Day 35: Forbes Field

On June 23, 2009, we went to the site of the former Forbes Field after seeing the Homestead Gray’s West Field. Forbes Field is significant in general baseball history because it was the first all steel and concrete ballpark. Pittsburgh sports history wise is it significant for being the site of four World Series (1909, 1925, 1927, and 1960) including a Game 7 game winning homer by Bill Mazeroski on October 13, 1960. During its use from 1909 to 1972 Forbes Field was not only used by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but also the Negro Leagues Homestead Grays, the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Pitt Panthers.

What is left of Forbes Field is on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. The main thing left is part of the outfield wall. Part of it up on a small hill is intact as it would have been when Forbes Field was used including a few spots with the distance markers on them (note one section with the distance number is at the Pirates current park, PNC Park). The rest of the outfield wall can be followed via a brick line in the sidewalk and brick benches along were the wall once stood. Behind the wall that still stands there is a replica of the original Forbes Field entrance.

There is also supposed to be the original home plate from the final game played at Forbes Field located inside a nearby building about where it once was, but I did not feel trying to locate it and wanted to get to the game early to try to find the historic marker for Three Rivers Stadium, which in the end we did not locate because of where we ended up parking and arriving close to when the gates opened for the game.

Day 37: Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

Late this morning/early this afternoon we went to the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site. I thought it would be interesting to see the old house he was inaugurated inside of, but I was actually quite disappointed, especially since this is what they have after reopening last week from remodeling. It is not horrible, but I really expected to get more out of the experience.

The museum is part of the National Park service and we ended up all getting in free with Mik’s Golden Access Pass, which was an awesome deal since the normal price is $10 per adult and $5 for kids up to age 17. Usually at per person sites only Mik gets in free and others have to pay, but I am glad we saved the $20 here because it certainly was not worth that amount of money.

The tour starts with you being able to look around this small room of artifacts and info mostly about the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 in Buffalo, New York. When the guided tour part begins they show a movie in this room that puts you back in time as if you are actually at the Exposition. After this movie you go into the dining room area of the house where the guide gives a little scripted thing about how Vice President Theodore Roosevelt stayed here after President McKinley was shot and then when he came back after McKinley died.

After the dining room you go into this little room with a bench and watch an interesting presentation about the time period and the issues Theodore Roosevelt was probably thinking about before he took the oath to become President of the United States. It is actually a pretty cool presentation as different images are lit up as the talk goes on, but it is not all that informative about this particular site and basically leaves you feeling like you got all the general history of 1901, but practically nothing about why this is a historic site.

After the movie you go into the room where Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office. A tape plays making it seem like you are actually at the swearing in, but it is rather odd with the room being empty besides the period décor. You then go on to the room he used as an office while at the Wilcox residence.

The tour ends with you going to the second floor, which is the self-guided part with an interactive desk in the recreation of Theodore Roosevelt’s office at the White House. This is kind of cool because you sign or veto bills he had to decide on, but is kind of a little far fetched in its relation to this historic house. However, not as far fetched as the art gallery that takes up two of the rooms and has nothing to do with the house or Theodore Roosevelt besides part of the profits of selling the art probably goes to the historic site.

Overall I left very disappointed besides actually getting my National Park Passport stamped. There must be some good history to this house and I am sure it is even known, but it is not told about at all on the tour. Dad said they had a little display in the first room, but it was easily overlooked by me when I was instead looking at the Pan-American exhibit. I have been on house tours like this in the D.C. area that really tell about the house’s history beyond just what it is most famous for and I really expected that from this site as well. Basically everything they said I had read about before and mostly in a book called Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell. Worst part was that even if I had wanted to ask about the house the tour guide knew nothing about the site except what was in the word for word tour script stuff he said. Also, sad is that only three of the rooms are restored to period look and the second floor is wasted with nothing restored to the period décor and the only plans for it is to add more unrelated interactive stuff.

Day 36: Niagara Falls at Night

Yesterday we got to the KOA in the Niagara Falls area around 5pm. Mik and I then tried to use the Internet while Dad set up camp, but we found it to be pretty slow. While eating dinner we looked at the pamphlets of things to do in the area to try to decide what to do today. We found out that they light the falls up from 9pm to midnight, so we decided to go to Niagara Falls last night, since the plan of using the Internet was just going to be frustrating.

Going at night turned out to be the best way to see the Falls or at least we assume. We got there around 8pm and it was still light, so we did at least get a day time view from the American side. Plus, parking at the falls was free on both the American and Canadian side at night, so we saved almost $30 on parking. Oh, and we saved $3 going to the Observation Deck by the American Falls since it was also after the hours they charge for you to go out on it. Lastly, the crowds were pretty low, especially by the time we went to Canada at 10pm.

We started at the Niagara Falls State Park and going out on the Observation Deck. There we took some day time photos and photos of us with the American Falls in the background. I also took some video of the falls, but I am not even going to try to upload that on the slow connection here, as it is hard enough getting my photos uploaded. Next time we have good Internet I will try to remember to upload a few of the videos of the falls.

After the Observation Deck we walked over to the island to see the Horseshoe Falls from the American side. The American side is kind of a cool up close and personal view of the falls. I kind of liked this experience better than the Canadian side, although so many say the Canadian side is the best. I did enjoy that side for taking photos of the falls, but just for viewing and experiencing it up close on the American side is better. It was a little crowded down at this area and a policeman tried to scratch his car against Mik’s wheelchair and was just plain rude as he rushed down when we were coming up, but overall it was a good place to walk out to.

By the time we done at the American side of Horseshoe Falls the falls were all lit up. It was hard to get photos there because of the low light conditions, so when we got over to the Canadian side next I took out my tripod to get some photos of the falls lit up at night. The view on the Canadian side ended up being great for taking photos of the falls lit up, especially since there were very few people there. I got some great photos of the falls lit up different colors and even used night portrait mode to get some of Dad and I with the falls in the background (Mik was asleep by this point, so none of him).

The night outing to the Falls ended up being a great way to do it and personally we got enough of the experience that we are not going to go again today. Dad kind of still wanted to do the boat ride, but instead we had a relaxing morning and are going to head towards Buffalo to see some other interesting things I found to do in the pamphlets. Besides the only interesting things left near Niagara Falls (a movies wax museum and Hershey Store) are on the Canadian side and it is not worth going over there again until we head to Toronto tomorrow.

Day 35: West Field

Before going to the Pittsburgh Pirates game on June 23, 2009, we did some driving around the area to locate some of the old professional ballparks. One of them is West Field. It is located in Munhall, Pennsylvania, off of West St between 19th Avenue and Orchard Street. It is not exactly obvious to find since it is back behind buildings and street signs are rather pathetic in the Pittsburgh area as we discovered a lot. The best way to spot it is to be looking up and find it by seeing the stadium lights.

West Field was used by the Homestead Grays, a Negro Leagues team. Great players such as Cool Papa Bell and Josh Gibson were among those that once played at West Field. I am not exactly sure the years it was used, but I think somewhere from the 1930s to 1940s. I think it was mostly used for weekday games, as I know they also played at Forbes Field, which I will post more on in its own post later.

Seeing West Field reminded me of going to Ancient Greek and Roman ruins in Turkey. The stadium is pretty much all still there, but it has been very neglected over the decades. The stands are still in decent condition, although a few areas are fixed up with wooden boards and many of the hand rails in the aisles are rusted to the point that pieces are missing from some. You can walk up a ramp to the concourse on top of the stands or walk up the steps from the bottom aisle. The field itself is in very sorry shape and the infield is converted to a sad dirt softball field. The dugouts are in okay condition and you can sit in them, but there is some grafitti in them. You can also walk down the tunnels under the stands until you get to a locked door that I assume leads to at least what used to be locker rooms.

Overall this was an interesting old ballpark to visit even though it was not actually a former MLB ballpark. It has just as much historical significance and perhaps even more than some of the actual former MLB parks since some of the greatest players of that era, such as Josh Gibson, never lived to be able to play in the MLB after the color barrier was broken. It is kind of sad to see it in such a sorry state, but at least it has not been demolished and replaced with some sort of building. Also, nice is that it remains a public park and you can actually walk on the field unlike League Park in Cleveland, where the infield was all fenced off. Lastly, at least West Field is in way better shape than that park.

Kj’s Baseball Collection: Louisville Slugger

The Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum is pretty much all about bats, so I really should not have expected much of anything for my baseball collection. However, I kind of expected to find a cool ball if I found any in the gift shop. Thus I was kind of disappointed and almost did not even get the one they did have. It is just a simple one that has a white strip and a blue strip. On the white strip is a Louisville Slugger logo that says Since 1884. At least it was less disappointing than finding their cool 125 anniversary logo t-shirts only to learn they were out of my size. It was not entirely disappointing, though, since I did get a nice 125th anniversary baseball cap.

Day 36: Jumping Pillow and Basketball

This morning we are getting a slow start. Dad said he wanted to aim for 9am, but I have it scheduled for 11am. So he is behind what he said as usual, but it is not a big deal. Waiting on him to be ready I went and tried out the jumping pillow they have at this KOA. Later I had Dad take some pictures of me on it.

While Dad was taking a shower I played with Mik. We started by just playing catch with the basketball and him trying to shoot at the hoop they have here, but he cannot even make it half way up to it. Then he decided to play defense against me, as long as I went easy on him. He got pretty good at stealing the ball in mid dribble without even touching me. Every time he got a clean steal I would try a lay up for him. He ended up winning 6 to 5. After 30 minutes and Dad getting back from his shower I was tired out, but he kept wanting to play. He is hoping the next KOA has a basketball court, too.

Game 18: Cleveland Indians 5 @ Pittsburgh Pirates 4

We got to PNC Park around 4:15pm and did a little walking around outside it along with a stop at the Team Shop before the park officially opened. There are a few interesting statues outside including one of Roberto Clemente that has Hallowed ground from where he played in Puerto Rico and Pittsburgh.

Around 5pm they opened the center field gate and we went into the river walk part of the park. There really was not much to do besides see another piece of Forbes Field's wall (more on seeing the actual site of Forbes Field when I eventually get caught up to that). It was actually kind of weird because we were in the park, but not really because even the outfield sections where you would normally go to catch batting practice before the rest of the park opens had gates closing off every section. Finally at 5:30pm the park really opened.

To get anywhere in the park we had to go up an elevator and just ended up going straight to our seats, so Mik and I did not really explore the park, since I preferred to stay seated and not try to rush back before the game started. The seats were pretty good, especially the view of the scoreboard, which was very important for this game, since we got a scoreboard message for Mik.

Up until the bottom of the 9th inning the highlight of the game was the Pierogi race. This is almost the best race in MLB, but I still think the Nats Presidents Race is the best. The Hannah one, which I think is jalapeno won the race this time.

The Indians took a lead scoring 4 runs in the top of third with the help of three base on balls, two singles, and a triple. They added another run with a homer in the sixth. The Pirates got their first run with a lead off homer in the bottom of the 9th by Adam LaRoche. They then went on to get three more runs and get back around to Adam with 2 outs and the bases loaded. He ended up ending the inning and the game by flying to right field, but boy was it an exciting almost come back game.

I was kind of rooting for the home team Pirates, but Mik was rooting for the Indians. I guess the free hats really converted him to an Indians fan or at least that is his favorite American League team now. When we got back to the car after the game I asked him what his favorite part of his birthday was and he said the Indians winning. I really thought he would have said the mini cake at DQ or the pierogis at the park, but for once the food was not the highlight for him even though it was great.

As for PNC Park and them boasting about being the best ballpark, I do not know. I am still very partial to Wrigley as the best, but I got to give PNC credit for being a pretty good park. They definitely have very few cons with the main reason Wrigley winning out being its history and its old scoreboard charm. Pierogis sure win over giant pretzel, but barely.