Love and frustration with the Game 7 Gang
Who doesn’t want to live one’s glory days over and over again - especially when things haven’t been going so well recently?
That’s the idea behind the group of Pirates fans who show up at the remaining Forbes Field wall every year on October 13th to listen to the full radio broadcast (commercials and all) of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. The tradition began in 1985, when a man named Saul Finkelstein showed up at the University of Pittsburgh campus at the site of Forbes Field’s remaining outfield wall. He brought his radio with him and began to play a tape recording of NBC’s broadcast of the game.
Over time, more people joined in, and now, you can expect hundreds of people gathered each year. Over the years, the tradition has evolved into a proper event with a live scoreboard, pierogies for sale, and fans casting their minds back to (or, for the younger ones, imagining) better days. For Matthew Fetch, a fan in his early twenties who attended the event this year for the very first time, attending the event was about his father (who was seven when he watched the game) reliving the glory days, which feel like a far cry from the organization’s position now.
Ken Blackburn
As for the men keeping the tradition alive, they call themselves the Game 7 Gang. I recently had the chance to speak to Ken Blackburn and Daniel Schultz, two official members. Ken Blackburn is a newer recruit, though he has been obsessed with the 1960 World Series for ages. In fact, his mother was so overtaken at the moment when Bill Mazeroski hit his home run that she jumped off the couch and almost dropped a young Blackburn on his head. It’s no wonder that Blackburn has such a deep connection to the game.
Ken Blackburn
Blackburn is the man who built the event’s replica of the scoreboard (functioning clock and all) and is in charge of changing the numbers as the game goes along. Over the years, he has become very familiar with the game’s ebbs and flows. As for what the event means for him, Blackburn says that it gives folks something to look forward to in a difficult time for Pirates fans.
Daniel Schultz has been taking part of the Game 7 tradition for decades, joining in 1989 after reading an article in the newspaper about Finkelstein. They would sit together at the wall, not talking much as the game went on. Once Schultz’s son was born, he’d bring his son along too. One year, Schultz offered to bring a larger radio, with the larger radio came more attention. People would stop by and ask what was going on, others would join in. Soon, a man named Herb Saltman became the leader of the group. Saltman, who passed away last year at the age of 89, was an actual attendee at Game 7. He stormed the field as the game ended.
On the 50th anniversary of the game, around 2500 Pittsburgh fans attended the event, including players from that 1960 team who took the time to meet fans and sign. This is Schultz’s favorite memory of the tradition. “Bill Mazeroski came down. He pulled up in a big white limo. There was a huge long line of people that wanted his autograph. That man sat there for three hours and signed every single thing and chatted with me. It was really nice to put those guys back in the limelight. They deserved it.”
As for the longevity and the popularity of the tradition, Schultz says that it’s all organic. The group doesn’t advertise. “It’s all word of mouth. It feels like a little pilgrimage. We set all this stuff up, talk to the fans, and while the game’s playing we’ll walk around and talk to the fans. It is something that I look forward to every year. When I fill out my vacation at work, I always block October 13.”
