Synopses & Reviews
Summer afternoons at Forbes Field, playoff Sundays with the Steelers, winter nights at the Igloo cheering for Mario and the Penguins: Pittsburgh Sports captures all that and more. With stories from sports fans, historians, and former athletes, Pittsburgh Sports mixes personal experiences with team histories to capture the full range of what it means to be a sports fan—in Pittsburgh, or, by extension, anywhere.
A book that can be read cover-to-cover, or in bits and pieces, Pittsburgh Sports includes chapters on the ill-fated Pittsburgh Pipers, who won the American Basketball Association’s first championship, then folded four years later; the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Homestead Grays, perennial Negro League powerhouses; Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Jim Kelly, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, and other legends of western Pennsylvania high school football; boxing’s illustrious past in the Iron City; football reminiscences by a former Steelers punter; and the ups and downs of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Review
"I’ve always been fond of Pittsburgh, and the sports essays collected by Randy Roberts wonderfully illustrate the charm and idiosyncrasy that make Pittsburgh’s sports such a sweet reflection of the whole city."
--Frank DeFord
About the Author
Randy Roberts, professor of history at Purdue University, is the author or editor of fourteen books, including Pittsburgh Sports: Stories from the Steel City. He is the recipient of the Ray and Pat Browne Award from the Popular Culture Association.