On Exposition Park

In 1995, when the Pirates were three seasons into their twenty year losing streak and playing at a decaying Three Rivers Stadium, while PNC Park was barely a gleam in Mayor Tom Murphy's eye, a group of Pittsburgh Chapter SABR members set about the task of determining the exact location of home plate of long gone and pretty much forgotten Exposition Park, where the Pirates played their home games from 1890 to 1909.  (Disclaimer:  This was before I became a member of SABR, so I can take absolutely no credit for this.)  I wrote about this little venture back in October 2016, and you can reference it here:

https://grandstander.blogspot.com/search?q=Exposition+Park

Home plate was located, and it sits in a parking lot at the corner of General Robinson Street and Tony Dorsett Way.  As noted in that 2016 post, the spot was commemorated by this vinyl marker:

Well, weather, traffic, and, most likely, snow plows got the best of that marker, and in less than a year it was gone, and only a faint outline of yellow paint marked the hallowed spot.

Thus began a quest, or, rather, the continuation of a quest by my friend Len Martin, one of those SABR guys who located the spot back in 1995, to make sure that this spot was permanently marked and would stand forever.   Len designed and commissioned a stainless steel home plate, initiated a Go Fund Me campaign to finance it (59 people donated $2,630 towards this effort), and on Tuesday, December 18, the Home Plate pictured at the top of this post was installed.  After allowing 24 hours for the concrete to set and having finishing touches applied to the concrete, the marker was unveiled on Thursday, December 20.

None of this would have happened of not for the efforts, the passion, and the sheer determination of Len Martin.  It was Len who took it upon himself to make sure that this project didn't just die when that home plate was spray painted onto a Three Rivers Stadium parking lot in 1995.  It was Len who enlisted the assistance of the Heinz History Center (and thank you, Craig Britcher!) in these efforts, Len who designed the home plate marker, and, most importantly, Len who met with and secured the cooperation and approval of Pittsburgh parking magnate Merrill Stabile, who owns the parking lot.

So, CONGRATULATIONS and big kudos to Len.

Why do something to remember a ball park that has been gone for over 100 years?  Well, if you respect history, why NOT do something like this?  Marking the spot where Honus Wagner stood at the plate and faced Cy Young in the first modern World Series in 1903, may not be as important as, say, the spot where Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous address in Gettysburg, but it IS history, and as such, it's pretty important, so I am glad that this was done, and happy to have been involved with this project, however peripherally.

Here are some photos that I took this past Tuesday and Thursday of this event.

 The hole is dug!

 Len Martin, Jack Becker of AT&T Sports, 

Andy Terrick, and Craig Britcher

Look for this story on "Inside Pirates Baseball" 

early in the 2019 season!

 The progression of the pouring of the concrete 

and setting of the marker.

 Awaiting the unveiling!

That's Pirates president Frank Coonelly in the gray suit.

Our pal John Sebastian (green jacket) joined us that day.

That's Len Martin wearing the Pirates cap.

 I think Len is negotiating with Frank for 

a lifetime free parking pass to all PNC Park events.

Play Ball!!

Exposition Park Gets Remembered

Back in 1995, when Pittsburgh hosted the annual convention of the Society of American Baseball research (SABR), some members of the Pittsburgh Chapter (Dan Bonk, Len Martin, Ed Luteran, Dennis Repp, Dennis DeValeria among them) researched and pinpointed the location - probably within about fifteen feet or so - of home plate of Exposition Park, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1890 to 1909.  (How they were able to do this is a fascinating story which I will not go into at this point.) The spot was commemorated by a spray-painted home plate in a parking lot of Three Rivers Stadium.

Since them a lot has happened:  PNC Park and Heinz Field were built, Three Rivers Stadium was imploded, and the area between the two stadiums has been developed and has boomed with new office buildings, restaurants, and parking garages.  Yet, the spray-painted Expo home plate remained, sitting in a parking lot at the corner of General Robinson Street and Tony Dorsett Drive, becoming more faded with each passing year.  Yesterday, however, a step was taken to ensure that this little piece of Pittsburgh and baseball history would not be forgotten when this more permanent vinyl marker was placed on the spot.

Credit for getting this done goes out to a lot of people, but, first and foremost, the lion's share goes to my friend Len Martin.  Len, who along with Dan Bonk, co-authored the 1994 "Forbes Field Build-It-Yourself" book, has been on this project like a dog on a bone for as long as I have known him.  Len, along with local historians Craig Britcher and Andy Terrick, continue to research, not only Exposition Park, but other venues and sites where baseball, both amateur and professional, was played in Pittsburgh even before Exposition Park came along.  Len also designed the home plate marker that you see above.

Thanks also go out to the following on this project:

• The aforementioned Craig Britcher and Andy Terrick.  Craig is a friend and a curator at the Heinz History Center and Western PA Sports Museum, and I always love to give a plug to the History Center!
• Brian O'Neill, columnist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, whose recent column about this project stirred a lot of interest among the general population of the city.
• Pittsburgh parking magnate Merrill Stabile, who met with Len and gave his blessing on the installation of this marker in one of his parking lots.  Word is that Mr. Stabile is also open to a similar commemoration of the home plate spot of Three Rivers Stadium.
• To a lesser extent, Len's and Dan's fellow Saturday morning breakfast mates, Jim Haller and Yours Truly.  This project has been discussed much over the course of our many years of breaking bread together.

I will leave you with some scenes from yesterday on location at Exposition Park.

The prep work and installation of the marker:

There were several supervisors for this job.  Kind of like a  PENDOT project.  The gentleman on the right is Jack, a producer from Root Sports.  Yes, you might - MIGHT - be seeing this story on Inside Pirates Baseball during an early season rain delay!

Brian O'Neill and Len Martin

Craig, Jack, and Len admire a job well done.

Len settling in to receive the first pitch!

Len, Myself, and Craig

This is what you see today when you dig in at home plate at Exposition Park.  Yes, your Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is produced everyday in shallow right-centerfield.

Meanwhile, three blocks away back at PNC Park, this former denizen of Exposition Park looks on in approval.

Len, Craig, and I score the first runs on this new home plate.

We already saw a few people looking on curiously as they walked through the parking lot yesterday afternoon.  Feel free to check it out yourself someday soon.