Pirates – Page 5 – Welcome to Steelers Takeaways!

John Steigerwald

John Steigerwald, Sportscaster and Author “Just Watch the Game” :

In your book, you detail how you started and how you got to the level of prominence you are at today. How hard was that initial struggle to “make it” and did you ever see yourself finding this level of success then, and did you even want it?

The chapter in the book is called “Look out, Curt Gowdy.” I started out with the intention of becoming Curt Gowdy, who was the top guy at NBC at the time and doing all the major events –World Series, Super Bowls, Rose Bowl etc. I wanted to do play-by-play because, for me, it’s always been about going to the games.

It was a struggle in the beginning but I was thrilled to have every job that I had, including my first one at a Cable TV station in Sharon, Pa. that paid me two bucks and hour. I didn’t make much money doing play-by-play in the minor leagues but I loved every second of it.

People often look back at their struggles to “make it” as some of the best times of their career. Is that the case for you –why/why not and what experiences really helped to motivate you and shape your career?

I can’t think of any specific experiences that motivated me. I was always confident in my ability and – justifiably or not–always felt that I could be good at anything that I put effort into.

In the same vein – what people motivated and inspired you most, and how so?

I was motivated by Bob Prince. Listening to him doing Pirates games beginning when I was five or six years old, made me want to be a baseball announcer…as soon as I realized I wasn’t going to be a Major League Baseball player.

Your book reflects your “no pulling punches” style of broadcasting. How has that helped you over the years and have you ever experienced regret at any point for potentially going “too far”? If so, when?

I think being willing to “tell it like it is” sets you part…especially now when there are so many generic people working in radio and TV. I haven’t really expressed at going to far, but I’ve had several episodes when I had to defend myself against viewers, listeners or readers who thought I went too far. I really can’t think of any one example when I went farther than I wanted to.

In your two-plus decades with the Steelers, who were the people –players, coaches, front office people – that really symbolized for you how the game should be played, and what made them so?

Chuck Noll is the most impressive person associated with the Steelers that I met. He exuded authority, toughness, intelligence and class. There aren’t a lot of people in sports who have as much of all those qualities as Noll had.

The Chief, Art Rooney, was one of the nicest, most unassuming guys I’ve met in sports. No player on the Steelers impressed me more than Joe Greene.

Of all the sports media people you’ve worked with, who were some of the most –and least –enjoyable – and what made them so?

There are too many people who I worked with still working in the media now for me to answer that question.

What do you think Bob Prince would think of today’s Pittsburgh Pirates-and would you agree with him?

Bob Prince would think that this year’s Pirates team was exciting.

He would have become disillusioned and fed up with Major League Baseball a long time ago. I can’t imagine him having any patience for the economic disparity and what it has done to the Pirates.

In your book you discuss the pleasure – and sometimes displeasure –of the hundreds of interviews you’ve gotten to do over the years. Who were some of the most and least enjoyable Pittsburgh sports figures to interview – and what made them so?

Most enjoyable interviews: Terry Bradshaw, Bubby Brister, Chuck Tanner, Kevin Stevens, Joe Greene, Phil Garner, Dwight White, Jerome Bettis

Least enjoyable: Tom Barrasso, Tom Barasso, Tom Barrasso, Barry Bonds, Greg Lloyd, Tom Barrasso, Bill Cowher.

What’s wrong with professional sports today?

The biggest problem in professional sports today is a lack of perspective. Fans and media have assigned way too much importance to sports.

There’s no better example than the violence between grown men wearing opposite replica game jerseys.

In your book, you discuss the “Demise of the pick-up game”. What’s to blame for this –and can it be turned around, in your opinion?

The pickup game is dead. Air conditioning was one of the early reasons for its demise. Overprotective parents and too many kids whose fathers are either not around or too busy to teach them how to play ball and the overemphasis on organized sports at a young age are also major contributing factors.

Video games haven’t helped.

I don’t think it can be turned around. Parents have become convinced that their kids can’t play sports unless they’re involved. It’s sad and pathetic.

What’s the one thing you would like most for readers to take from your book – and why?

I would just hope that people would get a laugh from some of the stories and maybe some insight into the behind the scenes aspects of sports and the media. It’s not exactly ” The Brothers Karamazov.”

How has the venture with Trib Total Media/TribLive Radio going? What have been some of the successes and frustrations so far of being part of Pittsburgh’s first internet radio station?

I’m having fun doing internet radio. It’s a new venture and I’m just glad someone is still willing to pay me to spew my BS. So far, no frustrations.

Jim O’Brien

Jim O’Brien, Steelers Author and Sports Columnist (July 15, 2011):

You’ve covered Pittsburgh sports for over 40 years and won numerous accolades across your journalism career. What stands out as the greatest accomplishment for you, and why?

I am proud that I have had two publishing ventures in Pittsburgh and that I always paid my bills.

Beano Cook and I began publishing and editing Pittsburgh Weekly Sports in the fall of my senior year at Pitt in 1963. and we continued to publish this lively and sometimes controversial tabloid for another five and a half years.

We closed down when Beano went to New York to work as a publicist for ABC TV and I went to cover The Dolphins for The Miami News in 1969. We made good on all our subscription orders and we paid all our bills. That almost never happens in such ventures.

I started publishing and editing books on Pittsburgh sports scene, the first two with publisher and Graphics artist Marty Wolfson, and 18 more on my own in 1980. The books met the test of the market place and have been popular the past 30 years. I have not borrowed any money in either venture and do not owe anyone a dime.

I was the smallest kid in my neighborhood in Hazelwood yet I managed to make it to the major leagues in every sport you can name.

You’ve written a number of books on Pittsburgh sports –Lambert, the Man in the Middle and Other Outstanding Linebackers, The Chief, Fantasy Camp, Pittsburgh Proud and so many more. Which of your books are you most proud of, and why?

My favorite book out of the twenty-three I have written, twenty on Pittsburgh topics, would have to be MAZ and The ’60 Bucs.

That is a coming of age book for me. I entered Pitt as a freshman in September of 1960 and one month later the Pirates were playing the mighty New York Yankees in a World Series less than two blocks from the Pitt Student Union.

I thought I couldn’t have picked a better place to go to college. I would later (1966) meet my future wife Kathleen Churchman, who had an apartment on Oakland Avenue a block from Forbes Field when we were both in grad school at Pitt.

Any new books from you that fans should be waiting for?

I have outlined at least seven future books, but have the next one on hold because the book business has been in a state of flux for the past three years, with Borders declaring bankruptcy and Barnes & Noble being up for sale, and payments not being made on product sales.

I hope to write some more books when the retail market scene improves and the book store chains are paying their bills. Right now, I am concentrating on selling the seven books in my series that are still available. The rest are out of print.

Which of them surprised you most in terms of the learnings derived from the research you conducted to complete them – and what about that research surprised you?

Some of my favorites to interview through the years, who were good ballplayers and know how to tell a story, are J.T. Thomas, Dwight White and Mike Wagner of the Steelers, Bob Friend, Ron Necciai, Frank Gustine Sr. and Frank Thomas of the Pirates, Eddie Johnston , Jack Riley and Pierre Larouche of the Penguins, Joe Gordon who worked as a publicist for the Rens, Hornets, Penguins and Steelers, and I have always appreciated what down to earth guys Bill Mazeroski and Arnold Palmer have remained through the years.

On every successful team there are stars, and Pittsburgh has had numerous ones over the years. But there are also the unsung heroes. Who have been some of the more under-appreciated Pittsburgh athletes/coaches over the years, and what made them so, in your opinion?

Dwight White’s death was a real tragedy. He was doing so much good in our community. He called me “Bookman” and he was real passionate during our interviews. He came from humble beginnings and was a real success story. He often said, “I had to come up to hit bottom.”

What has been your favorite Pittsburgh sports teams to cover over the years, and what made them so?

I liked covering the Steelers because Art Rooney Sr. created a culture that still rings the right bell. I always knew Mr. Rooney was special and I welcomed opportunities to sit and talk with him.My grandfathers were dead before I was a year old, and Mr. Rooney was the grandfather I never had. I learned a lot from the man and I still respond to situations by first asking myself, “What would Mr. Rooney do?”

Highly-regarded Pittsburgh sports historian Robert Ruck in a recent interview (//www.pittsburghsportsdailybulletin.com/page106.html) stated that Pittsburgh has come a long way in regards to improving racial attitudes in sports, but still has a way to go. What are your thoughts on this –what differences do you see between the attitudes of fans towards Pittsburgh athletes now versus 30-40 years ago?

I never had a problem as far as racial relations were concerned in my career in sports.

I started my own track team in Hazelwood when I was 12 years old and I recruited young blacks from another neighborhood to compete for my team. When I worked in Philadelphia, Miami, New York and Pittsburgh, I always thought I enjoyed an edge in interviewing black athletes because they trusted me with their stories. I always thought they had more interesting stories to share.

Wilt Chamberlain was one of my boyhood heroes, and I enjoyed great time in his company and got along well with Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier and other great boxers, and Dave Parker of the Pirates.

More than half the athletes profiled in my books are black, and it bothers me that so few blacks – Maybe one per thousand books – ever buys one of my books. If someone is going to have racist tendencies – and that works both ways – sports will not solve their problems in that respect.

You’ve encountered scores of memorable athletes over the years. What players have stood out to you most over the years, and why?

I’ve been fortunate in my lifetime to meet and spend time with some marvelous athletes, and I never took it for granted.

I had one of the four best seats in the house at Madison Square Garden for the first Ali-Frazier fight, billed as “The Fight of the Century.” I have met and interviewed Ali and Frazier, Joe Louis, Joe Greene, Joe DiMaggio, Joe Namath, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Johnny Unitas, Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, Michael Jordan, Mike Ditka, Danny Marino, Joe Montana, O.J. Simpson, Billie Jean King, Olga Korbut, Mary Lou Retton, Chris Evert, Donna de Verona, Bruno Sammartino and I once met and shook hands with former President Harry S. Truman in Kansas City.

How have you passed along your experiences outside of your various books and columns?

I am proud that I mentored and helped develop and get jobs for a dozen interns who have become really outstanding public relations executives, sports information people, and writers during my time as the public relations director for the athletic department at Pitt from 1984 to 1988.

I always thought of myself as a teacher disguised as a sports writer.

What are some of your greatest Pittsburgh sports memories –encounters with athletes, interviews, observances…..can you name a few that have stood out to you most, and why you think they have done so?

I attended the 21st birthday party for Muhammad Ali when he was in Pittsburgh prior to his fight with Charley Powell at the Civic Arena in January of 1963.

Myron Cope was there and he had written a story for a national magazine on Ali, who was then Called Cassius Clay. Clay kept calling Cope “Mickey Rooney” during the press conference at the old Sherwyn Hotel, now the main building for Point Park University.

By the way, I met Myron Cope for the first time when I was fourteen and serving as the sports editor of The Hazelwood Envoy. We were both covering the Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament at the Pitt Field House.

I asked him, “Mr. Cope, what do I have to do to become a writer?” He replied, in that wonderfully unique voice of his, “Kid, you gotta sit down and start writing!” It’s still the best advice I ever received.

I came back to Pittsburgh in 1979 after a year in Miami and nine more years in New York in time to see the Pirates win the World Series and the Steelers win their fourth Super Bowl in six years. Talk about good timing!

The Steelers were beating the Houston Oilers in the AFC championship game at Three Rivers Stadium, and Rocky Bleier had just scored a touchdown to clinch the contest.

I was standing with the other members of the media in the end zone, so we could get a headstart on getting to the dressing rooms after the game. I think I had a tear in my eye and Joe Gordon,the team publicist, spotted it and recognized my quiet mood. “You OK?” he asked me, and I nodded in return.

But I was emotionally moved because I was thinking, “I’ve come home to Pittsburgh and now I’m going to the Super Bowl with the Steelers? Can it get any better?”

What are your thoughts on sports journalism today with blogging, tweeting and other forms of social media creating a rush to get stories out so quickly, and often creating friction between journalists (as we’ve seen between some in the Pittsburgh sports media industry)?

There’s too much media today for sports, world news, business news, entertainment news and modern technology permits too many people without credentials to write about these things and some unreliable and unreal stuff gets out there.

There are too many tape recorders and cameras everywhere and a lot of irresponsible reporting.

Journalistic judgment is lacking. Sportswriters and sports media don’t care about their personal appearance. Check out the contrast between the media and the athletes. I was told once that if you dress like the equipment manager the ballplayers will treat you in kind. I was told a long time ago to save the tough question for last so you don’t end up with an empty notebook.

Pittsburgh sports journalist Jim Wexell and others have lamented the fact that sports journalism (and to an extent fans as well) has lost the appreciation for getting to know the athletes as people, instead of just their contributions to the team. What are your thoughts on this? Is there truth to this in your opinion? If so why do you think this?

I used to love to spend a few weeks with the Steelers at St. Vincent College during summer training camp. You really got to know the players, coaches and other members of the media, and some great fans as well.

You had great access to the players. You could schedule interviews with them one-on-one and visit them in their rooms.

Now there are too many ropes, too many restrictions, too many rules regarding inter-action with coaches and players, and too many sound-bites gotten on sidewalks outside cafeterias and the like.

I loved to write stories about the players more so than reports on the games. I was able to introduce a lot of great athletes to the readers. There are no true sports publicists anymore. No one offers story ideas. Most of those p.r. people from my early days in the business were former newspapermen and recognized a story when they saw one. There are a lot of good guys in the business, but their roles have changed dramatically.

Any advice for young, aspiring sports journalists?

I would advise anyone interested in being a sports journalist to keep their options open and to be versatile.

The business is going out of business in too many ways. Newspapers and magazines are going out of business. People tell me they don’t have time to read anymore. I feel a little smarter every time I read a book, magazine or newspaper.

If you can write well and speak well you can always get a job. I was a Journalism major for one year at Pitt and then switched majors to become an English major. It was a wise decision. I have worked in every possible form of sports media. Using proper English will still set you apart from the pack.

Any last thoughts for readers?

Some Pittsburgh sports media knock New York, but it was a great place to work when I was in my late 20s. There were twice as many teams in every sport, and I covered some great champions in my day.

But I am glad I am now in Pittsburgh, a great sports town. I enjoyed going to PNC Park and being with good friends and baseball fans in a beautiful ballpark before the Pirates were winning more often than losing.

I always thought going to any kind of game was a good way to spend one’s time. My daughters tell me I never had a real job, and for that I remain grateful. My family is my favorite team.

That’s it. Jim O’Brien

You can get a information on Jim and his books on his website at www.jimobriensportsauthor.com

Anne Madarasz, Pittsburgh Sports Museum

Anne Madarasz, Pittsburgh Sports Museum (July 3 2011):

First, can you give readers a short history of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum –when it first opened, how fans can visit and how it’s funded?

The Sports Museumopened in November of 2004 as part of a new five story edition that we built to expand the History Center. The Sports Museum is so big, 20,000 square feet on two floors, that we really see it as a “museum within a museum,” but there is no extra charge to visit – you get great sports history and everything else the Museum has to offer.

We built the Sports Museum because we recognized that sports is part of the identity of this region and that this was a great story that our visitors would love to learn about. It has had the added benefit of attracting visitors who might never come to the History Center – what we’ve found is, they visit the Sports Museum, then check out our other exhibits and they’re hooked!

The History Center and Sports Museum are open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. We are located in the historic Strip District about two blocks from the Convention Center with parking across the street. People should visit our web-site at www.heinzhistorycenter.org or call 412-454-6000 for more information. Members can visit as many times as they like for no charge, so check out a Sports Museum membership as well.

The History Center is funded by donations from public and private sources and through earned income from admissions and events. Exhibits:The Sports Museum has lots of great features – our introductory video is a favorite with visitors. We strive to tell the stories you expect – Super Bowl championships, World Series wins, and Stanley Cup victories, but also to surprise you.

What are some of the most interesting exhibits you have to offer?

A lot of people don’t know that this is a great center for auto racing – we have Chip Ganassi’s winning Indy car from 2000- or that there are more national marbles champions from Allegheny county then anywhere else, or that four Olympic swimmers came from the Carnegie Library in Homestead team –we’ve got their suits, medals, and Olympic diplomas, or that this was a center for world champion boxers in the 1930s and 40s – we have Billy Conn’s light heavyweight belt.

So come expecting to see Franco’s shoes from the Immaculate Reception and Arnold Palmer’s British Open trophy and Mario’s sweater from the Penguins’ first Stanley Cup win, but look for the bocce court and the national champion powerboat, Satchel Paige’s glove, and Coach Pete Antimarino’s letter jacket too.

We’ve also got lots of activities – so throw the footballs and test your vertical leap while you’re here.

What new exhibits are planned within the year?

There is always something new at the History Center and Sports Museum. This past year we did special exhibits on the 1960 Pirates and one on Mario Lemieux for the Winter Classic. We recently added Swin Cash’s Olympic jersey and an exhibit on the roots of mixed martial arts in the region. Coming up look for an exhibit on the Pirates 125th anniversary this year and their roots as the Alleghenys, a
celebration of Pitt’s national championship in football in 1976, material collected from the Civic Arena, and the hanging of the Steel Curtain banner that used to appear at Three Rivers Stadium.

And we’re working closely with the Josh Gibson Foundation in the coming year to recognize the centennial of Josh’s birth. We will bring in a traveling exhibit called “We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball” on July 1, 2012 and unveil a Josh Gibson life like museum figure in the Sports Museum to join our Franco Harris and Bill Mazeroski figures.

We’re always adding and updating the Museum.

How do you choose what to include in the museum among the myriad of artifacts that are available to exhibit?

There are so many great Pittsburgh sports stories – it is hard to choose. Naturally we try and tell the big stories. But we also try and show the incredible breadth of achievement in the region – from women’s football that predates the Passion, to world rowing champions in the 1860s and 70s, to great track and field Olympians. Sometimes we know about these stories, sometimes a call or email starts us on the trail.

We just brought in a wonderful collection related to the inventor of heavy hands – Leo Schwartz, who grew up and lived in Pittsburgh. It will give us the chance to add to our story of Sports and the Body and changing training methods.

I serve on the WPIAL Hall of Fame committee, so I often try and reach out to those athletes for new material for the museum. We hope to be adding Clinton Davis’ track shoes and Brandon Short’s high school jersey soon.

Do you display all the artifacts in your possession or are some artifacts held back (and if so, for what reasons and can fans see these)?

Every Museum has more objects and collections then what you see on display. There are several reasons we don’t put everything out – one is just for the long term preservation of the objects. Light can damage paper and clothing over time and fade it – so we try and rotate those materials so they last.

Also, we want you to come back – if everything we had was on display, we’d never have new stories to tell to bring you back. Finally, we have a huge non-circulating Library and Archives, that you can use and visit, on our 6th Floor.

We’ve built up a big collection of programs, tickets, photographs, high school yearbooks etc. that are used by the media and researchers, as well as the public. It’s a great resource on the history of sport, but most of it is not on display. Yet it’s all accessible to anyone who wants to use it. We share objects in storage with family members and researchers all the time, we just need a little notice to make them available.

How and where do you acquire these artifacts?

We’ve built great partnerships that have helped us acquire these materials.

Before we opened the Sports Museum we put together our Champions Committee, chaired by Franco Harris and co-chaired by Bill Mazeroski, Arnold Palmer, Suzie McConnell Serio, and Chip Ganassi. With more than 70 athletes, media members, and team representatives, the Committee became a key ingredient in getting the word out about the Sports Museum and bringing in materials.

They continue to meet with us and give us leads and ideas. In addition, we have great relationships with the professional sports teams and the athletic departments at the universities, as well as the WPIAL – they are all advocates for and supporters of what we do.

The curators and archivists here work with me to follow the news, reach out to people and generate new ideas and leads on materials. And the public continues to call and email us and offer objects and ideas. Unfortunately, we rarely have a budget to buy collections and a lot of this sports material has become very valuable and collectible.

We’ve been lucky that some of the athletes, teams, major collectors, and families have been so generous in providing the treasures we have.

Any interesting stories on how some of these artifacts have been discovered?

Sometimes it’s asking the right question at the right time, sometimes it’s a chance meeting that leads to great material.

I knew that one of the stories we’d want to tell in the Museum was the story of the great winning tradition of Westinghouse football under Coach Pete Dimperio. I called his daughter Peg, who used to volunteer for us, and she invited me out to meet with her and her brother Pete, Jr. They had all kinds of wonderful stuff to share. We got to talking about my vision for the Museum and I started telling them how I wanted to do a wall of high school letter jackets as part of the display. Peg got up and opened the hall closet door, there was her dad’s letter jacket in a dry cleaning bag – it had probably been there for 40 years. Now it’s in the Museum.

I started asking other people for their jackets – including Jim Kelly. I knew his high school jersey was at the Hall of Fame in Canton, but hoped to get his jacket. Turns out, it was stolen years ago and he didn’t have it. But while I was on the phone talking to him about it, I remembered a great photo of Kelly as a kid, shaking Bradshaw’s hand after he won the national punt, pass, and kick competition. I asked if he still had the trophy from that. He laughed and said no way. A few weeks later my phone rings, its Jim Kelly’s assistant telling me he went looking for the trophy and found it.

Also, now in the Museum. As for chance meetings – I was working a Saturday the year after the Museum opened and bumped into a guy in the Museum who was interested in a picture we had of an early pro football team. Turns out his grandfather was in the picture. I offered to get him a copy and we got to talking. The gentleman, Gregg Ficery, turned out to be a huge baseball card collector. I introduced him to our baseball curator Craig Britcher and they really hit it off. Gregg has become one of our most dedicated and generous donors, constantly looking for rare pieces to add to our collection.

Have any Pittsburgh athletes come through the exhibit –what are their reactions when they see the collections?

Because of the Champions Committee we have a lot of athletes in the exhibits at events, doing programs for us, bringing their family and friends.

A couple of my favorite stories – on opening night Ernie Holmes came to the event. He had given us his helmet for the exhibit, I took him to see it that night. He was clearly touched to see it in the case with objects from his Steel Curtain teammates – Joe Greene, Dwight White, and L.C. Greenwood. Ernie was working then as an assistant pastor at a church in Texas. He told me his next sermon would include thanks for the “lady who keeps memories alive.”

One of the most touching things anyone has ever said to me. One Friday we were very busy – one of the news channels was taping an interview in the gallery with Franco Harris and the public was watching. I was downstairs looking to greet Coach Johnny Majors who had brought some friends in to see the exhibit. A woman visitor came around the corner from seeing the Franco filming and almost walked into Coach Majors and his group. She turned to me and asked, “Is it always like this?” I could only laugh! You never know who you’ll see on the elevator or using our SmartSteps (a new health and history exhibit in the stair well that we just opened), Charlie Batch came to cut the ribbon!

How are you using technology to add to the experience of the exhibits/museum?

We have some great touch screen exhibits in the Museum – you can search out events that happened at Three Rivers, check out Hall of Famers, take a virtual tour of Greenlee Field, used by the Pittsburgh Crawfords in the 1930s. These are fun ways to share lots of information and add to the experience.

Can people volunteer to work at the museum – if so, how and in what capacities?

We have hundreds of volunteers who work as docents, help in the Library, work with collections, help at events – do all kinds of things. Visit the Volunteer link on our web-site to find out more.

Any Last Thoughts for Readers?

The Sports Museum is really designed with the family in mind. We have more than 70 hands on activities integrated into the space with the exhibits. Plus we often feature special programs or events – like the Stanley Cup last year.

If someone in your family isn’t a huge sports fan (I’ve heard those people exist in Pittsburgh) the History Center has so much more to offer – from Heinz 57 to the Story of Innovation to ethnic history and more. Plus a café, a great Museum Shop, and we’re right here in the Strip District.

We look forward to seeing you!