Editing Pittsburgh Pirates (section)

===Former ballparks===
The Pirates' first home was [[Exposition Park (Pittsburgh)|Exposition Park]], located a couple blocks west of the current location of PNC Park. The Pirates split their early years between that ballpark and [[Recreation Park (Pittsburgh)|Recreation Park]], which was located further inland from the flood-prone Allegheny River. The Pirates moved back to Exposition Park for good in 1891, and remained there until the middle of the 1909 season.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia|last=Finoli|first=David|author2=Bill Ranier |year=2003|publisher=Sports Publishing L.L.C.|location=United States|pages=485–6|isbn=1-58261-416-4}}</ref> The park hosted the [[1903 World Series|first modern World Series ever played]] in 1903, but by the end of the decade the wooden structure was too small for the Pirates' growing fanbase. Exposition Park hosted several minor league teams before being razed prior to 1920.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia|last=Finoli|first=David|author2=Bill Ranier |year=2003|publisher=Sports Publishing L.L.C.|location=United States|pages=486–7|isbn=1-58261-416-4}}</ref> The site, currently occupied by a parking lot and several restaurants, is marked by a state historical marker (near the intersection of West Gen. Robinson Street and Tony Dorsett Drive) and a sunken home plate marker made of steel (a few paces away, in the parking lot) , both noting the 1903 World Series.

[[File:Forbes Field exterior.jpg|thumb|right|[[Forbes Field]], the Pirates' home ballpark from 1909 to 1970]]
In the middle of the 1909 season, the Pirates moved into [[Forbes Field]] in [[Oakland (Pittsburgh)|Oakland]], which would serve as the club's home for the next 61 years. Built at a cost of $1 million, the park was the first three-tiered steel-and-concrete ballpark in the nation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pirates' Timeline|url=http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/pit/history/timeline2.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509195440/http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/pit/history/timeline2.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 9, 2007|publisher=[[Major League Baseball Advanced Media]]|access-date=August 31, 2008}}</ref> Forbes Field was expanded several times over the decades, with capacity almost doubled from its initial 23,000 in 1909 to 41,000 in 1925 (although it was reduced to 35,000 in its later years). Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss "hated cheap [[home run]]s and vowed he'd have none in his park", which led him to design a large playing field for Forbes Field.<ref>Gershman, Michael (1993). [https://books.google.com/books?id=udTtAAAAMAAJ&q=%22forbes+field%22+%22old+lady+of+schenley+park%22 ''Diamonds: The Evolution of the Ballpark'']. Houghton Mifflin. p.&nbsp;224. {{ISBN|9780395612125}}.</ref> When a large grandstand was constructed down the right field line in the early 1920s, reducing the distance to 300 feet from home plate, Dreyfuss had a 28-foot screen erected.<ref>United News (March 20, 1930). [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4bVhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=v2gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4148%2C4489078 "Barnard Plans to Check 'Cheap' Homers; Proposes Screen for All Sectors Less Than 350 Feet"]. ''The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. "Three major league clubs already have taken to the screen idea, the Phillies and Cardinals erecting screens at their parks last season and the Pirates building one at Forbes Field this season." Retrieved April 20, 2018.</ref><ref>Davis, Ralph (March 22, 1950). [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-UsbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=L0sEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1703%2C6798287 "Plan to Cut Trick Homers is Sensible: Fandom Tires of Freak Four-Baggers, Which Have Robbed One of Game's Features of Its Most Pronounced Thrill"]. ''The Pittsburgh Press''. "President Barney Dreyfuss has always been opposed to freak homers. He hesitated for a long time about increasing his seating capacity by encroaching on his playing area. He finally did it, because everyone else was doing it. But he is said to have regretted the move after it was made, and now has offset it by ordering a screen in front of the right field stands." Retrieved April 20, 2018.</ref><ref>Wertenbach, Fred (May 24, 1930). [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pRkhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OUsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6490%2C2008537&dq=robbed-new-screen "Bucs Beat Cubs; Ens Shifts Line-Up; Comorosky Going Back to Old Post"]. ''The Pittsburgh Press''. "Wilson was robbed of his thirteenth homer when his drive crashed into the new screen in right and went for a double in the sixth." Retrieved April 20, 2018.</ref> Despite this, Forbes Field is remembered for several famous home runs: the final three homers of [[Babe Ruth]]'s career on May 25, 1935<ref name=Dia90>{{harvnb|Gershman|1993|p=90|Ref=none}}</ref> and Bill Mazeroski's championship-winning blast in Game 7 of the [[1960 World Series]]. The park also hosted [[American football|football]] games for the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] and [[University of Pittsburgh]] [[Pittsburgh Panthers football|"Pitt" Panthers]]. Located in a sparsely populated area of the city when it opened in 1909, by the 1960s Forbes Field was surrounded by the University of Pittsburgh campus. The Pirates left the ballpark midway through the 1970 season and the stadium was demolished the following year. Sections of the outfield wall remain standing along Roberto Clemente Drive, and the home plate used in the stadium's final game remains preserved in the University of Pittsburgh's [[Wesley W. Posvar Hall|Posvar Hall]].<ref name=Restor>{{cite news |title=Forbes Field Remnants Restored|first=Tony|last=LaRussa|url=http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_451126.html#axzz33d3JAeAI|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]]|date=May 6, 2006|access-date=September 1, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Crosley Field and Forbes Field|url=http://www.cnn.com/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/9707/stadiums/crosley.forbes.html|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=September 1, 2008}}</ref>

The Pirates moved into the multipurpose [[Three Rivers Stadium]] in 1970, which they shared with the Steelers. Like other [[multi-purpose stadium]]s popular at the time, Three Rivers featured extensive box seats, a turf playing field, and moveable seating sections to accommodate both football and baseball. Three Rivers ended up being much better suited for the former than the latter, and the Pirates struggled to draw fans despite their on-field success in the 1970s. By the 1990s, the Pirates were threatening to leave Pittsburgh unless a new, baseball-only stadium was constructed. The Pirates played their final game at Three Rivers on October 1, 2000, and the stadium was demolished the following winter. The site is currently occupied by parking lots and [[Stage AE]], although one of the stadium's entrance markers remains standing near [[Acrisure Stadium]]. In 2012, members of the [[Society for American Baseball Research]] marked and painted the [[Baseball field#Home base|home plate]] and first base of the former stadium on the 40th Anniversary of Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://grandstander.blogspot.com/2012/09/standing-with-clemente.html|title=The Grandstander: Standing with Clemente|date=September 30, 2012}}</ref> Since then, markers have been placed at the locations of home plate, second base, and the pitcher’s plate.

[[File:BuccoSpringTraining.JPG|thumb|right|[[LECOM Park]], which hosts the Pirates' Spring Training games]]