July 16, 1970: Three Rivers Stadium Opens In Pittsburgh

July 16, 1970: Three Rivers Stadium opens in Pittsburgh. It replaces Forbes Field, which had been home to baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates since 1909. In their last games at Forbes Field, on June 28, the Pirates had swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 and 4-1.

The Cincinnati Reds spoil the party, beating the Pirates 3-2. Dock Ellis runs out of gas in the 9th inning, and gives up a single to Tony Perez, a walk to Johnny Bench, and a single to Lee May. Perez had hit the 1st home run in the new stadium, and Willie Stargell hit the 1st home run for the home team.

The NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers also moved in. Their regular-season debut there was no better: On September 20, 1970, they lost to the Houston Oilers, 19-7.

Three Rivers -- named for the spot where the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River combine to form the Ohio River -- was an artificially-turfed multipurpose stadium, not very good for either baseball or football.

It hosted 28 postseason baseball games, including games of the 1971 and 1979 World Series, both of which the Pirates won; and 18 NFL Playoff games, including 9 AFC Championship Games and the 1972 AFC Divisional Playoff that featured the Terry Bradshaw to Franco Harris pass known as the "Immaculate Reception," a game that launched the Steelers’ 1970s dynasty that saw them win 4 Super Bowls.

Oddly, while Stargell hit the longest home runs ever at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, and, through the 2021 season, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, he did not hit the longest at Three Rivers. Given that he had crossed Pennsylvania to hit the longest at The Vet, it was somewhat appropriate that a Philadelphia Phillies slugger had gone in the opposite direction to hit the longest homer at Three Rivers: Greg Luzinski.

The Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League (USFL) played 1 season, 1984, and their home games were at Three Rivers. It also served as a home field for Duquesne University in 1971, and the University of Pittsburgh for scattered games, and all their home games in the 2000 season, from the demolition of Pitt Stadium (where the Steelers had played from 1964 to 1969) until the opening of Heinz Field.

The stadium fulfilled its purpose: It saved the Pirates and Steelers from having to move. But it was a bad design, and both teams moved to new stadiums after their 2000 season, one on either side of Three Rivers. The Pirates' finale was on October 1, 2000. As with the Forbes Field finale, it was against the Chicago Cubs. Unlike that 1970 contest, the Cubs won, 10-9. The Steelers' finale was on December 16, 2000, and they beat the Washington Redskins, 24-3.

Three Rivers Stadium, age 30, was demolished on February 11, 2001. The Pirates opened PNC Park on April 9, 2001. As with the Three Rivers opener, Cincinnati spoiled the occasion, 8-2. Pitt played the 1st regular-season game at Heinz Field on September 1, 2001, beating East Tennessee State, 31-0. The Steelers played their 1st regular-season game there on October 7, 2001, beating the Cincinnati Bengals, 16-7. Heinz Field was renamed Acrisure Stadium in 2022.

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July 16, 1970 was a Thursday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees split a doubleheader with the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium. The A's won the opener, 8-2. Chuck Dobson outpitched Fritz Peterson. Frank Fernández hit a home run for the A's, and Curt Blefary hit one for the Yankees. The Yanks won the nightcap, 4-1. Stan Bahnsen outpitched Diego Seguí. Pete Ward went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs for the Yanks. Over the 2 games, future Yankee Reggie Jackson went 1-for-5 with 2 walks and 3 RBIs.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Bill Singer outpitched Jim McAndrew.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. George Scott scored Carl Yastrzemski with a sacrifice fly to win the game in the bottom of the 10th inning. Yaz had gone 2-for-5. Billy Conigliaro hit 2 home runs, and his brother Tony got a hit, but the love affair between Red Sox fans and the Congiliaros was, to put it in Friends-speak, on a break.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Frank Robinson went 1-for-4. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-3 with a walk. Harmon Killebrew hit a home run. Rod Carew did not play.

* The California Angels beat the Washington Senators, 3-2 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-6 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Al Kaline went 2-for-4 with a walk.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Pat Jarvis outpitched Steve Carlton. Hank Aaron went 1-for-4 with a walk. Lou Brock went 2-for-4 with a walk.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-0 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Rich Hand pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-1 at the Astrodome in Houston. Don Wilson outpitched Ken Holtzman. Ernie Banks did not play.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Diego Padres, 10-7 at San Diego Stadium (later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium).

* And the Montreal Expos and the San Francisco Giants were not scheduled. The All-Star Game had been played 2 days earlier, and these 2 teams got an extra day of the All-Star Break.