BBC SPORT | Other Sports | US Sport | My kind of town: Pittsburgh



By Alex Trickett BBC Sport Online

The teams:

Baseball: Pirates
American Football: Steelers
Basketball: None
Ice Hockey: Penguins

Pittsburgh was built up on steel and its professional franchises have certainly shown their metal over the years.

Terry Bradshaw was quarterback on four Super Bowl sides
Bradshaw: Precision passer

The Steelers dominated the NFL in the late 1970s, reaching four Super Bowls and winning every one under the guidance of quarterback Terry Bradshaw.

Baseball's Pirates have gone one better.

They were World Series champions five times last century - in 1909, 1925, 1960, 1971 and 1979 - and have had a long list of MLB legends on their books from Honus Wagner to Willie Stargell.

The Penguins set up a mini dynasty of their own in the 1990s, winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with the great Mario Lemieux leading their attack.

Venue:

Successor to Three Rivers Stadium, Heinz Field opened its gates in 2001.

Steelers fans hope that their 65,000-seater outdoor arena - which is cruelly exposed to the cold Midwest winter - becomes the hostile fortress of yesteryear.

Kordell Stewart has a lot to live up to

And the signs are good, with Pittsburgh losing only one home game in 2001.

But as able as Kordell Stewart, Jerome Bettis and the current crop are, they have some way to go to rival the 70s Steelers.

Chuck Noll's teams owed their NFL pre-eminence to a "Steel Curtain" defence but had scoring ability through quarterback Bradshaw.

And they showed their class by twice outgunning the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowls.

Legend:

Roberto Clemente learned to play baseball on the sandlots of Puerto Rico and he never forgot his humble roots despite 18 luxurious seasons with the Pirates.

Ivan Rodriguez has been inspired by Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente inspired many Puerto Ricans

In fact, the 15-times All-Star - who was often likened to all-round great Willie Mays - was killed in a plane crash during a humanitarian mission to Nicaragua in 1972.

Clemente left a big legacy, particularly in Pittsburgh.

His speed, powerful arm and consumate batting helped the Pirates to two World Series.

And by the time he joined MLB's elite group of 3,000-hit players weeks before his death, Clemente had done more than enough to become the first Hispanic in the Hall of Fame.

Man about town:

Already inducted into the hockey Hall of Fame, Mario Lemieux is a 'playing legend'.

Mario Lemieux is in his second playing stint in Pittsburgh
Super Mario is a 'playing legend'

During his first spell with the Penguins (1984-1997), "Super Mario" won just about everything there was to win, including two Stanley Cups and six scoring titles.

But, like basketball's Michael Jordan, he found himself restless in retirement and came back in 2000 to quench his competitive thirst.

Super Mario is back

Pittsburgh have been a much better team for his return.

And to crown a glorious career, Lemieux led Canada to Olympic gold in Salt Lake City.


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