Sigh……50 years ago today…

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

I recall watching the 72 loss as mentioned, probably due to how my dad reacted.

Don’t recall a thing about the 71 WS. Too young.

We apparently were among the many in WPA who couldn’t see the Immaculate Reception game because it was blacked out. I have no recollection of it. Started to know vaguely about the Steelers and football that fall though. I knew Franco’s Italian Army. I knew Gerela’s Gorillas.

I distinctly remember my dad coming in to our dining room when we were about to have breakfast and mentioning that Roberto Clemente had died the night before. He was very sad. I didn’t truly KNOW what Clemente was but I certainly got the gist from that that his passing was a serious matter. My dad never made any similar announcements like that before for sure.

I remember watching the divisional playoff with my dad the following season when the Raiders got revenge on the Steelers with a pretty thorough beating. Not much of the regular season.

74 was when I really got into it, watched every Steelers game and the playoffs and Super Bowl. I really understood more nuances. Recall watching the blowout over the Bills in the divisional playoff. Recall watching Oakland win the divisional game over Miami in the final seconds and feeling “sports dread” for the first time (as an eventual Pitt fan, Dread along with its cousin Disappointment would become commonplace through the years). Then the euphoria of the AFC Championship in Oakland and the Super Bowl. I wrote a short story in 3rd grade about the Super Bowl, recall it vividly.

At the same time the Pirates were rolling their way through competitive seasons, but never getting as close at they did in 72. Recall a pretty thorough beat down from the Dodgers in one of the divisional playoffs. Mostly recall there were dramatic races between the Bucs and Phillies mid and late decade.

I was thoroughly off and running as diehard sports fan by then. I’d watch and follow other teams and games besides “my” teams. I collected and traded baseball and football cards. I recall trading a Jim Otto card to my 4 th grade teacher (a Raiders fan, blasphemy!) for a Franco Harris rookie card, which was a big deal to me (and I sure wish I’d kept).

Yeah, I can pretty much echo all of this aside from the Jim Otto jersey LOL.

 

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

Yeah, I can pretty much echo all of this aside from the Jim Otto jersey LOL.

A topps card, not a jersey…I can only imagine what my teacher would have given for a Raiders jersey… You couldn’t exactly easily find such things in the mid 70s. Otto was cool for having the “00” number. So it’s likely why that transaction stands out.

But in general it was always a bummer to buy a pack of cards and not get any Pirates or Steelers. Remember getting loads of Cubs and Padres cards, which was really annoying since they stunk. You count foist those off on anyone.

I knew a “rich kid” (likely not much more than my own, just more spoiled) whose parents were able to order the entire Tops collection of whatever year (say 1975). It came in some collector wooden box. It was like a holy grail. But it was like cheating too. Sort of the equivalent of USC being able to buy great players to instantly have a great team. We hated the kid for that, lol.

 

[OH Pete]

I was a little too young to remember that team. Too me the 1992 playoff loss was the most crushing Pirates loss. They snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. And you knew that this was it because the economics of the game were dramatically changing. They had already lost Bobby Bonilla. Bonds was next. You just knew that this was our last best chance for a long, long time. Maybe ever again.

 

[upj87]

Nah. I knew enough by then that Pitt had talent but something seemed amiss, a lack of consistency. An eventual loss seemed inevitable. DM threw a lot of interceptions, we were generally sloppy much of the time (I guess a stain on the Sherrill myth we forget today). Penn State was less talented, but not by much, and more disciplined (and always got favorable officiating, always).

It would have been a more painful loss if it had a been a more thrilling back and forth game. But it was weird in how lopsided it was for us at first, and then immediately flipped to being lopsided for PS, a complete 180. So it was an easy game to dismiss and move on from, which I did, somewhere around the third quarter. They can get all gooey in their innards about it, the equivalent to a naked 5 year old boy for them… but frankly I was more pissed about the next season, which continued the sloppy trend to an extreme.

something seemed amiss?...uh, I knew enough then that it kept Pitt from playing for a national championship.

 

[Mufasa94]

Agree with those that say ‘72 was worst for Pirates because of the relative likelihood of a WS win compared to ‘92. Don’t think anyone could honestly say Pirates were better than Toronto for a theoretical ‘92 WS.

Slso, ‘91 was a more blown opportunity than ‘92 because that was a better team with better opportunity for a WS win. Will point out they were up 3-2, never 3-1.

The knowledge at the time of the future seasons is what intensifies the ‘92 feelings.

 

[happjack]

Agree with those that say ‘72 was worst for Pirates because of the relative likelihood of a WS win compared to ‘92. Don’t think anyone could honestly say Pirates were better than Toronto for a theoretical ‘92 WS.

Slso, ‘91 was a more blown opportunity than ‘92 because that was a better team with better opportunity for a WS win. Will point out they were up 3-2, never 3-1.

The knowledge at the time of the future seasons is what intensifies the ‘92 feelings.

Up 3-2 with games 6 and 7 at home.

 

[Panther Parrothead]

I don’t claim to be clairvoyant, nor do I have tea leaves, a Ouiji board, or even a Magic 8-Ball. But I knew that Johnny Bench was gonna hit that home run as soon as he came to the plate. The guy was always “clutch” against the Pirates, and once he connected, I knew that the Pirates were doomed - even though his homer only tied the score.

 

[pittmeister]

I don’t claim to be clairvoyant, nor do I have tea leaves, a Ouoji board, or even a Magic 8-Ball. But I knew that Johnny Bench was gonna hit that home run as soon as he came to the plate. The guy was always “clutch” against the Pirates, and once he connected, I knew that the Pirates were doomed - even though his homer only tied the score.

Eenie meanie chili beanie….

 

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

I don’t claim to be clairvoyant, nor do I have tea leaves, a Ouoji board, or even a Magic 8-Ball. But I knew that Johnny Bench was gonna hit that home run as soon as he came to the plate. The guy was always “clutch” against the Pirates, and once he connected, I knew that the Pirates were doomed - even though his homer only tied the score.

Others like this against the Bucs over the years:
Willie Davis (cards)
Darrell Evans (giants)
Mike Schmidt (Phillies)
Jack Clark (cards)
Andre Dawson (Expos)
Gary Pendleton (Braves)
Howard Johnson (Muck the Fets … hated this guy with the heat of a trillion suns)
Albert Pujols (cards, first stint)
I’m sure there’s many more I’m forgetting

Special mention goes to the Phillies pitchers who HIT very well against the Pirates.

 

[TempleBAPittMPA]

Others like this against the Bucs over the years:
Willie Davis (cards)
Darrell Evans (giants)
Mike Schmidt (Phillies)
Jack Clark (cards)
Andre Dawson (Expos)
Gary Pendleton (Braves)
Howard Johnson (Muck the Fets … hated this guy with the heat of a trillion suns)
Albert Pujols (cards, first stint)
I’m sure there’s many more I’m forgetting

Special mention goes to the Phillies pitchers who HIT very well against the Pirates.

Willie Davis was a Dodger. Maybe you meant Willie McGee, who was a Cardinal.

 

[Panther Parrothead]

Others like this against the Bucs over the years:
Willie Davis (cards)
Darrell Evans (giants)
Mike Schmidt (Phillies)
Jack Clark (cards)
Andre Dawson (Expos)
Gary Pendleton (Braves)
Howard Johnson (Muck the Fets … hated this guy with the heat of a trillion suns)
Albert Pujols (cards, first stint)
I’m sure there’s many more I’m forgetting

Special mention goes to the Phillies pitchers who HIT very well against the Pirates.

I remember when there was a period of several years in the mid-60's when Reds' bench player Art Shamsky, of all people, seemed to "own" the Pirates. One particular game was exasperating. To get the details correct, I looked this up (on Wikipedia):

Shamsky tied a major league record by homering in 4 consecutive at bats for the Reds on August 12 and 14, 1966. The first three home runs were hit in a game in which he was inserted in the eighth inning as part of a double-switch. He homered in the bottom half of that inning and remained in the game to hit home runs in his next two extra-inning at bats, extending the game each time. The feat made Shamsky the first player in Reds history to hit two home runs in extra innings in one game. He is also the only player in Major League history to hit three home runs in a game in which he was not in the starting lineup. The fourth home run was hit as a pinch hitter in the next game he played, on August 14. His bat from that day is on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

He proved that you didn't even have to be a starter to be a Pirates nemesis.

 

[TempleBAPittMPA]

I remember when there was a period of several years in the mid-60's when Reds' bench player Art Shamsky, of all people, seemed to "own" the Pirates. One particular game was exasperating. To get the details correct, I looked this up (on Wikipedia):

Shamsky tied a major league record by homering in 4 consecutive at bats for the Reds on August 12 and 14, 1966. The first three home runs were hit in a game in which he was inserted in the eighth inning as part of a double-switch. He homered in the bottom half of that inning and remained in the game to hit home runs in his next two extra-inning at bats, extending the game each time. The feat made Shamsky the first player in Reds history to hit two home runs in extra innings in one game. He is also the only player in Major League history to hit three home runs in a game in which he was not in the starting lineup. The fourth home run was hit as a pinch hitter in the next game he played, on August 14. His bat from that day is on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

He proved that you didn't even have to be a starter to be a Pirates nemesis.

I remember that. I could be wrong on this, but I believe when Shamsky was first inserted into that game, it was his major league debut.

Shamsky would also become an integral part of the Mets "miracle" 1969 pennant and World Series run. And yes, he continued to own the Pirates.