(orchestral music) - I was always a Pittsburgh baseball fan.

- It goes back when I was just a young kid.

- [Announcer] Last time hit a ball.

- It's fed into you and we absorbed it.

- [Narrator] And lived it.

- We were always in Forbes' Field.

- [Narrator]} First as young Fans, - Every Saturday was a kid's day.

- It was free and we all went.

(crowd roaring) - [Narrator] Then as workers.

- I started in 1936.

- I've been an usher since 1948.

- [Narrator] And all the while as witnesses to history.

- [Announcer] The seventh indecisive battle in the world's championship.

- I was working on the third base side and I remember every moment of it.

(crowd roaring) - Then when it hit the home run, this place was in bedlam.

- [Announcer] And the Pirates win 10-9 to become the new baseball champions of the world.

- I didn't know what to do, you know?

- [Narrator] But 95 year old Phil Coyne and his fellow ushers have done and seen just about everything as it relates to Pirates' baseball.

Now from their favorite players, - Pie Traynor became a player and a coach.

- Bill Mazeroski.

- Roberto Clemente, he was one of the greatest.

(violin music) - [Narrator] To marquee games.

- To all star games who were a series and stuff.

- [Narrator] And three different ballparks.

- And we walked in and I looked up and I said, "Oh my God, this is huge."

Compared to Forbes' Field, it had doubled the sitting.

- This is the best ballpark.

You can sit here at night and stand here and watch the city.

(orchestral music) - We made it in Forbes', we made it in Three Rivers and now we're making it at PNC.

- [Narrator] This is Pirates' history from a different view.

As five ushers who go way back, share their stories from the stands.

- 27 B.

- [Narrator] On a rainy night in Pittsburgh, 95 year old Phil Coyne is manning his usual post at PNC park.

- There we are, thank you.

- [Narrator] Sections 26 and 27 on third base side.

- [Phil] Ooh, that looks good.

(child laughing) - He still works with enthusiasm, as if it's his first day on the job.

- Trade you?

(Phil laughing) Thank you.

- [Narrator] But he's no rookie.

This is Phil's 77th season working as an usher for the Pirates but his love for the team goes back even further.

- I grew up in Oakland about six blocks away from Forbes' Field.

- [Narrator] And the son of Irish immigrants quickly became enthralled by the great American pastime.

- [Interviewer] Were you a big baseball fan growing up?

- Well, we had to be because we were always in Forbes's Field on Saturday.

Right field stands was open to all the kids.

They called it "Kid's Day" and it was free and we all went then.

So from the time you were 10 years old and somebody older in the block brought you, you would go to the games.

- [Narrator] And eventually work there, too.

- Everybody from Oakland was an usher.

And you always went through Forbes's Field before you went out to work on your own.

I started in 1936 when the social security come in.

- [Interviewer] Did you think you had the greatest job in the world?

- I did have the greatest job in the world.

Yeah, it was good.

- [Narrator] In those days, the man in charge of the ushers was a store owner from Oakland named Gus Miller.

But just because an usher showed up to work, didn't mean he would make the payroll.

It all depended on the attendance at the game.

- Well, some days you wouldn't work but you would just stay and watch the game.

And old Gus had a thing in them days when you didn't work, you went out to the field and you tried to get the foul balls that come into the stands.

And when you got a foul ball to the stands, you took it over and you were guaranteed to work the next day.

- [Narrator] The balls were used again in batting practices and games.

And more than a decade after Phil became a regular on the payroll, - Here we are, thank you.

- [Narrator] Two other young ushers showed up among the masses, Tony Greco and Guy Buddy Diolis.

- There you go!

- [Narrator] Both started working in 1948, around the age of 16.

Tony grew up in the Homewood, Brushton area, listening to every game on the radio.

- I was a Pirate fan and it goes back when I was just a young kid.

And what I really enjoyed listening to the radio and listening to Rosie Rosewell.

- One of the things I remember the most, is when a home run was hit and he would say, "Aunt Minnie, here it comes."

Then all of a sudden you'd hear a window break and it was exciting.

- [Narrator] For Guy, a quick walk up the street was all it took to see a Pirates game.

- I was very fortunate to grow up Panther Hollow in Oakland.

So I was following them for a long time, until I started to work at the age of 16.

- I had a brother that worked at Forbes's Field and he asked me if I wanted to come down.

"Sure, I'll try it."

I mean, I was just a young pipsqueak.

There you go, sir.

- [Narrator] Guy too, was excited to follow in the footsteps of so many of his relatives and friends.

- So it was a real true way of life for all of us.

An enjoyable one, if I may add again.

It's just another home for all of us.

- [Narrator] It was another home for Joe O'Tool's family too.

Joe's father and uncle were longtime ushers.

Joe is now the president of the ushers' union but he didn't join the ranks right away.

He started by cleaning the clubhouse.

That led to a job as visiting bat boy in 1953.

Joe was 13.

- I was a bat boy for Stam Usual.

Guys like Joe Hodges, Willie Mays, Sandy Kofax.

- [Narrator] And for a moment, it looked as though Joe might become famous too, after a photographer approached him on the Field one day.

- And he said, "We're going to do a cover for a magazine.

We're gonna have Willie Mays on it.

We'd like you to be on it handing him a bat."

And I said, "Fine."

Next day I go out and the photographer says to me, "You know what, we're just going to do Willie Mays by himself."

And I was like, "Ooh."

I was a little disappointed but years later I'm thinking I could have been on the cover.

I think it was Look magazine with Willie Mays.

One of the all-time greats.

If I could go back, I'd have tried to twist his arm a little bit to get it done.

- [Narrator] A few years later, Joe became an usher but near the bottom of the seniority list.

He didn't always work in the stands.

- They had a manual scoreboard at Forbes' Field.

It was one of the last jobs if you got on.

You might go out there with the guys that worked out there on a regular basis.

And they had prize days where they had a pony out inside the lobby.

And there were games I stood there and watched the pony.

- [Interviewer] So a real pony?

- A real pony, yes.

- [Interviewer] You babysit the pony?

- Yes.

There you go.

- [Narrator] As Joe was earning his stripes, another future usher was growing up more than 100 miles away from Forbes' Field.

- You guys have a, here you go.

You have a good evening.

- Thank you.

- And thank you for coming.

- Appreciate it.

- [Narrator] Robert Taylor Sr. Robert's father was a ticket taker at the ballpark.

- I lived in West Virginia but every summer, I spent the summer here in Pittsburgh with my father.

I always liked baseball because I played baseball during high school in Sandlot when I was growing up.

I was here all the time.

I used to go to Forbes' Field and watch baseball games.

- [Narrator] But Robert admits he wasn't prepared for his very first time at the ball park.

- [Robert] Most of the number of people at one time I've ever seen in my life, the first baseball game I went to.

I say, "Oh my God, how did they get all these people in this place?"

Whoa, it was just unbelievable.

- [Narrator] But as he got older, Robert decided it might be a great place to work.

He became an usher at the age of 19, during the Pirates last season at Forbes' Field.

- When they run out of regular ushers and I would get on then.

That's how he got the idea.

"Well, you may as well put an application in, that way you can be working all the time."

- [Narrator] And over time as these ushers worked, they became encyclopedias of everything baseball.

Sure, talk of the old days might include the hustle and bustle of Oakland.

- And everybody that came to the games, mostly all came by street car.

- [Narrator] And some things that might surprise modern day fans.

- [Interviewer] Really?

You could just bring in your own beer?

- They brought it in telling you by the cases.

- [Narrator] But most conversations still begin with simply the massive size of Forbes' Field.

- It was an enormous pitchers' ballpark.

- Ultra large.

- You hit a home run, you really earned it.

Here, I think it says 410, Forbes' Field was 457 feet.

And they actually pushed the batting cage all the way out there and that's where that batting cage stood.

- [Narrator] The batting cage, a flag pole and sometimes in the early days, even fans.

- At one time St. Louis and the Giants would get such big crowds that they'd put some of the people on the field.

They'd rope the field up on a Sunday afternoon.

- [Narrator] Phil says that happened a lot in 1936, a season where there was plenty to get excited about.

- [Phil] '36 was the big one.

Paul Waner and Lloyd Waner were in the arcade ball and on shot, they got Stewart was an old timer that played every day.

Pie Traynor was a manager at that time.

And so there was a lot of enthusiasm there.

He added a press box on top of the roof and that was with the purpose of bringing, filling the demand of the people coming in for the world series.

- [Narrator] Unfortunately, the world series never happened.

- They almost won the pennant and lost it to Chicago later in the season.

- [Narrator] But there would be plenty more great Pirates' players and moments to come.

- A ball player named Del Long.

I don't know if you recall him, He hit straight home runs at Forbes' Field, eight days in a row.

- I always enjoyed watching a great one, which was Roberto Clemente and Stargell, he went over to the Forbes' Field roof for a home run, one year.

- [Narrator] And then there's the game that many still consider the greatest in Pirates' history.

- I was working on the third bank side and I remember every moment of it.

(announcer speaking) - I was upstairs in section 115, which will be up right behind home plate.

- [Announcer] Pirate fans are hopeful of a typical buck rally.

- He's down front in the box.

- And I saw him swinging a bat, I saw him hitting the ball.

- [Announcer] And there she goes, it's alone on the left field and it's heading for the wall.

- Watching Yogi Berra running back and looking up and a ball going over the wall and it was just mass hysteria.

(announcer talking) - [Guy] This place was in bedlam.

- [Phil] We were supposed to keep people from running on the field, that was an impossibility, I didn't even try.

- [Narrator] Instead, they celebrated with the players and the fans, with this iconic picture capturing the day.

The man behind Bill Mazeroski was fellow usher, the late Dominic Wolferatti.

Joe tool's father was in the picture too.

- This was my father, Jimmy O'Tool.

He went up, slapped Mazz on the back and then he backed out of the crowd, cause he knew it was going to be a crush.

Okay, you know I wasn't there.

- I know you weren't there, I heard that story.

It's very sad.

- Okay.

- [Narrator] After working every other home game of the series, on this day of suspense and celebration, Joe had to work his full-time job at a local grocery store.

- But I was at work taking a break and saw it on TV, little black and white screen.

Everybody in the place jumped up and down with excitement.

I just stood there and said, "I should have been there."

And it's probably the first or second greatest event, sports wise in the city and I wasn't there.

(announcer talking) - [Narrator] A decade later, there was another event that changed sports in the city forever.

Pittsburgh said goodbye to Forbes' Field and hello to a brand new home, Three Rivers Stadium.

- Pitt was getting so big and it was getting so crowded and opened that something had to be done.

What I miss most though instead of walking to work, I had to take a bus.

I had to take a bus to work.

- [Narrator] It was a melancholy time for many.

- Very sad because of where I came from.

- [Narrator] But it was also a time filled with excitement.

- And we walked in and I looked up and I said, "Oh my God, this is huge."

Compared to Forbes' Field, it had doubled the sitting.

I went all the way up to the ramp to the fifth level and I went up to the top and I was holding onto the railing.

It seemed like it was straight up and down because it was totally different.

And I was like, "Wow, this is really something."

- I knew that, well this place is bigger and I'll get to work more because they're gonna need more people.

And versus Forbes' Field, it wasn't that many.

- [Narrator] And people came with good reason.

The seventies brought an all-star game and two world series.

- It was unbelievable.

You would see the guys, it was planned in, the Stargells, the Parkers, the Clementes.

You go out, the pitcher may give up three runs, it was nothing.

Halfway, they might be up by 10.

They called him the Lumber and Lightening.

They didn't call them the Lumber Company.

They called him at for a reason.

I seen Willis Stargell hit balls up in the fifth level in Three Rivers Stadium.

Yes, unbelievable.

Sat there and said, "Well, I'm getting paid to watch something that people would die to pay to see."

That meant more to me than anything.

- [Narrator] By day, Robert was a steelworker, Phil, a machinist for Westinghouse Airbrake.

Tony was a shoe buyer for Kaufman's department stores.

Joe worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and Guy was a detective for Pittsburgh Police.

The Pirates and the ballpark brought them together on nights and weekends.

- At that age and when I started excitement, strictly excitement.

It was excitement until I got married and had children, then it became necessary.

When I could work and I enjoyed, making a few extra dollars.

- I don't know that you plan on a part-time job like this forever.

- [Narrator] A part-time job or a life-changing event.

The eighties would bring a series of ups and downs for the Pirates but for Tony Greco, they would bring something else, love.

- Yep, that's another story there.

That was at Three Rivers Stadium.

She was working with management.

- [Narrator] A new employee named Joanne Funkhouser, first caught Tony's ear.

- And my first job was to call the ushers to see if they were going to report to work.

And Tony was one of the gentlemen I was able to call.

- And then I started talking to her then.

- Face to face.

- What she would do, she would check with the supervisor cause she had a phone and she would want to know what location I was.

She knew exactly where I was in the ballpark.

- [Interviewer] You're saying she stalked you?

- Well, I mean, it's almost like a mutual feeling.

- That was 27 years ago and we got married two years later, so we just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.

- [Narrator] If only life would have been as blissful for the Pirates during that time.

We all know what happened after 1992 but by 2001, there was excitement about something else, another new home for the Pirates.

But it was a bit tough to say goodbye again.

- When Three Rivers got imploded, when it went down, it felt like my heart stopped.

It just hit me so much.

And I realized that was 30 years of my life.

I remember we went from Forbes' Field over to Three Rivers to see the place.

For me, it was a chunk of my life was now over, that's how I looked and I said, "30 years went by like, that it was gone."

- [Narrator] But what took its place was pretty impressive.

- I had mixed emotions until I walked into this ballpark and it was all over.

I knew they did the right thing.

It's just one beautiful ballpark - Three Rivers, you was in this bowl and in Oakland you was all clouded up.

But right here, you can see and you sitting here watching a baseball game and the lights of the city.

- This was one of the most beautiful parks in the major leagues and it really is.

- [Narrator] PNC park brought lots of changes.

Tony's section got an upgrade.

He works behind home plate in the Lexus club.

- There we are.

- Thank you.

- Hey, thank you.

- [Narrator] And he can't help but to hobnob a bit while he's at it.

For politicians, sports stars and other notable people, it's a popular place to sit.

- One of the greatest, top shelf, a gentleman's gentleman is Arnie Palmer.

He is the greatest.

He comes in there and as soon as people see him coming in, they start lining up wanting his autograph and he carries his own black marker.

He takes it out of his pocket and he signs the autograph.

- [Narrator] From celebrities to the youngest of fans, the ballpark has always been a place where friendships are made.

- I've had people for 40 years and you know, at 10 and 10 have been coming to the games.

- Meeting the people while I'm right down the front there at six and seven and I have a few regulars.

- You begin to know them by name.

- [Narrator] And know everything about them.

- In section eight, seat 12, - [Narrator] That belongs to George Corey from Homer city, Indiana County.

He's what you might call a super regular in Robert's section.

He's missed only 19 home games in 46 years.

- My wife used to say I liked baseball better than her.

I said, "Yeah but I liked you better than soccer."

I used to tell her.

- He'd come to every game.

The coach would come and asked me if he's late.

"Where's George?"

I said, "Well, if you didn't see the obituary that he died, he's going to be here.

He either got caught in traffic or something."

- But Bob knows the strategies, he's just a baseball person.

He's very nice, he gives me some of his snacks.

And every once in a while, I'll bring him a piece of Apple pie.

He loves a movie once a month or something like that.

- [Narrator] From pie to pizza and so much more.

- Hey.

- How you doing, man?

- How you doing?

- [Narrator] This is Tony and Joanne Greco's annual summer picnic.

It's packed with relatives, neighbors, fellow ushers and lots of Pirates' season ticket holders.

- I'm glad you're here.

- Glad to be here.

- [Narrator] Lori McIntosh and her husband Chris, made the trip to Alison park from East Liverpool, Ohio.

- Tony befriends everybody at PNC park and he just brings you in as part of his group and his family and we ended up, I think this is our third annual picnic that we've attended and we wouldn't miss it for anything.

- [Narrator] Rich Brown struck up a friendship with Tony when he first sat in his section five years ago.

- Are they videotaping this?

- I don't know what they're doing.

- Obviously he's very outgoing, he's very funny.

And he just makes you feel so comfortable when you talk to him.

He's such a great guy, he really is.

- And it really is like family.

- When we had to pick this just to stand out here on local hoards, home playmate.

- Yeah.

- [Narrator] A family with new members and those who go way back.

On this day, Guy and Phil take a walk past part of the Forbes' Field wall, that's still standing in Oakland.

- I have to laugh because Phil might've been working when I was in there on "Kid's Day."

- [Narrator] They reminisce at the spot where Mazz's home run cleared the wall.

- They put that in there, - And we visit home plate in it's original spot.

Only now, it's in the middle of Pitts' Posvar Hall.

A friendly hello leads to a conversation with tourists.

- How much was a hot dog?

A dime.

- Cost $11 for a world series ticket.

- You can't get a beer almost for that.

- Back then you went outside and drank a beer.

- [Narrator] Phil calls it the tour of - Things that are are, were and are more than you can think of.

- [Narrator] Things that were a big part of their lives.

- I feel more than fortunate, just blessed that I did what I did, saw what I saw.

- [Interviewer] Do you watch the game as you work?

- Oh, you always watch the game.

- [Narrator] And Phil Coyne has watched more games than any other usher working today.

When he first started ushering back in 1936, he was somewhere in the high 400s on the seniority list.

Today, he's number one.

- [Interviewer] Did you ever think you would be number one?

- Oh no, no, no.

The Lord's you've been good to me.

I never had no problems, get up in the morning and do whatever I'm supposed to do and that's it.

- [Narrator] Rain or shine, he's always happy to be at the ballpark.

- It's an exercise, you never get tired.

If you're tired going, you're not tired during the game.

Something happens, instead of taking a pill, I guess it's something else happens in the moment.

Once the people come in and start talking to you, you forget about whatever it is.

- I just can't say enough about him.

- There are people in this world that you meet, they're special.

I've told people, he is one of the finest human beings I've ever known.

And I just admire and respect him.

- Pirates' president Frank Coonley is a big fan of Phil's too.

- What I think about is dedication, commitment and love of what he's doing.

And it really shows when we celebrated his 90th birthday on the Field by presenting Phil with a Pirates Jersey with the number 90 on it and his name.

And it was a thrill to give it to as he says, "A fellow Irishman."

- [Narrator] The Irishman and everyone else have plenty to be excited about this season.

(child talking) - The atmosphere in the ballpark is completely different.

The excitement is completely different.

(crowd cheering) - Those buildings are a great backdrop, but the most important structure out there is the scoreboard.

- [Narrator] For the first time in 20 years, the Pirates are celebrating a winning season.

- I'ma tell you something, win or lose, winning is better.

(ushers chatting) - [Narrator] Better and beyond enjoyable for these ushers, who have seen so much over the years.

- We made it at Forbes', we made it at Three Rivers and now we're making it at PNC.

- [Narrator] And who can't wait to see what happens next.

- We have to win at PNC.

- With the guys here today, they all coming around.

They are going to be great.

- Yeah, Alvarez, he's going to be great.

Kuchin going to be great.

We got young pitchers, we're going to be alright.

They going to be aright.

- The only thing I can tell you, it was such a thrill.

I tell my grandsons.

"Be patient, give them time."

And when they come here, I tell them to look up there.

I sell 60, 71, 79.

Their time will come.

- Just like everybody else on hoping and hoping.

And I told Mr. Coonley, "I'll light a candle."

Every week, this year that it's working.

- [Interviewer] At St. Paul's cathedral, you light a candle every week.

- For the Pirates.

- [Narrator] Those are tears of joy, tears of anticipation and tears of appreciation of all it's meant to be an usher and a part of Pirate's history.

- As far as planning this long term, No, I never ever give it a thought.

I just was I'm here, I'm doing it.

And next thing I know all this time is going by.

- I like Milwaukee.

- We may not like Milwaukee.

- I like sports.

And as long as my health is good, I'm going to keep on liking it.

I don't think I'll be around 95 like Phil but yeah, I love it.

I enjoy it.

- I'm glad you were able to come.

I love it because I love people.

I enjoy people, I like to interact with people.

It's great, it's a good pastime.

- You guys need any help?

And I do have customers that will say to me, "Guy," they'll see my name tag, "how long you've been doing this?"

And at first I find a little difficult to answer but now I just answer it.

I said, "Since 1948."

And they'll look and say, "You've got to be kidding."

I said, "No, I've been at all three ballparks.

I've been very fortunate."

(announcer talking) - The camaraderie needs a lot.

Yeah, I love that.

- He's a legend.

- Anything else you'd like to say, legend?

- The legend of all the action we've had here.

- No.

- Come on, legend.

- I'm getting ready to go.

- Phil ready to wipe them seats.

- Somebody might come and take my spot.

(ushers laughing) (orchestral music)