Sports History
Remembering Three Rivers
By Anne Madarasz

When the implosion of Three Rivers Stadium was planned for February 11, 2001, to make way for new football and baseball stadiums-Heinz Field and PNC 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 30 plus years it stood, these two professional sports teams created an enduring and national identity for Pittsburgh as the "City of Champions." The Pirates won two World Series there, in 1971 and 1979, and the Steelers garnered four Super Bowls championships while Three Rivers was their home field.

Three Rivers opened 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, in Three Rivers case the North Side 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 opening, the dedication on them read in part, "dedicated to those who engage in the constant struggle to build great cities."

Though Three Rivers Stadium may have lacked architectural atmosphere, the fans that filled its seats thrilled to the history created at the venue. The Pirates found the stadium to their liking, finishing first in the National League East in 1970 and then winning the World Series in their first full season at Three Rivers. On September 30, 1972, Roberto Clemente got hit number 3,000, his final regular season hit. Later that year one of the most acclaimed and still controversial plays in all of sports, the Immaculate Reception, occurred.

With just 22 seconds left in an AFC Divisional playoff game, and with the Oakland Raiders leading the Steelers 7-6, quarterback Terry Bradshaw faced a fourth-and-10 situation from the 40-yard line. He dropped back to pass, but was flushed from the pocket. Spotting Frenchy Fuqua, Bradshaw sailed a pass down the middle. Fuqua and Oakland's Jack Tatum reached for the ball; it popped from their arms, and was snatched up at shoelace level by rookie running back Franco Harris. As Harris raced into the end zone, Three Rivers erupted in celebration. After a delay, the game officials ruled the play a touchdown, the Steelers kicked the extra point, and five seconds later, as time ran out, the Steelers emerged victors 13-7.

Four Super Bowl victories would follow during the 1970s, providing a permanent place for Three Rivers in the memories of Pittsburgher fans.

Anne Madarasz is Director of the Western PA Sports Museum, which will dedicate a state historical marker for Three Rivers stadium with the Steelers and Pirates on November 26th.