Pirates usher retires after 81 seasons
PITTSBURGH — The oldest usher in the major leagues is calling it a career after 81 years on the job.
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Friday that 99-yearold Phil Coyne, who has been working home games for the organization since 1936, will not return this season. He turns 100 later this month.
Coyne worked thousands of games for the Pirates through the decades, following along as the franchise moved from Forbes Field to Three Rivers Stadium to PNC Park. Coyne worked in sections 26 and 27 down the third base line at PNC Park. The team gave him a No. 99 jersey with his name on the back last summer and the Pittsburgh City Council designated Aug. 29, 2017, as “Phil Coyne Day.”
Pirates President Frank Coonelly thanked Coyne for serving fans with “with incredible grace and distinction” through the years. Coyne’s only sabbatical came when he served in the armed forces in World War II.
The team plans to throw a party for Coyne and his family and friends on April 27 to celebrate Coyne’s 100th birthday. BRAVES 8, ROCKIES 3: Brandon McCarthy pitched six solid innings and delivered a tworun double that chased German Marquez in the fifth inning of Atlanta’s win over Colorado on a frigid day that marked the second-coldest game in Coors Field history. It was 27 degrees when the Rockies’ home opener began after an hour-long delay caused by sleet and snow. That was just 4 degrees warmer than when these teams met in Denver on April 23, 2013, in the coldest first-pitch temperature in major league history. McCarthy (2-0) allowed three runs and five hits, more than enough for the hot-hitting Braves, who lead the majors with a franchise-best 56 runs through seven games. Marquez (0-1) gave up seven, seven hits and six walks in 4 innings. He allowed a solo homer to Ozzie Albies in the first and walked two batters before Preston Tucker’s sacrifice fly and Dansby Swanson’s two-run triple made it 4-0. Colorado got a run back in the bottom half when Carlos Gonzalez lined a run-scoring triple to right-center. Gonzalez added a solo homer in the fourth, a 445-foot shot into the right field bleachers. BREWERS 5, CUBS 4: Orlando Arcia drove in Manny Pina in the bottom of the ninth to give Milwaukee a walkoff win against Chicago.