Civic Arena Memories - Part II

As I sit on hold awaiting some tech support person from Verizon to help me out with a glitch (to quote John Russell) in my email, I thought that I would take a stab at my memories from 49 years of attending events at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, known for the past several years as the Mellon Arena.

I am not presenting this as a Top Ten list. Rather, it will be a stream of conscious recollection of good times past.

A certain person that I know would be quite upset if I did not mention that the Civic Arena was where she and I had our First Date. (Can you guess who I'm talking about?) The date was December 8, 1972, and the event was the late and sometimes lamented Steel Bowl college basketball tournament. It was the the first round of the tourney, and Pitt and Duquesne faced off against two since forgotten opponents. It was the start of something big, and the Civic Arena was the launching pad!

That Great Event aside, I can remember many things since the Arena opened in 1961.

** I saw my first ever hockey game there, featuring the red clad Pittsburgh Hornets of the AHL. I also think, but am not absolutely certain, that I saw the short-lived Pittsburgh Rens of the short-lived American Basketball League play in that initial season of the Arena's existence.

** Speaking of defunct teams and leagues, I CAN say with certainty that I did see the Pittsburgh Triangles, Pittsburgh Spirit, Pittsburgh Pipers, and Pittsburgh Condors play under the Dome. Never did make it to a Gladiators game.

** The Pipers bring back especially fond memories of their ABA Championship season of 1968-69, while watching the great Connie Hawkins do amazing things on the basketball court. Not to mention Art Heyman and Chico Vaughn!

** When the Pipers returned to Pittsburgh a few years later, reincarnated as the Condors, I do remember going to quite a few of their games in a near empty Arena while cheering on John Brisker. I also have specific memory of watching Rick Barry play in the ABA against the Condors. I also remember seeing a game where Stew Johnson poured in 63 points for the Condors. I believe that that was an ABA record at the time.

** Speaking of basketball, how about watching some great Duquesne Dukes games led by the Nelson Twins, Jarrett Durham, Billy Zopf, and Gary Majors. I especially seeing a game where the Dukes beat a highly favored St. Bonaventure team that was led by Bob Lanier.

** Many, many of the early years of the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic.

** Attending NCAA tournament first and second round games in 1997 and 2002.

** Seeing John Wooden leading the UCLA Bruins to Pittsburgh for a Steel Bowl appearance. Unfortunately, these were the Bruins after Lew Alcindor and before Bill Walton. Nothing against Steve Patterson, but he was no Alcindor or Walton! I did walk across the floor and shake hands with Coach Wooden after the game. True story.

** While hockey is not my main interest, I can say that I saw Wayne Gretzky play and, of course, Jaromir Jagr, Evgeny Malkin, Sydney Crosby, and the great mario Lemieux. I also was fortunate enough to attend some Stanley Cup playoff games, which were particularly exciting. The Penguins certainly know how to create an exciting in-game experience.

** It must be noted that I attended many of the aforementioned sporting events with my Dad and my older brothers, which make the memories that much better.

** Many of my best memories of the Arena will be of concerts that I attended. Top of the list, of course, would be seeing Elvis Presley with Marilyn in 1973. Others of note would be Jose Feliciano with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Dionne Warwick, Frank Sinatra (twice) in the early 90's, Simon & Garfunkel in 2003, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Reba McIntire, and in 2009, Bruce Springsteen. (Bruce and the E Street Band covered Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" - unforgettable!) So, it can be said that I saw The King, The Boss, and The Chairman of the Board under the Arena's stately stainless steel dome!

** Speaking of concerts, sorry to say that I missed The Beatles' appearance in 1964, but I was only 13 at the time and Frank and Ruth weren't quite ready to let me loose at that stage.

** The only time I can remember being in the Arena when the roof opened was for a concert of the Pittsburgh Symphony led by Henry Mancini.

** Oh, and how can I forget such memorable evenings of Pro Rasslin' featuring the likes of Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, The Moon Dogs, and other WWF greats from the mid-1980's. I even saw the great Bruno Sammartino at the tail end of his career in the Squared Circle.

** For all of these great memories, I hate to say that it will go down that the last event I attended at the Arena was the hokey "Get Motivated" all day seminar last August. True, it was neat to hear General Colin Powell, but the rest of it was, as I said, pretty hokey.

All in all, lots of happy times spent in the Civic Arena. I look forward to seeing things in the new state-of-the-art Consol Energy Center, but I am not guessing that I will spend the time there that I spent at the Arena over the years. I am guessing that my first event there will be a concert of some sort. Anyone have any extra tickets for Lady Gaga?

I welcome others to share their memories, as Loyal Reader BigPoppy already has.