By Jenifer Langosch
MLB.com
http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=pit
11/14/10 2:06 AM EST
PITTSBURGH -- Some came in suits, others donning vintage Pirates apparel. There were those who came with vivid memories of a game -- arguably the greatest in Pittsburgh sports history -- that was played 50 years ago at Forbes Field. Others arrived with memories that had been crafted simply through the stories that they have been told.
But they all came to relive and to remember and to celebrate. With the unseasonably warm weather a fitting tease, there was, indeed, a baseball game to be played in Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
Dick Groat and Hal Smith
Approximately 1,000 people packed the downtown Byham Theater to be among the first to view one of baseball's greatest World Series games since the day it was played. A copy of the NBC telecast of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series between the Pirates and Yankees was unveiled by MLB Network less than a year after being discovered in the wine cellar of Bing Crosby's home.
MLB Network will air the game in its entirety for the first time in 50 years at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 15. But as host Bob Costas noted in his opening remarks, "We thought it was only fitting to premiere this here in Pittsburgh."
Eight former Pirates who played in that Series -- Joe Christopher, ElRoy Face, Bob Friend, Dick Groat, Vernon Law, Bob Oldis, Hal Smith and Bill Virdon -- were in attendance on Saturday night. So, too, was Vera Clemente, the widow of Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, and former Yankees infielder Bobby Richardson.
"Thank God for Bing Crosby," Groat said, shortly before the viewing. "It's going to be something special, especially with Bob Prince and Mel Allen doing all the commentary. That makes all the difference in the world, because they were two of the greatest announcers ever."
The most prominent missing face was that of Bill Mazeroski, who was slated to sit on stage with Costas during the broadcast. However, Mazeroski was admitted to the hospital earlier in the week after passing kidney stones, and was unable to attend.
"I'm sorry he's not here," Friend said. "He's been a great one. He would have enjoyed this very much."
The current Pirates management team was represented by owner Bob Nutting and president Frank Coonelly. Former Steeler Franco Harris -- whose immaculate reception rivals Mazeroski's home run as the greatest sports moment in the city's history -- came for the evening, too.
There were other notable guests, as well. Crosby's youngest son, Nathaniel, sat in the audience alongside actor and Pittsburgh native Michael Keaton, and Robert Bader, the archivist who discovered the original kinescope. Keaton provided a stirring introduction in which he recalled coming home from Pittsburgh's St. Malachy school to have his brother tell him that his favorite team had just won the World Series.
"It was the first time I experienced anything that was an event," said Keaton, who was 9 years old at the time.
Shortly after Keaton relived his memories from 1960, so, too, did Costas. Eight years old and living in New York, Costas' allegiance was on the other side. He provided a convincing-enough argument that his parents allowed him to skip school that day to watch the afternoon game.
As for the ending?
"That was the first time I remember being heartbroken," Costas recalled.
The black-and-white film -- which had no commercials, no replays and no fancy graphics -- lasted just over two hours. Fans watched the game as if they didn't know what was happening, seemingly breathing with every pitch. There were cheers and jeers and chants, clapping and timely standing ovations.
The film was paused periodically throughout for Costas to talk with some of the special guests in attendance. Some of the more interesting observations and insight included:
• Asked to recall the pitch sequence of his second-inning, two-run single, Virdon laughed and replied, "I don't have a clue."
• Asked about not stopping Mickey Mantle's RBI grounder up the middle in the sixth, Groat answered, "I should have knocked the ball down and made the play. It's one of the plays that has haunted me for years."
• Asked his initial reaction to the ground ball that went from being a sure double play to hitting Yankees shortstop Tony Kubek in the throat, Virdon recalled, "I said, 'Oh shoot!' Well, maybe not in those words."
• Asked to provide some insight into what Yankees manager Casey Stengel told reliever Bobby Shantz during an animated mound visit in the eighth inning, Richardson laughed, "I'm not sure it was about baseball."
• Asked his reaction to watching Mazeroski's home run clear the left-field wall, Groat replied, "To beat the Yankees, it was something special. The 1960 Pirates were a team of destiny."
There were touching moments, too. Nearly every time Roberto Clemente was shown on the broadcast, the crowd erupted in applause. Such continued adoration drew an emotional response from Vera Clemente.
"This was our second home," said Clemente, who didn't meet her future husband until after the 1960 World Series. "I'm very happy to be back. That's something that's very special."
Another poignant moment came in the bottom of the eighth, shortly after Smith pushed Pittsburgh in front of New York, 9-7, with a two-out, three-run homer.
Allen's words echoed from the screen: "That's one of the most dramatic home runs ever hit in the World Series. That base hit will long be remembered."
Smith's homer has been mostly forgotten because of the one that followed an inning later. On this night, though, it wouldn't be forgotten.
When Smith stood up to recognize the applause, the entire audience rose to its feet and gave him a standing ovation.
"I had no idea what happened until I hit second base and saw fans jumping on the dugout," Smith said. "No matter what happened after that, I was just glad to help Pittsburgh."
Of course, Mazeroski's walk-off homer drew the night's loudest cheers. And it was Prince's postgame interview show -- one in which he somehow shuffled through more than a dozen interviews in only minutes -- that drew the most laughs.
It didn't matter that everyone knew the ending before the night started. It was the chance to see the check swings, the balls that went foul by inches, the game-changing plays in the middle innings that were so captivating. It was finally a night for Pittsburghers to match the stories they had repeatedly been told with reality.
"It was really something we all wanted to see," Friend said. "It's one of the greatest games ever played in the history of baseball."
Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, By Gosh, It's Langosch, and follow her on Twitter @LangoschMLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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