Pirates fans remember historic home run at old Forbes Field

Like many young fans in 1960, George Skornickel missed most of Game 7 of the World Series… Like many young fans in 1960, George Skornickel missed most of Game 7 of the World Series because he was in school. Luckily for Skornickel, he arrived home for the best part.

With his high school located near his house, Skornickel hurried home at the end of the day and sat down in front of the television just in time to see Bill Mazeroski make history by hitting his World Series-winning home run over the wall at Forbes Field.

That was 50 years ago, but Skornickel still remembers the moment like it just happened.

“Next thing I remember is my mother going around with a frying pan and a wooden cooking spoon and banging that thing like it’s the end of the world,” he said. “Then we packed up in the car and went Downtown to celebrate, but I’ll always remember that frying pan.”

Skornickel was one of the hundreds of fans gathered at the preserved Forbes Field wall below Posvar Hall yesterday to listen to the broadcast from Game 7 of the 1960 World Series.

The game started broadcasting at 1 p.m. so that at 3:36 p.m., fans could listen as Mazeroski hit a home run that broke the 9-9 tie against the Yankees in the bottom of the ninth. It’s still the only Game 7 series-winning home run in history.

Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and Pirates Charities honored Mazeroski with a sidewalk plaque in remembrance of his home run.

The tradition of listening to the game at Forbes Field Wall started nearly 15 years ago and Skornickel was one of the first to attend. This year, the 50th anniversary of Mazeroski’s blast, Skornickel said the crowd included five times the amount of people that normally attend.

“I can remember days when we had six people come to a flag pole and then you turn around today and you’re like, ‘Wow, what happened?’” he said.

He’s part of the Game 7 Gang, some of the original people to listen to the broadcast, and he said the camaraderie between fans is what keeps him coming back.

“The six of us have nothing in common except this,” he said. “You meet all these people and they share their stories. It’s just a great day.”

Some fans traveled long distances to attend the event, including Gene Augustine, who arrived from Alaska. He said he heard about the broadcast a year ago while listening to the radio and decided to make the trip.

“October is a beautiful time to leave Alaska when winter is setting in and come to the beauty of Western Pennsylvania,” he said.

Augustine was 8 years old in 1960 and, like Skornickel, he said he made it home just in time to see the game-winner go over the wall in left center field.

“I was literally one block from the school so I ran home and was able to see the end of the game,” Augustine said. “The Bucs were everything then.”

Augustine’s brother-in-law Harry Watson also made the trip for the first time.

Watson, who was 12 years old in 1960, didn’t arrive home in time to see the end of the game. He was stuck waiting for a bus on the playground and right before the it arrived, the Pirates won the game.

“We sang the Pirates song and all that stuff on the way home,” he said.

Watson said he didn’t know yesterday’s event would be so large.

“It’s fun,” he said. “I didn’t know there was still a part of the wall there, I had not heard that.”

A self-described die-hard Pirates fan, Watson said the event allows fans to feel like they did when the Pirates had winning teams.

With the teams they have now, he added, reaching .500 would be a big accomplishment, though perhaps it shouldn’t. The Pirates were even underdogs going up against the Yankees in 1960, Watson pointed out.

“The Yankees were a far better team on paper,” he said. “They had better averages and scored more runs. They had all the greats and the Pirates didn’t really match up. Nobody thought they had a chance.”When they did win, Watson said people spontaneously flooded downtown Pittsburgh in celebration.

Gathered with Watson and others in yesterday’s crowd was Woody Boyle, who traveled to Pittsburgh from Florida to listen to the broadcast in Oakland. Seven years old at the time, Boyle stayed home from school on the day of Game 7 and watched the win with his aunts and uncles.

“It’s pretty cool [listening to the game again,]” he said, sitting on the grass right below Posvar. “Especially sitting right here. Right there is the mark, if you extend the fence, where the ball went over, so I’m kind of like right where the outfielder was chasing the ball. And my buddy is a Yankee fan, so I’ll have to tell him about it.”

Boyle said he had wanted to attend the event for years, and then decided if he was going to come, it was going to be for the 50th anniversary.

“This shows there are a bunch of Pirates fans still,” he said.

Three of those fans were Gary Scheimer, who was attending the broadcast for the second time,  and Gus Melis and his son Kirt Melis, who Scheimer brought for their first visit. Scheimer doesn’t remember Game 7, but Gus Melis does.

“I was in school, but I got home just in time to listen to the end of the game,” he said. “This [event] is fantastic.”

The three went to Essie’s Original Hot Dog Shop before the broadcast, just like they would have if they were going to Forbes Field, then settled in to listen to the game. Melis said they would stay until the end, adding with a laugh that they “have to see who wins.”

“If you’re a Pirates fan, this is just part of the history and the lore that made it great,” Scheimer said.