By Bob Cohn
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
April 26, 2012
Former Pirates photographer Les Banos points to a photo of Pirates great Roberto Clemente and himself in a gallery showcasing Clemente in advance of the 2006 All-Star Game. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)
Les Banos, a colorful and popular photographer who worked for the Steelers, Pirates and Pitt football program and claimed to have cheated death more than once, died Sunday at age 88.
The cause of death was unknown.
Banos’ favorite subject was his friend, Pirates superstar Roberto Clemente, who died Dec. 31, 1972, in a plane crash during a relief mission to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
Banos, who lived in Penn Hills, often said he should have been on that plane.
That was the day the Steelers, for whom Banos worked part-time, played Miami in the AFC championship. The game was made possible by the Steelers beating Oakland the previous week on the Immaculate Reception.
If not for Franco Harris’ last-second touchdown catch, Banos maintained he would have accompanied Clemente to Nicaragua. The plane crashed shortly after taking off from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Clemente, another passenger and the crew of three died.
“Franco’s miracle catch saved my life,” Banos said in a 2006 newspaper interview, echoing comments he made in previous interviews.
On Opening Day 1973, Banos invited members of the Clemente family to his home for a screening of a film he had made.
Banos captured Clemente’s 3,000th hit in a frame-by-frame sequence, and many of his photos have been displayed in exhibitions through the years. A current collection can be seen at the Roberto Clemente Museum in Lawrenceville.
“He was a very energetic guy,” Pirates broadcaster and former pitcher Steve Blass recalled. “A good personality and a lot of fun. A good front-guy for the organization.”
Raised in Budapest, Hungary, Banos hid countrymen from the Nazis during World War II and infiltrated German SS headquarters as an Allied spy. He used his position to help hide hundreds of Hungarians. The nature of his work was summed up in his manuscript, “If They Catch You, You Will Die.”
But there were many he could not save, and he witnessed numerous mass executions. “They were shooting people like it was a shooting gallery” he said in an interview posted on WQED-TV’s website.
After the war, Banos attended Pitt and worked as a cameraman for local TV stations.
Friends will be received at the William F. Gross Funeral Home, 11735 Frankstown Road (at Rodi Road), Penn Hills from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. today.
Bob Cohn is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at bcohn@tribweb.com or 412-320-7810
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