Forbes Field stood the test of time
Barney Dreyfuss wasn’t jealous. He may have been envious.
The Pittsburgh Pirates owner had seen Philadelphia open Shibe Park as the new home of the Athletics in 1909. Baseball parks at that time were primarily constructed of wood and Shibe Park became the first ballpark made from concrete and steel.
Dreyfuss wanted to beat it.
And Forbes Field was born.
The major leagues’ first three-tiered ballpark — also made of concrete and steel — featured box seats on top of the grandstand’s upper deck, clubhouses for both teams and the umpires, along with ramps and elevators.
Forbes Field — named after British General John Forbes, who captured Fort Duquesne in a battle during the French-Indian War and renamed it Fort Pitt — was built in 122 days. The first game was played on June 30, 1909, against the Chicago Cubs. It was played less than four months after ground was first broken for the park.
Forbes Field — which replaced Exposition Park as the Pirates’ home — cost $2 million to build.
“Pittsburgh can now boast of the world’s finest baseball park,” Dreyfuss was quoted as saying. “It is a marvel of which people in other cities can find no adequate conception until they come here and see it.”
Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame second baseman Johnny Evers was the first batter in Forbes Field history. George Gibson had the Pirates’ first hit there.
Al Oliver hit the last home run at the ballpark on June 28, 1970, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cubs — and the last game played at Forbes Field.
But a whole lot happened there in between.
The Pirates played there for 61 years. The University of Pittsburgh bought the facility in 1958 and planned to eventually expand the college on those grounds. Part of the sale agreement, however, was that the Pirates could play there until a new ballpark was built.
The NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers played their home games at Forbes Field from 1933-63. Pitt football played there from 1909 through 1924. Carnegie Tech and Duquesne played their home college football games at Forbes as well.
Carnegie Tech upset undefeated Notre Dame, 19-0, in 1926. Fighting Irish coaching legend Knute Rockne didn’t even make the trip to Pittsburgh that day, he was so certain of victory.
Forbes Field housed professional boxing cards from the 1910s through the 1950s. Harry Greb, Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott and Billy Conn were among the legendary heavyweights who fought there.
But the Pirates were Forbes Field’s prime tenant.
The Bucs won World Series titles at Forbes in 1909, 1925 and 1960, In their first season in the ballpark, the Pirates put together a 110-42 record, sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the Series. The 1925 team became the first to rally from a 3-1 deficit in games to win a World Series, coming back against the Washington Senators. The 1960 team stunned the heavily favored New York Yankees in seven games, winning the championship on Bill Mazeroski’s ninth-inning home run in Game 7.
It was Mazeroski who would record the final out at Forbe Field, stepping on second base for a force play to wrap up a 4-1 win over the Cubs in Game 2 of the aforementioned doubleheader.
Forbes Field was known for its deep outfield dimensions. Dreyfuss was not a fan of the “cheap” home run, therefore demanding the outfield wall be a long way from the plate. Then Pirates manager Fred Clarke helped to design the playing dimensions. The foul pole down the left field line was 365 feet away. The left-center power alley was 457 feet to the wall, while center field was 435. The right field foul pole was only 300 feet away, but a nearly 18-foot high screen was placed there to discourage the easy home run. The right field power alley jetted out to 408 feet.
Center field was so deep that the batting cage sat on the warning track during games and was considered in play. Left field featured a 27-foot tall manual scoreboard. Balls hitting that scoreboard were in play, though balls that hit the 14-foot Longines clock that stood above it were considered home runs.
Babe Ruth hit the final three homers of his career on May 25, 1935, at Forbes Field, while playing for the Boston Braves. His final home run was the first to sail over the right field roof. Only 15 more homers ever cleared the roof there, five of those hit by Willie Stargell.
Forbes Field was adjusted to allow for more home runs in 1947. The Pirates acquired slugger Hank Greenberg that year. moved the bullpens from foul territory to behind the left field fence, moving the fence in 30 feet. That area between the original wall and new fence was coined Greenberg Gardens.
Greenberg played only that 1947 season with the Pirates. Ralph Kiner joined the team at that point and the fence stayed moved in until Kiner was traded in 1953. Then the original wall was restored.
While Forbes Field was considered a pitcher’s park, it was also known for plenty of triples and inside-the-park home runs. The Pirates recorded a major league record eight triples in one game on May 30, 1925, and Owen “Chief” Wilson hit 36 triples during the 1912 season, a big league record that still stands.
There were 4,700 major league games played at Forbes Field. A no-hitter was never pitched there.
During the park’s early years, luxury box seats at Forbes Field cost only $1.50, a regular box seat $1. Left field bleacher seats were 50 cents and only cost 75 cents well into the 1960s.
Longtime Forbes Field public address announcer Art McKennan said of the ballpark: “There’s not much flubdubber. You just got a ballgame. If you didn’t like it, you could stay home.”
Jim Nelson was the winning pitcher in the last game played at Forbes Field. Oliver was playing right field for Roberto Clemente in the second game of that twin bill as Clemente became emotional on that final day.
“I spent half of my life here,” Clemente was quoted after the last game.
After a couple of fires damaged the facility, Forbes Field was torn down in 1971.
It took two years and $55 million to build Three Rivers Stadium, which lasted 31 years.
“Leaving Forbes Field, they took the players away from the fans that day,” legendary Pirate broadcaster Bob Prince said.
