I followed the Pirates through losing season after losing season in the 1950s alongside my mother, one of the most avid Pirates fans of all time.

A glimmer of hope shined through when the Pirates finished second in 1958, but the biggest thrill of 1959 was sitting with Mom in the Forbes Field bleachers watching the All-Star Game and hoping for a Pirates revival that never came that year.

Ah, but then came the magical year of 1960 and the first Pittsburgh National League pennant in 33 years. The entire student body of St. Basil High School in Carrick was dismayed, however, to find that not only would we not be let out of school to watch the historic World Series games, there would be no radios allowed -- even for game seven!

Back then, any infraction was serious and neither this freshman nor any other student I knew of would risk the wrath of our teachers, the Sisters of Divine Providence (whom I now thank for most of the good that's part of my life).

As the series unfolded, we found out the Good Lord had sent an angel -- a man who lived on the terrace across Concordia Street from the front of the school. This good man heard of our dreadful plight and erected a large scoreboard that turned his front yard into left field at Forbes Field. Only the Longines clock was missing.

At the end of each half-inning, he dutifully chalked in any runs in the appropriate block and noted any Pirates home runs in the spaces below. I remember the joy of seeing him print Rocky Nelson's home run in the early innings of game seven.

I was on my way home when Bill Mazeroski hit the big one. My mother was out on our front porch screaming and celebrating when I got there. And I still thank the creative neighbor who helped make this series a little more special for a lot of St. Basil students.

MIKE WOSHNER, Carrick

In the fall of 1960 my mom, Ann Spezialetti, a die-hard Pirates fan, was pregnant, due to give birth to me at the end of September.

She thought she'd be home from the hospital in plenty of time to watch the World Series. However, I was late, born on Oct. 2. My mom was still in the hospital when the series started Oct. 5.

There were no televisions in hospital rooms then, and she shared her room with other new moms in the maternity ward. My mom told my dad he had to bring her a television so she could watch the games. Without hesitation my dad lugged a television to Ohio Valley General Hospital and carried it up to my mom's room.

When the nurses saw him carrying the TV they told him, "You can't put that TV in there!" There were other new moms sharing the room and they might not have been all that interested in baseball, unlike my mom. The nurses arranged for my mom to be transferred to a private room where my dad could hook up the television.

My mom said her room was like Grand Central Station afterward with all the nurses and doctors coming in to check the score! Even though I'll soon be 50 years old, my mom still refers to me as her "World Series Baby."

ELAINE WAHL, Irwin

The company I worked for had season tickets behind home plate to the Pirates baseball games, which they used for customers throughout the baseball season.

During the 1960 World Series, the tickets were used for customers to be taken by the men in the office. We four girls working there wanted to know when we were going to be able to see a World Series game and were told that if they got to seven games, we could go to that game.

Naturally, everybody in the office thought we'd never get to see a special game. Imagine the surprise of all of us when we four girls got to go! That was a special occasion we all remembered for a long time (especially the men who had to stay in the office that day).

EDNA LLOYD, Homestead

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