Roberto Clemente I have a friend who is a big baseball fan. He likes to boast that in his younger days, he had the chance to watch Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Duke Snider play centerfield. I must admit that I am a bit jealous. I can say that I witnessed Mays play against the … Read more
By Henry Peter Gribbin For Pittsburgh Senior News On a cool and overcast day—April 7, 1970—a fellow classmate and I snuck out of Pittsburgh’s Central Catholic High School and made our way across Oakland to Forbes Field. It was opening day, the last opening day in Forbes Field history. The Pirates were playing the New … Read more
Some years back, it wasn’t uncommon to see a certain tall, stately looking gentleman walking throughout the Squirrel Hill area. Whenever this fellow saw me in my front yard, either raking leaves or mowing the lawn, he would stop and say hello. I always enjoyed these little encounters with the late Billy Conn, and … Read more
No other man has done more for the game of hockey in this city than Mario Lemieux. His spectacular play on the ice helped propel the Penguins to two Stanley Cups in the early 1990’s. Upon retirement his leadership in heading a consortium of buyers saved the franchise from economic ruin, and … Read more
By Henry Peter Gribbin For Pittsburgh Senior News In the time shared between fathers and sons, big sisters and little sisters, uncles and nephews, there is a continuing rite of passage. That rite of passage is baseball. In October of 1960, I had my first encounter with the sport. I was six, walking home from … Read more
By Henry Peter Gribbin For Pittsburgh Senior News If you ask a group of area seniors who they thought was the greatest male athlete this city has ever seen, you will probably provoke an argument which could last for hours. Ask the same question, substituting female athlete for male athlete, and you will probably be … Read more
By Henry Peter Gribbin For Pittsburgh Senior News My late father was a retired University of Pittsburgh campus policeman. For years, he worked the late shift and usually when he came home from work in the early morning, I was still asleep. He would often catch some breaking news story, and if he felt it … Read more
The year 1938 was the year of the Carnegie Tech Tartans. A fine season, which showed only one loss, culminated with the team being invited to play in the Sugar Bowl. Now, when many people read about Carnegie Tech football (Carnegie Tech became Carnegie Mellon in 1967), some people will think of undersized kids playing … Read more