Butler Township man continues to honor father’s memory by attending 50th Pirate home opener
BUTLER TWP — Baseball was their bond.
And it’s a bond John Pithers is making sure doesn’t get broken anytime soon.
Pithers, 59, of Butler Township, will be attending his 50th successive Pittsburgh Pirate home opener on Friday — not counting the COVID-19 2020 season in which fans were not permitted to attend — when the Bucs host the Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park.
His wife, D, will be joining him at the opener for the 11th consecutive year. The first 39 years of that streak belonged to Pithers and his father, Frank, who died weeks before the 2013 opener.
“My dad introduced me to baseball,” Pithers said. “He took me to my first opener in 1973 when I was 9. It was the season after Roberto Clemente died and Manny Sanguillen was in right field.
“That seems like such a long time ago, but that was the start of it. My passion for baseball definitely came from my father.”
Frank Pithers was a stellar third baseman in the Butler area who tried out for the Pirates during spring training in the 1940s. He actually made the team, but elected not to go because he didn’t want to spend so much time away from home.
“He gave up on his dream to spend time with his family. He worked in the mill at Armco his entire career. I always appreciated how family-oriented he was.”
Frank Pithers died of pneumonia and was “pretty sick” for the final 18 months of his life, Pithers said.
“I took him to the 2012 opener in a wheelchair,” he added. “We always sat behind the third base dugout, partly because dad played third base, and it was the Pirates dugout. That last year (2012), we were higher up in the handicapped section.”
Pithers and his father already had their tickets bought for the 2013 opener. When Pithers’ dad died, his wife took over for him and has accompanied Pithers to the home opener ever since.
Pithers bid on and bought the third base bag used in the Pirates’ 2012 home-opening game.
“It’s one of my most prized possessions,” he said.
While Pithers said he would have continued going to the home openers alone, his wife didn’t hesitate in joining him at the games.
“John is a creature of habit. Tradition means a lot to him,” Mrs. Pithers said. “Baseball is in his blood and that came from his father. I admire and respect that. I’m happy to go with him.
“I’m not much for watching baseball on TV,. but I enjoy being at the games in person.”
Another thing Pithers and his father shared was gathering sports collectibles. Pithers has numerous autographed baseballs, helmets, baseball spikes and jerseys. He said his father had more than 400 baseballs, including 100 autographed by Hall of Famers.
“My favorite Pirate ever is Willie Stargell,” Pithers said. “But I’ve got a lot of them for various reasons. Roberto Clemente was a legend. Andrew McCutchen is the most popular Pirate of this era. David Bednar and Neil Walker are Pirates who grew up here.”
He had his picture taken with Stargell, adding that it was “very odd that Willie died on the same day PNC Park opened.”
His favorite Pirate team was the 1979 championship club. He listed John Milner, Mike Easler, Bill Robinson and Don Robinson among his favorite players on that team.
Pithers has been to spring training 17 times in the past 20 years as well.
“He absolutely loves the game,” his wife said.
Frank Pithers always wore the same Pirate cap to the home openers. Pithers has brought that cap with him to every home opener since his father’s death.
“I don’t know how much longer I’ll continue this streak. I’ll definitely go as long as I’m healthy. I know he’s still with me at those games,” Pithers said. “He’s just watching from a much higher spot.”
