{"id":542,"date":"2014-06-20T02:01:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-20T02:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=542"},"modified":"2015-01-09T16:13:45","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T21:13:45","slug":"boyhood-memories-at-forbes-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/06\/20\/boyhood-memories-at-forbes-field\/","title":{"rendered":"Boyhood memories at Forbes Field"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A view of Forbes Field and its third base seats, where Reischbaum and Hyde sat that day in 1960. (Morris Berman\/Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

When I called Lee Reischbaum, a local Pittsburgh psychologist pictured left in the above photo, he responded: \u201cYou won\u2019t believe this! I\u2019m on the phone with Michael Hyde right now!\u201d<\/p>\n

Not that this was abnormal. The two are good friends. The fascinating part?<\/p>\n

Michael Hyde is the boy on the right in the photo above, captured on April 24, 1960, by a Pittsburgh Press photographer.<\/p>\n

Early in that magical 1960 season, 11-year old Reischbaum and 9-year old Michael Hyde enjoyed hot dogs on the third base side at Forbes Field. It was a warm spring day and a familiar scene. The neighbors, whose parents moved from Friendship to Stanton Heights together when they were infants, often attended games with each other.<\/p>\n

Reminiscing about the 1950s and \u201860s Pirates takes the two men \u2014 now 65 and 63 \u2014 back in time. Both can name just about every player on the 1960 World Series Champion Pirates.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne person I really enjoyed watching was Smoky Burgess, the catcher,\u201d Reischbaum said. \u201cHe was a short, pudgy guy. But you could count on him. He was like a Josh Harrison. You put him up to bat, he would hit the ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeft field was Bob Skinner, this long, tall guy who loped. He looked like a giraffe. And when he ran it was like watching a giraffe run across the plains of Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hyde\u2019s memory is just as sharp.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI remember Billy Virdon climbing up the batting screen in centerfield to catch balls,\u201d Hyde said.<\/p>\n

Of course, Roberto Clemente played right. The two boys used to pay a dollar or two to sit in the right-field grandstand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were horrible seats. But they were behind Clemente,\u201d Reischbaum said.<\/p>\n

Talking about the Forbes Field Pirates reminds them of a different era.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a gigantic part of life, and if we weren\u2019t at the game at the time, we would be sitting up on the porch watching the glow from the steel mills, listening to it on the radio, eating pizza,\u201d Hyde said. \u201cThey were amazing, amazing times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, Reischbaum has a partial season ticket package to PNC Park. But the men agree that Forbes was in a league by itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to say nothing could be better than Forbes field. That was just a classic field,\u201d Hyde said.<\/p>\n

Although the two don\u2019t go to Pirates games together anymore \u2014 Hyde lives North Carolina and is a professor at Wake Forest University \u2014 they stay in touch. Reischbaum has hardly left Pittsburgh, earning four degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. Still, the two cannot remember a time when they did not know each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael and I are an example of the long friendships people in Pittsburgh have,\u201d Reischbaum said.<\/p>\n

After spending his whole life here, Reischbaum is understandably fond of Pittsburgh\u2019s small-town feel. He and Hyde grew up on the same street as Steve Greenberg, the former Pirates vice president who spearheaded the construction of PNC Park.<\/p>\n

And Reischbaum\u2019s Little League coach was Bob Smizik, the former Post-Gazette sportswriter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part of what Pittsburgh is, too. My wife sometimes shakes her head and says, \u2018How do you know all these people? How do you stay in touch with all these people?\u2019 It\u2019s part of the city\u2019s culture.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two boys, two hot dogs and a magical season at Forbes Field.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesBoyhood memories at Forbes Field<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":543,"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":[962,969,977,989,1014,1027,1032],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/tumblr_n7dmswA6VE1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C941&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1320,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/10\/09\/dreaming-of-the-world-series-too-soon-you-say\/","url_meta":{"origin":542,"position":0},"title":"Dreaming of the World Series\u2026 Too soon, you say?","date":"October 9, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"It\u2019s not done yet. The story hasn\u2019t played out.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/tumblr_mudg87B6mh1rr5swxo5_r1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C818&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2449,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/10\/04\/july-26-1963-circus-parade-downtown-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":542,"position":1},"title":"Elephant gives baby once-over","date":"October 4, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"\u201cCome See Me at the Circus \u2014 Says Jumbo.\u201d","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/tumblr_mbahxbkOiq1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C773&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":954,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/02\/14\/final-moments-of-forbes-field\/","url_meta":{"origin":542,"position":2},"title":"Final moments of Forbes Field","date":"February 14, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Instead of demolition, the question was asked \u201cWhy not open it up for kids to play ball?\u201d","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/tumblr_n0yi05o5031rr5swxo7_1280.jpg?fit=1000%2C788&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":542,"position":3},"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":9872,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2021\/01\/31\/historical-panoramics\/","url_meta":{"origin":542,"position":4},"title":"Historical Panoramics","date":"January 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Post-Gazette artists and photographers have spent months digging for historic images of Pittsburgh landmarks -- Market Square, the Block House at the Point, Forbes Field and Luna Park. We found great panoramic views of Forbes Field and Luna Park, but not of Market Square and The Block House. We wanted\u2026","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/LunaParkThen.jpg?fit=1200%2C489&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2170,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/01\/02\/people-board-buses-and-trolleys-at-smithfield-and-forbes\/","url_meta":{"origin":542,"position":5},"title":"People board buses and trolleys at Smithfield and Forbes","date":"January 2, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Remember when buses looked like the one in this picture?","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/tumblr_mfejrsyxuo1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C943&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3926,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542\/revisions\/3926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}