{"id":1320,"date":"2013-10-09T11:07:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-09T11:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=1320"},"modified":"2014-12-23T18:55:09","modified_gmt":"2014-12-23T18:55:09","slug":"dreaming-of-the-world-series-too-soon-you-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/10\/09\/dreaming-of-the-world-series-too-soon-you-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Dreaming of the World Series\u2026 Too soon, you say?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\" <\/a> <\/div>
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\"Fans <\/a>
Fans fill the city streets after the Pirates World Series victory against the New York Yankees, Oct. 13, 1960 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bill <\/a>
Bill Mazeroski coming into homeplate during the 1960 World Series (James G. Klingensmith\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Maz <\/a>
Maz in champagne (Credit: Unknown) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A Couple of Real Happy Pirates — Bill Mazeroski, left, whose ninth inning home run won the final game of the World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates, hugs Hal Smith (AP photo) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Fans <\/a>
Fans lucky enough to get tickets to the 1960 World Series create a crowd outside the Forbes Field entrance gates (Century Millennium Project) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

It\u2019s not done yet. The story hasn\u2019t played out. At least not until tonight, until a decisive game between the Pirates and the Cardinals in St. Louis is over. Tonight is going to be INTENSE. To paraphrase the great Red Smith, only when the utterly impossible becomes plausible\u00a0 \u2014 and that utterly impossible until recently was the Pittsburgh team in the playoffs \u2014 the impossible dream somehow becomes real.<\/p>\n

Soooo\u2026 How about the World Series? Can\u2019t we dream big? How about a shared dream of becoming the World Champs of 2013? The Pirates did it in October of 1960\u2026 Queue up the replay:<\/p>\n

A crowd of 36,683 fans packed Forbes Field in Oakland on Oct.13, 1960, most of them were there to pull for the Buccos, others came to cheer on the Yankees. \u201cIt was odd watching nattily dressed businessmen lugging briefcases scrounge for seats in the left bleachers, traditionally the home of shirt-sleeved millworkers and truck drivers,\u201d one Post-Gazette reporter wrote. Before the game, the mood was gloomy. One police officer observed, \u201cIt looks like they are scared. Everybody\u2019s in a daze.\u201d People were so quiet that one woman worker at Forbes Field quoted, in The Pittsburgh Press, pointed out that fans must have been afraid to get excited. \u201cBut we\u2019ll be here after the game and they\u2019ll be excited then,\u201d she said. And she was right.<\/p>\n

Lots of laughing and dancing happened at Forbes Field that day, joyful victory cries echoed all across Pittsburgh from Oakland to Downtown. \u201cA Pittsburgh celebration that was 35 years in the making erupted in Forbes Field. It was V.E. Day, V.J. Day, New Year\u2019s Eve and the Fourth of July all rolled up in one.<\/p>\n

“Any drama and excitement unexhibited in the first six games was packed into the end of the seventh when the Pirates beat the Yankees with their own weapon \u2014 the home run \u2014 to win the first World Championship for the Bucs since 1925,” the Post-Gazette reported.<\/p>\n

“The celebration got under way at home plate even before Mazeroski has rounded second base. Roberto Clemente leaped high into the air, a dusky Nijinski performing an impromptu ballet. As Mazeroski came home, Clemente and the other Pirates pummeled him. Fans surged onto the field and surrounded the Pirates dugout before police could form lines to stop them.”<\/p>\n

“With the crack of Mazeroski\u2019s bat, the problems of the world were forgotten. Khrushchev became a noisy, little bore. Ballistic missiles didn\u2019t have the power of a baseball bat. And the recession took a recess.”<\/p>\n

“The Yankees disappeared from the dugout so fast you\u2019d have thought it was radioactive. There is nothing more devastatingly final than a home run ending a ball game in the last of the ninth.”<\/p>\n

There was confetti on Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street soon after the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Championship. The city went wild. \u201cThe intersection, normally one of the busiest in the city, still never had seen such bedlam as Pittsburghers cut loose \u2026\u201d The Pittsburgh Press reported.<\/p>\n

They did it in 1960, they did it again in 1971 and then again in 1979. Can the Buccos make it happen 34 years later? The World Series goal is still very far, but we shall see tonight whether the dream is even attainable in this unforgettable season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not done yet. The story hasn\u2019t played out.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesDreaming of the World Series\u2026 Too soon, you say?<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[944],"tags":[962,963,977,1005,1027],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/tumblr_mudg87B6mh1rr5swxo5_r1_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C873&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":542,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/06\/20\/boyhood-memories-at-forbes-field\/","url_meta":{"origin":1320,"position":0},"title":"Boyhood memories at Forbes Field","date":"June 20, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Two boys, two hot dogs and a magical season at Forbes Field.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/tumblr_n7dmswA6VE1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C882&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":295,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/09\/03\/1960-pittsburgh-pirates-hands-in-detail\/","url_meta":{"origin":1320,"position":1},"title":"1960 Pittsburgh Pirates hands in detail","date":"September 3, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"They belong to two battery mates in Pittsburgh: catcher Smoky Burgess and relief pitcher ElRoy Face.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/tumblr_nbaldpTNMN1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C698&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2644,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/08\/13\/oct-14-1925-world-series-at-forbes-field\/","url_meta":{"origin":1320,"position":2},"title":"The 1925 World Series at Forbes Field","date":"August 13, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"We found this crumbling print in an oversized folder labeled \u201cB\u201d (for baseball). 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David Lawrence","date":"December 14, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"A warm day: 83 degrees in the sun.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tumblr_mezs55bNg11rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C940&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8706,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/05\/21\/great-moments-in-pittsburgh-sports-history-early-days\/","url_meta":{"origin":1320,"position":5},"title":"Great moments in Pittsburgh sports history: early days","date":"May 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Post-Gazette\u2019s Out of the Archives: Sports is a photographic tour through the city\u2019s rich sports history. 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