A place that touches all the bases

Friday, August 17, 2007

By Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Gushing isn't the most becoming attribute for a writer.

That's too bad.

You're going to get some gushing.

No rants.

No nitpicking.

Nothing negative, except for this admonishment: If you haven't discovered the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, you've been missing out.

No matter your age, you can find something that moves you to laugh, think or remember. Or even learn.

That might be a display on Doug Opperman, a 1940 national marbles champion. Bet you didn't know Western Pennsylvania has a well-rounded marbles history.

Or it might be watching rare color footage of Bill Mazeroski's 1960 World Series-winning home run at Forbes Field. That will change the moment in your mind's eye.

There's the miniature golf hole you can play featuring a scaled-down version of Oakmont's famous church pew bunkers.

There's the chance to step between a life-size cutout of goaltender Tom Barrasso and a net in front of a mural of the Mellon Arena end zone and perhaps pretend to stop that David Volek shot.

And who can pass up the chance to watch the implosion of Three Rivers Stadium on a large screen as many times as you want?

Not to mention things related to Pittsburgh's beloved Steelers.

A first visit to the museum, which is housed on the second and third floors of the Heinz History Center in the Strip District, will easily surpass your expectations, even if, ahem, it takes nearly three years since the place opened in November 2004 to get around to visiting.

If you're really lucky, you'll get a guided tour with curator Anne Madarasz.

Madarasz has been on staff at the history center for 15 years, the first several of which she spent longing for the time she could put together a sports museum.

She started with nothing and began collecting from teams, celebrities and fans. Now there are rooms and rooms of artifacts, displays and interactive attractions, all well placed and thoughtfully organized.

Even if Madarasz isn't beside you, you're getting the benefit of her passion and hard work.

The sports museum will draw you in whether you're a trivia buff who notices all the little things, or a nostalgia nut who admires the information on the four Olympians who came out of the pool in the basement of the Carnegie Library branch in Homestead between 1928-36, or a history nut who appreciates the roots of sports going back to fox hunting and lawn tennis, or an academic who soaks in the advances in sports medicine made in this region, or simply a blue-collar fan of the big moments that include World Series, Super Bowls and Stanley Cups.

It would take several trips to drink it all in, and there are always new arrivals, including a recent display honoring Pitt Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett.

The videos shown in the entry theater and the displays in the hockey area will have to be updated to include Sidney Crosby and the rest of the new generation of Penguins.

"One of our biggest comments is we don't have enough hockey stuff," Madarasz said. "We're working on it."

The Steelers display doesn't yet reflect their fifth Super Bowl win, in 2006, or much of the Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin era.

Speaking of the Steelers, they're at least halfway through your journey. You first must navigate through the theater, an historical hall, a large room dedicated to all types of racing, the golf area, the baseball area and, once up on the third floor, the high school, college and even women's football area.

"I put football in the middle so people would have to work for it a little bit," Madarasz said with a smile.

Smart lady.

In addition to what you will see at the museum, you never know who you might see.

Roethlisberger has been there with a date.

Former Pitt coach Johnny Majors has shown off the place to his buddies many times.

A tournament of past marbles champions was staged there recently.

You could turn a corner and find Franco Harris filming a commercial, perhaps just a ricochet away from the case displaying his Immaculate Conception shoes.

Pirates announcer Steve Blass, who is involved with the museum, could be walking through.

The Penguins and public officials picked the main lobby of the building to hold a news conference and announce a deal for a new arena that will keep the team in town.

Fittingly, an exhibit celebrating the Steelers' 75th anniversary opens later this year.

There's something wrong if this doesn't become a well-known focal point and gathering spot for area sports, a place where everyone affiliated with sports feels connected.

The most amazing thing about the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum is that it took so long for an area this steeped in its games to have a place like this.


Shelly Anderson can be reached at sanderson@post-gazette.com.