BUTLER TWP — While the Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled on the field this year, there was a time they compiled an effective club off of it.

The Diamond Club.

During the middle 1980s on into the 90's, the Pirates put together a group of roughly 40 Pittsburgh Area residents willing to sell tickets in their respective areas in return for certain “perks,” based on volume of sales.

Butler residents Harding “Corky” Whitacre and Dan Smith were members of the Diamond Club for a number of years.

“I taught at the high school and saw a flyer about it on a desk at school,” Whitacre recalled. “They were looking for people to sell Pirate game tickets in their region. I was a big fan and was intrigued by the whole thing. I had time off in the summer and thought it might be fun.

“Next thing I knew, I had clients all over Butler and as far north as Franklin and Warren. We added a personal touch to ticket sales that proved to be effective.”

Smith had a friend tell him he'd be perfect for the Diamond Club.

“The Pirates wanted people involved in their communities,” Smith said. “I was a Midget football coach, a baseball coach, was involved in soccer, was an assistant scoutmaster for my son's Scout troop. I was the type of person they were looking for.”

Whitacre estimated he and Smith “sold at least $500,000 worth of tickets, probably more.”

While Diamond Club members weren't paid, they did receive perks from the ballclub when reaching a certain quota in sales.

“I set sales goals for myself and usually hit them,” Whitacre said. “I was usually among the top three in sales. Armco, Magnetics, Service Star, they were all clients of mine. I remember setting up 18 buses of fans from Butler for a game.”

Among the perks the Pirates offered to Diamond Club members were family trips to spring training, taking road trips with the team and throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before a home game.

Whitacre and Smith were able to realize those rewards.

“Going down to spring training was a lot of fun,” Smith said. “Corky and I were involved in different circles, so both of us selling tickets in the Butler area worked really well.”

Whitacre attended spring training, threw out the first pitch twice and went on numerous road trips, including Montreal, Denver and San Diego.

“My favorite trip was to San Diego,” Whitacre said. “The perks were nice, but when Kevin McClatchy bought the team, some cuts were made and the Diamond Club rewards were one of them. Instead of a trip to San Diego, we only got to go to Philadelphia. The motivation started wearing off for me.

“We'd hit our sales goal and they'd keep raising the bar, wanting more. It got to be too much.”

Smith said he became too busy, doing shift work, playing softball and ran short of time.

“Evgerty evening, I was making a ton of phone calls to people, trying to sell tickets,” he said. “It almost became like a second job.”

The Diamond Club met once a month at Three Rivers Stadium. The club never knew who might drop in on a meeting, especially during the season when the Pirates were at home.

Then Pirate pitching coach Ray Miller was a guest at one meeting. Smith recalled a meeting when the Los Angeles Dodgers were in town.

“I brought my son to the meeting and a gentleman walked in and talked to him, told him he was a former major league player … it was Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda. An Italian club was having a dinner for him before the game and he popped in to visit.

“After those meetings, Diamond Club members were able to sit in the football press box and watch the game that night. We were treated well that way.”

The Diamond Club dissipated and disappeared over the years.

Smith admits it would be a “tough sell” getting people to buy Pirate tickets now.

“The ballpark is beautiful,” he said. “But the team never seems to keep its good players anymore. Back in the day, guys like Bill Mazeroski, Willie Stargell, you knew they'd be with the team for years. Everyone knew what the lineup would be.

“It's a different time now.”