Forbes Field goes historic

A familiar line of brick next to Posvar Hall was the center of attention on Friday as fans,… A familiar line of brick next to Posvar Hall was the center of attention on Friday as fans, athletes and politicians gathered on Schenley Drive to dedicate the new historical marker for the classic baseball stadium that adorned Oakland for more than 60 years — Forbes Field.

Built in 1909, Forbes Field was the home park for the Pirates and the Homestead Grays — a Negro League team — until it was closed in 1970. The structure also housed college football games, championship boxing matches, political and cultural events and two All-Star Games.

The ceremony, a part of the events leading up to this year’s All-Star Game at PNC Park, recalled the time when baseball was America’s pastime with free stadium foods like hot dogs and peanuts, a man dressed in a classic baseball uniform and Uncle Sam walking on stilts.

Mayor Bob O’Connor spoke to the considerable crowd of sports nuts and history buffs, as did many former baseball players, including former Pirates pitcher Steve Blass and members of the Negro Leagues.

People at the event offered free T-shirts and other free baseball memorabilia, which all became prime surfaces for baseball-star autographs.

The ceremony also included an audio recording of the 1960 World Series home run that Bill Mazeroski hit at Forbes Field to win the series for the Pirates. Mazeroski was not present at the ceremony.

The new marker is a reproduction of the stadium’s outfield wall — complete with the blue Pennsylvania historical sign found at many landmarks in Pittsburgh.

State Sen. Jim Ferlo, who is also the commissioner of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, led the dedication ceremony, welcoming the crowd and introducing the speakers.

Jane Crawford, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, said the decision to give Forbes Field a historical marker was not difficult based on its great history of sporting and political events.

The commission worked with a local organization, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, to plan the ceremony and finance the marker. Ferlo and O’Connor were also important in planning the All-Star Week event, Crawford said.

Anne Madarasz, spokesperson for the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, said Ferlo was responsible for beginning the effort to give Forbes Field its historical marker. He formed the committee that headed the effort.

The Forbes Field Working Committee included members from historical societies, the Pittsburgh Pirates, community affairs representatives and history professors from Pitt, Madarasz said.

She said that Pitt was included because of its proximity to the new landmark, which sits on city property in front of Mervis Hall. The park itself stood where Posvar Hall now stands.

Madarasz said it was also Ferlo’s idea to place the ceremony on All-Star Week in order to make the ceremony a success by coordinating publicity and interest.

Immediately following the ceremony, the baseball field behind the wall hosted a Little League game in which the two participating teams wore the jerseys of the Pirates and the Homestead Grays, each child sporting the number of a different baseball star of old.