Name: Three Rivers Stadium
Brand: The Association of Gentleman Pittsburgh Journalists
SKU: 9781467145367
Price: 12.0 USD
Availability: InStock

Three Rivers Stadium

9781467145367

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

Erected on the city's Northside in 1970, Three Rivers Stadium was Pittsburgh's home of champions for three decades. It hosted the first-ever World Series game played at night as the Pirates would win their last two titles there. The Pitt-Penn State rivalry in college football was never more heated than under the bright lights of Three Rivers. The Steel Curtain era of the Steelers brought Super Bowl wins and elevated the stadium to become one of the most feared venues in all of professional sports. Locally referred to as the "House that Clemente Built," the stadium was the site of the beloved right fielder's 3,000th hit. Join local sportswriters as they recall the roaring crowds, rocking stands and greatest moments of Three Rivers Stadium.

The Pawtucket Red Sox

9781467145633

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The Pawtucket Red Sox were one of the country's premier AAA baseball teams, and for forty-five years they called Rhode Island home. In February 2015, a group of investors purchased the team from the widow of beloved owner Ben Mondor and longtime executives Mike Tamburro and Lou Schwechheimer. The group tried to keep the team in Rhode Island and move them to a new ballpark, first in Providence and then in Pawtucket. But building sports stadiums requires vision, political will and leadership. Through a series of political and financial missteps, the various plans collapsed, resulting in the announcement in August 2018 that the team would be moving to Worcester, Massachusetts. Join author James Ricci as he reveals how Rhode Island lost its revered team.

Red Sox in 5s and 10s

9781467145084

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The Boston Red Sox have blown hot and cold over the decades. These lists of Top 5s and 10s cover both the highs and lows of a team that has endured a long history of both joy and sorrow. They won the first World Series ever played and then five more pennants in the next fifteen years. Famously, from 1918 until the magical year of 2004, the Sox endured eighty-six seasons without a championship, although they lost pennants and world championships on the last possible day more times than fans care to remember. Finally, in 2004, they won it all. Loyal fans will always remember the joy of Mo Vaughn's grand slam on opening day in 1998 and will likely never forget the agony of Game 6 in 1986. Through it all, unforgettable names like Buckner, Yaz, Tony C. and Big Papi still resonate in the shadows of Fenway Park. From the greatest pitchers to the worst opening days, author Bill Nowlin recounts the highs and lows of Boston's most celebrated sports franchise.

Where Pittsburgh Played

9781467151467

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The Epicenter of Steel City Sports

From Forbes Field to Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood has been home to some of the most iconic moments in sports history. Including the Fitzgerald Field House and the Duquesne Gardens, Oakland has drawn in both professional and college sports fans alike.

Local authors and sports historians David Finoli, Tom Rooney, Robert Healy III, Douglas Cavanaugh and Chris Fletcher celebrate the glorious victories and heartbreaking losses throughout the history of Pittsburgh's Oakland section, the epicenter of Steel City Sports.

1976 National Champion Pitt Panthers, The

9781467148931

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Ten years after a one-loss season and being ranked third in the nation, the University of Pittsburgh's historic football team had fallen on hard times. In 1973, the team hired former All-American Johnny Majors to right the ship, and he promptly recruited Tony Dorsett and Al Romano. Over the next four years, the new-look Panthers were brought back to prominence with stunning victories, culminating in the 1976 NCAA National Championship. Dorsett, a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, became the first college running back to eclipse two thousand yards in a season and was awarded the Heisman Trophy in the championship year. Author David Finoli tells the story of one of the most dramatic turnarounds in college football history.

1976 National Champion Pitt Panthers, The

Pittsburgh's Civic Arena

9781467148849

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Lovingly nicknamed the Igloo, the Civic Arena was home to the Pittsburgh Penguins until 2010 and hosted some of the most important sports and entertainment events in Steel City history. During the glorious Mario Lemieux era, the venue hosted four Stanley Cup Finals, including three championship-winning seasons. Muhammad Ali KO'ed Charlie Powell in 1963 there. It was home to Duquesne Basketball in the arena's early days and has hosted some of the University of Pittsburgh's most important basketball games as well. Some of the biggest acts in music history have rocked the Igloo's seats, including Elvis, the Beatles and frequent favorite, Bruce Springsteen. Join local sports and media writers as they recall the greatest moments in Civic Arena's storied history.

Unlucky 21

9781467143721

$24.99

The number 21 may be lucky in cards, but it is very unlucky for Western Pennsylvania sports fans. Only the Pittsburgh Steelers allow a player to wear this sacred number, while to the rest of the region's franchises the number means heartbreak. The Penguins retired it after budding superstar Michel Briere died in 1971 following an automobile accident. Hall of Fame Pirate shortstop Arky Vaughan, who drowned in 1952 while trying to save a friend, also wore unlucky 21. The tragic story of Roberto Clemente is well known and caused the team to retire the cursed number. A diverse group of Pittsburgh writers and sports lovers present those stories and more in twenty-one tales of Western Pennsylvania sports sorrow.

New York’s Greatest Thoroughbreds

9781467149211

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Champion Race Horses of the Empire State

From Saratoga to Belmont Park, New York hosts some of horse racing's most important races, but many of the most successful thoroughbreds of the past five decades also have called the state home. Say Florida Say seemed to only improve with age, winning thirty-three times throughout a seven-year career that made him a regional favorite in the 1990s. The first ever New York horse to win the Kentucky derby, Funny Cide, rose to national prominence in 2003, winning both the Derby and the Preakness in incredible fashion. The thoroughbred Audible shared owners with triple-crown winner Justify, and though embroiled in some controversy as a result, was also an elite race horse during a brief career.

Author Allan Carter highlights the stories behind the greatest New York thoroughbreds of the past half-century.

Pittsburgh Sports Firsts

9781467146111

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Countless groundbreaking moments in the nation's sports history were made on the gridirons, courts, fields, ice rinks and ballparks of Pittsburgh. Duquesne's Chuck Cooper was the first African American player drafted by the NBA. Beloved local radio station KDKA produced the first-ever broadcast of a Major League Baseball game. The Pittsburgh Stars were the first NFL champions in 1902. The first nighttime World Series game was played in the Steel City, and the only game seven World Series walk-off homerun happened there too. The city boasts compelling claims as the birthplace of pro hockey, pro football and college basketball. Some of the most preeminent authors and sports historians of Western Pennsylvania capture the vivid moments that make Pittsburgh a city of historic sports firsts.

Ski Jumping in the Northeast

9781467148160

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Dozens of towering ski jumps once dotted the landscape across the northeastern United States. Introduced by Norwegian immigrants in the late 1800s, ski jumping became popular in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut. From Lake Placid to Salisbury, crowds thronged to the jumps to watch. Youngsters like the Tokle brothers and Roy Sherwood rose to stardom. All of that changed in the 1980s, though, with the end of college jumping. Today, only a handful of jumping clubs remain. But in a rare few communities, a strong sense of tradition keeps the spirit alive. Join author and coach Ariel Picton Kobayashi as she examines ski jumping's fascinating identity as both a small-town tradition and thrilling sport.

Gotham Baseball

9781467141635

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Baseball may be the great American pastime, but in New York, it is a religion. Names like Ruth, Mays, Gehrig, Wright and Robinson live in the hearts and minds of New York fans like apostles. From the street corner to the subway car, debates about which Yankee, Giant, Dodger or Met is better than another have raged on for more than one hundred years. Now, the best of the best are chosen for each position as New York's all-time greatest team is imagined. Shoo-ins like the Babe and Jackie have their stories told with a fresh perspective. The compelling case for Mike Piazza, not Yogi Berra, as catcher is sure to spark arguments. Sportswriter Mark Healey crafts the Gotham baseball team through captivating tales of the legends of the New York game.

Baseball in Huntsville

9781467152693

$23.99

The Rocket City Trash Pandas, who made their Class AA South debut last summer, rekindled the interest in professional baseball in this area. As a journalist, it rekindled my interest in looking at the team with some historical context, to the first baseball team in the area (in 1903, with Ty Cobb as a visiting player) to the arrival of the first affiliated team (in 1985) and its ultimate demise. I discovered interesting characters of the early days (the first "graduate" from Huntsville to the majors once placed a dead rat in a sportswriter's bed, perhaps a precursor to the horse's head in The Godfather). The Huntsville Stars era was populated with some legendary players, like Jose Canseco, who was the league MVP in the first year of the franchise, Mark McGwire, Tim Hudson, Ryan Braun and Nelson Cruz. The Huntsville area also produced some fascinating players like Gabby Street, famous for catching a ball dropped from the top of the Washington Monument, Jimmy Key, Craig Kimbrel and our "Mr. Baseball," Don Mincher, who homered in his first World Series at-bat, enjoyed a 14-year career in the majors, became a team general manager, owner and, ultimately, president of the Southern League. Even as people embrace the freshness of the Trash Pandas, so often the conversation will turn to "I remember when…" moments from the Stars' era.

Chesapeake Outdoor Tales

9781467144483

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Join author and avid outdoorsman C.L. Marshall as he tells tales of the ups and the downs of outdoor life on the Chesapeake Bay.

It's more often the failures rather than the successes that stick in the memories of outdoorsmen. Late September can bring some of the best white marlin fishing of the season to Delmarva, but sometimes you catch a batch of pineapples instead. Sometimes poor weather and a rough season can lead to a duck depression, but one good afternoon can turn it all around. The relationships built during these hunting and fishing adventures can make up for even the worst of days - a broken boat, the loss of a beloved dog and more.

Integrating Pittsburgh Sports

9781467152594

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Steel City Sports as a Catalyst for Change Though Pittsburgh athletics had many of the same barriers to equality and racial discrimination as the rest of the nation for far too long, the city has celebrated some of the most important moments in the integration of sports in the country. Pittsburgh was the only city with two Negro League teams, fielding such future Hall of Famers as Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston and Satchel Paige. Local high school basketball stars Chuck Cooper, Bill Nunn, Jr., Dick Ricketts, Maurice Stokes, and Jack Twyman held integrated pick-up games at local parks such as Mellon Park in Shadyside in the 1950s. In college football, Connellsville native Jimmy Joe Robinson became the first African American player on Pitt's football team in 1945 as the school continued to integrate its squad ahead of federal desegregation. The Association of Gentleman Pittsburgh Journalists present the compelling, heartbreaking and courageous history of how Pittsburgh's integration of sport helped lead the nation.