I’ve known Pete and Harry for more than 50 years. We have seen the best and worst of each other in those years when anything seemed possible, except consequences. That we managed to get to this point together was worth celebrating — especially since some others who had taken that journey with us are no longer here.
This was not some sort of reconnect. We have treasured our relationships for decades. It didn’t stop when we walked off the stage with our high school diplomas. Thanks to Harry, we have had an annual summer party to get together for 30 years on his Pennsylvania farm. The class of 1971 at East Stroudsburg High School has remained close. Harry, Pete, and I have remained closer.
So we got into Pete’s Jeep last week and embarked on a 1,200-mile road trip to Cleveland, Canton and Pittsburgh to share in our lifelong passion for sports — with a little culture mixed in.
It was the kind of trip guys talk about when they occasionally get together with their friends. We walked the walk, or, in this case, drove the desire.
Our first stop was Progressive Field for the Cleveland Guardians game against the Boston Red Sox. It’s a stadium that I’ve been to dozens of times as a sportswriter. I covered many of the glory days of the then-Indians squad of the 1990s, including the 1995 and 1997 World Series.
I saw Roberto Alomar fall into the arms of Sandy Alomar in the visiting Orioles clubhouse during the 1996 Division Series after Roberto — the game’s No. 1 villain after spitting in umpire John Hirschbeck’s face on the last weekend of the series in Toronto — hit the game-winning home run to clinch the series in Game 4.
I saw Albert Belle try to choke a Cleveland sportswriter in their locker room because he thought the writer had looked in his locker — which was more a figment of Belle’s warped mind than the truth.
But I was here this time as a spectator, and I am not so far removed from my time as a civilian that I can’t enjoy that experience.
In those glory days, the ballpark was packed — 455 sellouts from June 1995 to April 2001. These days, not so much. They took 7,000 seats out of the ballpark in 2014 and replaced it with a sports bar. Capacity is now 34,830, and there is talk about taking out more seats. Attendance on this night was reported at 21,741, with a number of them Boston fans.
No matter. Those Guardians fans who were there enjoyed the atmosphere — as do most people who come to a ballpark. We joined them and saw a close 5-4 Red Sox win. We got photos with the statues of Larry Doby and Frank Robinson — the third ballpark with a Frank Robinson statue, the other two in Baltimore and Cincinnati.
The next day we visited The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a place where you could spend days if music marked the moments of time in your life, as it had for the three of us. The exhibits featured the Beatles, Elvis and many others, including the “Cities & Sounds” exhibit, showing the impact of music in places like Detroit, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Memphis.
Our favorite exhibit, though, was the one where you could literally pick up instruments — guitars, drums — and play. I’m no musician, but it was fun to sit in front of a drum set “hitting the skins.” They also had a live band playing Karaoke — which of course led to my cover of “Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay.” Big hit.
The following day we went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in nearby Canton. Great exhibits detailing the history of the game. My favorite was the holographic theater “A Game for Life.” It featured representations of Hall of Fame legends George Halas, Vince Lombardi and Joe Namath (my childhood hero). Stories of numerous Hall of Famers, including Jim Kelly, Steve Largent, Alan Page, Jim Brown, Warren Moon and Curtis Martin, were shared.
The first bronzed bust in the Hall of Fame Gallery was Washington quarterback legend Sammy Baugh. I was fortunate enough to interview Baugh, who was 82 at the time. Busts of George Allen, Joe Gibbs, Bobby Mitchell, Sonny Jurgenen, Art Monk and other Washington Hall of Famers were displayed, with their stories told on touch screen kiosks.
There were a few curious displays — like the one with Kirk Cousins’ jersey from his history-making comeback with Minnesota last season. He brought the Vikings back from a 33-0 halftime deficit to win 39-36 against the Colts to clinch the NFC North title. Also in Canton was Robert Griffin III’s jersey, along with Andrew Luck, noting their historic 2012 rookie seasons.
The last stop was Pittsburgh, where we spent the day culturing up at The Andy Warhol Museum, followed by a game that night at PNC Park, where the Pirates embarrassed the New York Mets 14-2. We sat behind a group of Mets fans who had made the trip from New York. They made their feelings known, New York style.
I am partial to Fenway Park and Camden Yards, but you won’t get any argument from me if you believe PNC Park is the best in baseball. We capped it off with photos of statues with Willie Stargell and the great Roberto Clemente — followed by a first-class fireworks display.
It was the perfect finale to a road trip that was really mapped out in our hearts.
You can hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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