changing the field use from baseball to football use.  The Pittsburgh Steelers made their home at Three Rivers as well as the Pirates. 

 

Tony Perez hit the first home run there to help the Cincinnati Reds beat the Bucs in the opener, 3-2. Willie Stargell hit the first Pirate homer and it earned him $1,000, a gift from a local lumber company.

The Stadium was just as popular for football as baseball.  It was in 1972 that the Steelers' Franco Harris made his "Immaculate Reception" in the first NFL Playoff game ever played at Three Rivers as the Steelers surprised the Oakland Raiders, 13-7.

The stadium was shared with the Pittsburgh Steelers ever since the Pirates moved from Forbes Field in 1970. Three Rivers was demolished on February 11, 2001.

The Pirates moved into their new ballpark (PNC Park) in 2001 which is named after a bank.  

Memorable Moments:

·        "The Immaculate Reception," the fluky bounce into Franco Harris' arms, from a busted 66 Option with 22 seconds to go, that started the Steelers dynasty of the 1970s.

·        Hosted First night World Series game on October 13, 1971;

·        Roberto Clemente's 3,000th and final hit on September 30, 1972;

·        The 1974 and 1994 All-Star Games;

·        John Candelaria's no-hitter in 1976 (the first by a Pirate since 1907);

·        Steelers' 1976, 1979 and 1980 AFC title clinchers;

·        The first extra-inning, combined no-hitter in major league baseball history (Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon shut down the Houston Astros in a 3-0, 10th inning win on July 12, 1997).

Fun Facts:

Tenants: Pittsburgh Pirates (NL); Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL)
Opened: July 16, 1970
Last game: October 1, 2000
Demolished: February 11, 2001
Surface: Tartanturf, 1970 to 1982; Astroturf, 1983 to 2000
Capacity: 47,971 (baseball); 59,000 (football)
Owner: City of Pittsburgh
Cost: $55 million