The Story of Pittsburgh Pirates

The Story of Pittsburgh Pirates — page 5
6 P i r a t e s STEELY RESOLVE ittsburgh Pennsylvania is known for its rivers In the downtown area the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers join to form the Ohio River at Point State Park The Ohio River in turn feeds into the largest river system in the United States the Mississippi Starting in the late 19th century Pittsburgh became known too as America’s center for steel production Hardworking people were needed to toil in Pittsburgh’s busy steel mills and the city earned wide and lasting renown for its work ethic But even hardworking people need a diversion and baseball became Pittsburgh’s pastime of choice in the late 1800s Baseball barnstorming in which teams travel an area finding opponents for games as they go became a popular spectator sport in western Pennsylvania The Steel City truly put down its baseball roots though in 1876 when a professional club called the Alleghenys was born The franchise became known as the Pirates shortly after joining the National League NL in 1887 and a long and glorious baseball history began P