A Lot of History at Three Rivers Stadium

Ever since the north side was selected as the site of Pittsburgh’s present municipally-financed, multi-purpose stadium, writers and historians have reminded us of a peculiar irony. Three Rivers Stadium, which in 1970 replaced Forbes Field, is built near the site of Exposition Park, the Pirates’ home before they moved to Forbes in 1909.

It is interesting that the exact location of the old ballpark is never mentioned and for that matter, hasn’t been known since the old wooden ballpark was demolished in the early 1920s. But Exposition Park was the site of one of the most significant historical sporting events ever to occur in western Pennsylvania. In October 1903, Games 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the first modern World Series were played there. The Pirates lost that best-of-nine World Series in eight games to the Boston Pilgrims (their socks were not yet red) in what was to become the fall classic.

The World Series returned to Pittsburgh in Forbes Field’s inaugural season of 1909. Forbes Field was hailed for its beauty, grandeur, and modern amenities when it opened for business in 1909. Many felt sadness and loss the day it closed. Its remnants in Oakland have become the focus of many base ball fan pilgrimages. Exposition Park, in contrast, slipped into the local consciousness without fanfare and left without a tear.

Exposition Park got its name from the Allegheny Exposition which occupied the shoreline north of Pittsburgh, (in what was then Allegheny City), for eight years beginning in 1875. The Exposition was constructed by the Tradesmen’s Industrial Institute which was chartered to promote “a permanent exposition of the arts, sciences and industries of Western Pennsylvania.” It consisted of a large exhibit hall and grounds which included an oval (rack for horse and bicycle racing.

In the summer of 1882, Pittsburgh’s first major league baseball team, the American Association Alleghenies (what else would you call a Pittsburgh team that played its games in Allegheny City?) began playing their first season on a field laid out inside the race track oval at the Allegheny Exposition. In the fall of 1883, the Exposition buildings were destroyed by fire, leaving only the racetrack and horse stables. Major league baseball, as played by the Alleghenies and later by Pittsburgh’s National League franchise, abandoned the Exposition grounds after the fire and played their games up the street at Recreation Park, which was located several blocks to the north.

In 1890, growing tension between professional ballplayers and ball club owners resulted in the formation of the Brotherhood League, a sort of 19thcentury employee owned enterprise. The Pittsburgh franchise, known as the Burghers, played in a new ball park built on property leased at the old Exposition grounds.

The facility consisted primarily of a two-tiered, covered wooden grandstand with bench seats at the corner of South Avenue and School Street facing the Allegheny River and the Point. It was called Exposition Park so that the local populace, who fondly remembered the old Allegheny Exposition, would immediately know where it was. The outfield fence was located roughly 250 feet from the bank of the Allegheny River. The Brotherhood League was out of business after just one season.

After the 1890 season, the Pittsburgh Nationals signed two unprotected players from the competing American Association and were branded forever as ” Pirates.” The new moniker was welcomed by franchise President J. Palmer O’Neill as he moved his team to one-year-old Exposition Park. The Pirates played their first game there on April 22. 1891, losing 7-6 to a Chicago team led by the legendary Cap Anson. Financially, the ball club fell upon hard times in the 1890s due, in part, to the generally poor teams that Pittsburgh fielded.

The fortunes of the franchise changed dramatically in 1900 with the arrival of a new club president, Barney Dreyfuss. Dreyfuss was fiercely competitive and equally shrewd. He believed that baseball was a growth business and that Pittsburgh was a town where it could flourish. Thanks measurably to the presence of Honus Wagner, a local kid from Carnegie who would rapidly become baseball’s biggest attraction in the first decade of the 20th century, the crowds flocked to Exposition Park. The Pirates regularly played before crowds of 10,000 or more fans and soon became one of the most profitable franchises in the National League. This success did not go unnoticed. By the end of the 1902 season, the upstart American League was considering adding a Pittsburgh franchise to compete with the Pirates and was known to be seeking a site on which to build a new ballpark.

Dreyfuss, attempting to keep competition out of the Pittsburgh market, played a major role in the landmark 1903 peace agreement between the National and American Leagues. The savvy Dreyfuss made certain that the agreement included a provision that the American League would not enter Pittsburgh. By August 1903, it was evident that the Pirates would repeat as National League champions for the third straight sea son. In an effort to cement the still-tenuous peace, Dreyfuss and Boston owner Henry Killilea arranged a postseason series to determine a World Championship. Both leagues could clearly see that great interest and publicity could be generated among fans and media by such an event.

The World Series opened in Boston and when it returned to Pittsburgh, thousands of Pirate fans flocked to Exposition Park where the price of a seat was 50 cents. Local newspapers reported how hundreds of fans viewed the game for free, perched on top of Monument Hill just north of the park or across the river along Grandview Avenue atop Mt. Washington. (It is difficult to say how well the latter group of freeriders could have enjoyed the game, being well over a quarter-mile away.)

Although the World Series never again came to Exposition Park, its history book was not yet closed. Early in the 1909 season, newly elected President William Howard Taft attended a Pirate-Cub game at Exposition Park. Taft’s favorite player was Honus Wagner, but his loyalties were compromised; Taft’s brother was a part owner of the Cubs. Taft returned to Pittsburgh in 1910 and attended a game at Forbes Field. He remains the only U.S. President to watch the Pirates in Pittsburgh while in office.

The Pirates played their last game at Exposition Park on June 29, 1909, beating the Chicago Cubs, 8-1. Even without the Pirates. the ballpark was in demand and continued to flourish. From 1912 through 1915, would be challengers to the National League, the United States League and the Federal League, fielded teams at Exposition Park. However, by then the affections of Pittsburghers were firmly with the Pirates and the venue of choice was clearly Forbes Field, the finest ballpark in the country. Neither league lasted more than two seasons.

Utilization of Exposition Park diminished rapidly after 1915. Local high schools played baseball and football there as did van otis semipro and sandlot teams. On occasion, the Pitt Panther varsity and freshman football teams would play there rather than at Forbes Field when their schedules conflicted with the Pirates.

In the early 1920s, Exposition Park succumbed to the needs of its leaseholder, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Rail lines and other support structures were built over the playing field. By 1925. the site was indistinguishable from the surrounding railroad yard. In 1968, construction of Three Rivers Stadium commenced and the same railroad yard was turned back into a ballyard.

Thanks to a group of local volunteers from the Pittsburgh Chapter of SABR the location of home plate at Exposition Park has been found. It is situated in a parking stall in Stadium Lot #4, between Gates B and C and the Fort Duquesne Bridge. A spray-painted home plate now marks the spot as the Pirates and the City of Pittsburgh consider a more appropriate and permanent means of identification. Fans of baseball and history can stand at the plate and conjure up images of the famous Americans who stood there long ago. Honus Wagner, Cap Anson, Cy Young, John McGraw, Connie Mack, Nap Lajoie, Christy Mathewson and Charlie Comiskey were there, as were Tinker, Evers and Chance of the famous baseball poem.

In other words, if you look carefully. you can find a lot of history in a parking stall at Three Rivers Stadium.