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Vendor’s life at Forbes Field and Three Rivers Stadium
Ionce had a job where I saw celebrities each and every time I worked and where the roar of thousands of people became routine. From the age of 14 to 22, I was a ballpark vendor. I worked Pittsburgh Pirates baseball and Pittsburgh Steelers football games.
I worked at Forbes Field from June 1965 until it closed on June 28, 1970. Then, I moved to Three Rivers Stadium from July 16, 1970, through December 1972. I also worked at Pitt Stadium. All three of those venues no longer exist.
At one time or another, I sold cartons of lemon blend and orangeade, cups of ice cold Coca-Cola, popcorn, peanuts, hot dogs, chocolate covered ice cream bars, hot chocolate, scorecards, souvenirs and beer.
They never sold beer at Forbes Field, but I did sell it a handful of times at Three Rivers Stadium.
Besides Pirates and Steeler games, I worked Pitt football games and, for a short time, pro soccer games. I remember working a couple concerts at Three Rivers Stadium — Three Dog Night and Alice Cooper. And each year, I worked the three-day Pittsburgh Police Circus.
I have many, many memories of working as a vendor. For some reason, I remember lots of numbers.
The price list at Forbes Field pretty much remained consistent during the five years I worked there. Coca-Cola, lemon blend, orangeade and popcorn were 25 cents. Hotdogs were 35 cents, ice cream 20 cents.
When I started at Forbes Field, I stood 5-foot-5 and weighed 122 pounds. I know this because I found a 1965 vendor identification card in my attic with a bunch of other old papers several years back.
My first game at Forbes Field, I sold lemon blend on the third base side of the field and made $2.02. My first two customers were two elderly ladies who were sitting behind the third base dugout.
Back then, you made 15% of what you sold. After you worked 40 events, you could join the union and were bumped up to 20%.
The least amount of money I made at
Forbes Field was 43 cents. On that night, the temperatures dipped into the low 40s and not many were interested in the ice cream I was selling. Considering it cost me 60 cents in bus fare (30 cents each way), it could be argued I made -17 cents that night.
The most money I made at Forbes Field was the final day there — a doubleheader. I sold 52 trays of Coca-Cola (20 cokes in a tray). Altogether, I sold 1,040 Cokes and made $52.
Probably the best part of being a vendor, for me, was getting into all the games for free. I was a pretty big sports fan back then, especially in my teenage years.
I probably saw Pirates icon Robert Clemente play in about 500 home games, including that last doubleheader at Forbes Field, when thousands eventually rushed onto the field, many taking and ripping outseats to take home as souvenirs.
I was working at Three Rivers Stadium on October 13, 1971, when the Pirates and Baltimore Orioles played the first night game in World Series history.
When the Steelers’ Franco Harris made his famous Immaculate Reception in 1972, I was watching from behind the last row of seats in the far end zone, still wearing my vendor uniform. I sold beer that day.
When the impossible playoff winning catch was made, I started jumping up and down just like everyone else — until I realized my jumping had caused about $5 in quarters to jump out of my change apron. While everyone was still celebrating, I was down on all fours
searching for my lost quarters.
But in all honesty, probably my most vivid memory of being a vendor had nothing to do with a big event, or what I sold, or how much money I made.
It was about a moment. It happened as I was leaving work after a Pirates afternoon game in late September 1969.
The vendors entered and left Forbes Field through a small gate on South Bouquet Street. You had to duck down to enter and leave.
Just up the street — perhaps 50 yards away — was a giant first base
exit gate that many fans used to exit Forbes Field. Most of the players left from this gate also and so 30 or 45 minutes after a game, it was not unusual to see fans congregate outside the first base exit gate, waiting for Pirates players to sign autographs. There were, however, a few players who would try to avoid the fans and leave down at the vendor gate.
At any rate, on this particular day I had come to work in a suit and tie because I had just been at a funeral home, paying my respects to a deceased relative, I believe.
Once at Forbes Field, I changed into a blue Pitt Sportservice uniform.
When the game ended, I had no choice but to put the suit back on. I also had on a pair of sunglasses. By now, I was19 years old and I was no longer 5-foot-5, 122 pounds. I had grown to 6 feet and about 185 pounds.
When I opened the vendor gate to leave that day, four or five little boys rushed up and asked for my autograph. I’m pretty sure it was the suit, the sunglasses and perhaps my size that made them think
I was a ballplayer.
I politely told them I wasn’t a ballplayer and started to walk away.
But then a middle-aged woman jumped in front of me. I imagine it was one of the boys’ mothers
“Look mister, we know you’re a ballplayer,” she said. “These boys have not gotten one autograph. Players have walked by us. Please sign your name.”
And so I began signing autographs on scorecards or whatever else they handed me. I wasn’t a total fraud. I didn’t sign my name as Bill Mazeroski, or Steve Blass, or Richie Hebner, or some other member of the 1969 Pirates. I just signed my name.
What I remember most about signing those autographs was how the little boys all gathered around and looked up at me with their big eyes. They looked at me like I was really something, like I was some sort of hero. Signing those autographs, I have to admit, was intoxicating.
When I was done signing, I started walking down South Bouquet Street toward the giant hill on Joncaire Street where my car, a beat-up ’63 Chevy, was parked.
I had probably taken about a dozen steps when I heard one of the boys say loudly, “Hey, that guy’s not a Pirate.”
At that point, I figured my fraud had been exposed.
But then the little boy added, “I think he plays for the other team. I think he’s a Chicago Cub.”