Remembering the implosion of Three Rivers Stadium 20 years ago

On this day 20 years ago, Three Rivers Stadium, the site of a great deal of Pittsburgh’s sports and pop culture history, met its premature demise — blown to bits after PNC Park and Heinz Field were built for the Pirates and Steelers.

Three Rivers Stadium stood for only 30 years after its much-anticipated opening, a cookie-cutter stadium that quickly grew obsolete after the Pirates and Steelers realized they could make more money by having separate stadiums. They knew their fans preferred an authentic atmosphere to the sterile environment of a multiuse facility.

Only the Pittsburghers who were around in 1970 know just how big of a deal Three Rivers Stadium was in its early days.

When the stadium opened on July 16 of that year, it was as though the Steel City had just been drop-kicked into a new world.

Suddenly, there was a gleaming cement coliseum perched at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers that lit up the night sky. It had artificial turf (all the rage at the time), and an odd-looking machine that sucked the water out of the plastic grass when it rained.

The stadium had a glass-enclosed restaurant, an exploding scoreboard in centerfield, a Hammond organ with the soon-to-be legendary Vince Lascheid at the keyboard and, for a brief time, usherettes who wore miniskirts and go-go boots. (Reportedly, the usher’s union voted against that particular outfit, but women dressed in that mod fashion led tours of the stadium when it first opened.)

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Trib sports writers Chris Adamski, Jerry DiPaola, Kevin Gorman and Joe Rutter will share their favorite stories about Three Rivers Stadium and invite listeners to share theirs on a Facebook live video, “Remembering Three Rivers,” at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 11 on the TribLIVE Facebook page.

The Pirates, who were thrilled to find wall-to-wall carpeting in their clubhouse, hosted the first sports event at Three Rivers. They came bounding out of their walk-in dugout (no steps) in revolutionary double-knit, skintight, pullover uniforms. No buttons, no zippers.

It was almost too much for fans to wrap their minds around. At the time, Pittsburgh had anything but a hip image. Rather it was perceived as a dirty, Rust Belt city with losing sports teams. This was before the Super Bowls and the Stanley Cups. The Pirates had managed only one championship in the previous 45 years.

But Three Rivers Stadium must have made the Buccos feel awfully good about themselves because, just over a year after moving in, they won the World Series. After just two years, the Steelers’ Immaculate Reception by Franco Harris happened there. Two years after that, the Steelers would win their first Super Bowl. In all, the Steelers won four AFC Championship games at Three Rivers — 1975, 1978, 1979 and 1995. And they lost a few, including the 1994 heartbreaker to the San Diego Chargers.

It didn’t take long for the novelty to wear off, at least for Pirates fans who hadn’t realized what they had lost until after Forbes Field was torn down. The old place, which stood for 61 years, had character with its natural grass, “alabaster plaster” infield, ivy-covered walls and old-fashioned, hand-operated scoreboard. It was a ballpark.

Three Rivers Stadium was a good place to watch football, but it was lousy for baseball. It lacked the intimacy that baseball needs. For example, fans sitting too many rows back in the upper left field seats couldn’t actually see the left-fielder when the ball was hit deep. They had to wait to hear how the crowd reacted and what the base runners did in order to know what happened.

As the ’70s wore on, despite their success, the Pirates had a hard time filling the stadium, even for playoff games. Richie Hebner, a former Pirate who had the first hit in Three Rivers history, was with the Mets when he famously remarked upon his return, “The graveyard I work in during the offseason has more life than this place.”

It also was mediocre at best as a concert venue with hollow, uneven sound. Nevertheless, memorable rock concerts were held there, just as there were great baseball moments.

The first nighttime World Series game was played at Three Rivers Stadium on Oct. 13, 1971. Roberto Clemente had his 3,000th and last base hit at Three Rivers in 1972. The Pirates clinched two pennants there as well, in 1971 vs. San Francisco and in 1979 against Cincinnati. The place also hosted two All-Star games, in 1974 and again in 1994, with the National League winning both.

There were three no-hitters thrown at Three Rivers (after none were thrown at Forbes Field), the first by St. Louis’ Bob Gibson vs. the Pirates in 1971. John Candelaria tossed one for the Pirates against the Dodgers in 1976, and Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon combined for a 10-inning no-hitter for Pittsburgh against Houston in 1997.

In the rock world, one of the more memorable Three Rivers Stadium concerts was headlined by Led Zeppelin on July 24, 1973. It drew 40,000 fans, many of whom rushed onto the field before the show, even though they didn’t have infield seats. The concert was delayed for nearly an hour, but the show went on.

On Aug. 14, 1976, Peter Frampton played Three Rivers at the height of the mania over his “Frampton Comes Alive” live album, the year’s best-selling record.

Bruce Springsteen played in 1985, U2 in 1987, and the Rolling Stones came through on their “Steel Wheels” tour in 1989 with Living Colour as the opening act. It was the first of two performances for the Stones, with the second coming in 1994. The Grateful Dead made appearances in 1990 and 1995. Pink Floyd played there several times.

In the end, you can blow up a stadium, but you can’t destroy the memories.