As a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates you might be forgiven if you didn’t know the name Jim Nelson, who pitched one of the most important games at Forbes Field, which would close on June 28, 1970.
The most famous moment in the history of Forbes Field was Bill Mazeroski‘s iconic seventh game walk-off homer that won the 1960 World Series over the New York Yankees.
The Pirates lost 3-2 to the Chicago Cubs in the first contest in the venue on June 30, 1909.
Eventually, that would be forgotten as Pittsburgh won the 1909 World Series featuring Honus Wagner of the Pirates and Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers. The Pirates won a pair of contests in the new ballpark as they took the title in the seventh game at Detroit.
Babe Ruth hit the last three homers of his career for the Boston Braves in 1935. Ralph Kiner hit 175 homers for the Pirates, which is the most in the park that was used from 1909-1970. Willie Stargell blasted long drives for the Pirates as he began his career in 1962.
Josh Gibson hit homers there as a member of the Homestead Greys, who used the park from 1922-39 with a roster filled with future Hall of Fame inductees.
An oddity was that no player from the Pirates or one from a visiting team ever threw a no-hitter. The Pirates had just three no-hitters during that time and each was on the road by Cliff Chambers in 1951, Bob Moose in 1969 and Dock Ellis in 1970.
National Football League games were even played in the stadium as the Pittsburgh Steelers lost a playoff game 21-0 to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1947. Boxer Jersey Joe Walcott won a heavyweight title bout there in 1951.
The Last Day
Pittsburgh and the Cubs closed Forbes Field with a doubleheader in front of 40,918 on June 28.
The Pirates won the opener 3-2 as catcher Jerry May was walked by Chicago’s Phil Regan with the bases loaded to produce the winning run in the bottom of the eighth.
Roberto Clemente, who not play in the second affair, scored the winning run as he led the Pirates with two hits in the first contest. Reliever Dave Giusti got the win as he came on for Moose, who started in game. Luke Walker pick up the save.
The Last Game
Fobes Field went out in style as Pittsburgh posted a 4-1 win over the Cubs in game two of the twinbill. It was the seventh straight victory for the Pirates as they would be tied for first in the National League East with the defending world champion New York Mets.
Al Oliver, who was playing in right for Clemente, hit the final homer in the park off Cubs starter Milt Pappas as he tied the game 1-1 in the first inning.
Matty Alou knocked in a pair of runs in the in the fifth to give the Pirates a 3-1 lead. Bob Robertson‘s sacrifice fly in the sixth produced the final tally in the 61-year old facility.
Nelson would become the answer to the trivia question, Who was the winning pitcher for the Pirates in the final game at Forbes Field?
With a record of 3-0 after the win, Nelson tossed eight innings giving up six hits with five walks and two strikeouts.
Giusti worked a scoreless ninth as he earned his 11th save of the season.
The Rookie
Picked by Pittsburgh in the 31st round of the 1965 draft, Nelson made it to the majors in the 1970.
Nelson was making his fifth appearance of the season and his third start. In his second start, Nelson tossed a 10-inning 1-0 shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 22.
In his first game on May 30, he fanned San Francisco’s Willie Mays and induced Willie McCovey to hit into a double play. He worked two more perfect innings. He struck out all-star catcher Dick Dietz and his ended his time on the mound by retiring Bobby Bonds on strikes.
Although the Pirates would lose 13-11 to the Giants at home, it proved to be a memorable day at the plate for Nelson as his singled in his first big league at bat.
Nelson ended his rookie year with a 4-2 record and he would go 2-2 the following season before being sent back to the minors in July. He would never pitch in the majors again.
The New Stadium
After a 14-game road trip to New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and St. Louis, the Pirates would return to Pittsburgh to face NL West opponent Cincinnati after the all-star break on July 16 in Three Rivers Stadium.
The Reds would beat the Pirates 3-2 that night. Both teams would eventually win their respective divisions and meet in the 1970 NL playoffs with the Reds winning the series three games to none.