Home Field Advantage
By Anne Madarasz

When the implosion of Three Rivers Stadium was planned for February 11, 2001, to make way for a new football stadium and baseball park, residents of this region began to recognize and once again appreciate the history created at the old stadium.

Three Rivers opened on July 16, 1970. A concrete, bowl-shaped, municipal stadium, it was the home field for both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the three decades it stood, these two teams created an enduring and national identity for Pittsburgh as the "City of Champions." The Pirates won two World Series and the Steelers garnered four Super Bowl championships while Three Rivers was their home field.

Three Rivers was constructed at a time when cities across the country were building large municipal stadiums designed not just as houses of sport (and a way for cities to hold onto their major league franchises), but as spurs to economic development. Just as in Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Atlanta, and St. Louis, the original vision for this "cookie cutter" stadium included development of its surrounding neighborhood, the North Shore area of the city, into a retail and commercial destination. City leaders considered Three Rivers to be an integral piece in the revitalization of Pittsburgh during the city's renaissance - a stadium for sports, a revenue generator, and a visible symbol of the newly conceived urban landscape. Three plaques were hung on the new stadium at its opening; the words on them read in part, "dedicated to those who engage in the constant struggle to build great cities."

Three Rivers Stadium went on to become the site of two of Pittsburgh's most enduring moments. On a dreary September Saturday afternoon, with only a little over 13,000 fans in attendance, Roberto Clemente came to the plate, batting against Mets pitcher Jon Matlack. Clemente connected on an outside curve and slammed the ball to the left-field wall for a double. As he stood at second, the crowd in Three Rivers gave him a thunderous standing ovation. Clemente joined a select club of then only 10 players who had reached the 3,000 hit milestone.

On December 23, 1972, sports history was again made at Three Rivers. The Steelers trailed the Raiders 7-6 on 4th & 10 from their own 40-yard line with 22 seconds left. Terry Bradshaw took the snap, eluded a defender and rifled the ball downfield toward Frenchy Fuqua. The Raider's Jack Tatum collided with Fuqua as the ball arrived. It caromed back up field where Franco Harris grabbed it and raced into the end zone for a winning score and the Steelers first ever playoff berth. The play has been immortalized as the Immaculate Reception.

Anne Madarasz is Director of the Western PA Sports Museum which will dedicate a PHMC marker with the Steelers and Pirates this month on the former site of Three Rivers Stadium.