THE HISTORY

BILLY WHO?
It is an oft-asked question. Ten numbers
adorn the ribbon of PNC Park facade
that salutes the men who have had their
numbers retired by the Pirates. One never
seems to belong. More than 60 years
after he last wore his No. 1, the question is asked more
than ever: Who is Billy Meyer, and why does he belong? The
answers are equally perplexing. Meyer managed the Pirates
from 1948-52 and oversaw some of the worst baseball in Pi-
rates history, going 317-452, including the 112-loss edition
of 1952 that finished a remarkable 541 2 games out of first
place. Yet, his number resides for all time among Wagner,
Waner and The Great One. According to a Pirates spokes-
man, it is because he was a fan favorite and because
of his service and his good human relations. Apparently
Leo Durocher was wrong: Nice guys dont always finish last.

OIL STAINS AND HISTORY

In a parking lot on the North
Shore between PNC Park and
Heinz Field a dingy-gray
expanse of concrete framed
by General Robinson Street to
the north, Tony Dorsett Drive
to the east, Chuck Noll Way
to the west and a new office
and retail building to the south that includes the editorial of-
fices of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is a splash of bright
yellow painted in the shape of a home plate. While it is easy
to ignore it as residue of a tailgate Whiffleball game, it is
actually residue of profound Pirates history. The parking lot
sits on much of the land where long-forgotten Exposition Exposition Park (1891-1909)
Park the Pirates home from 1891-1909 once stood,
and the spray-painted home plate on the spot where its
home plate was more than a century ago.
Three Rivers Stadium (1970-2001)

BACK TO THE BEGINNING

As an artistic backdrop to the Bill
Mazeroski statue outside PNC
Parks right-field gate are three
banks of red brick in homage to
the wall over which Mazs World
Series-ending home run sailed
in 1960. They are dutiful replica-
tions of that old wall. Well, two
of them, anyway. The one on the left and the one on the
right are aesthetic creations. But the one in the middle?
Hidden there in plain sight is the actual 406 section from
the left-center field wall over which history was made Oct.
13, 1960. When Forbes Field was brought down and Three
Rivers Stadium built, it became an accent in the stadiums
Allegheny Club. When Three Rivers came down, the section
returned to the Pirates, who then had it included in the stat-
ue dedicated in 2010 commemorating the greatest moment
in Pittsburgh sports history.

82 PITTSBURGH PIRATES 2016 PHOTOS (T, B): POST-GAZET TE, DARRELL SAPP; ILLUSTRATION: DANIEL MARSULA