Pittsburgh - PNC Park: Highmark Legacy Square - Judy Johnson
Judy Johnson, born William Julius Johnson (1900-1989), was a sure-handed, contact-hitting third baseman who broke into the Independent League Baseball with the Bacharach Giants in 1918 and starred for the Hilldale Athletic Club. He served as a player-coach for the Homestead Grays in 1930, where he is best known for discovering Josh Gibson. During the mid-1930's, Johnson was the team captain of the Pittsburgh Crawfords, perhaps the Negro League's greatest dynasty. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.
Highmark Legacy Square, a permanent exhibit located inside the Left Field Gate Entrance at PNC park, was on June 26, 2006 to honor and reserve the history of the Negro Leagues and the great players from the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords. Designed by Ed Steele, owner of ESA Design and designer of the Negro League Museum in Kansas City, and Rob Ruck, University of Pittsburgh professor and Negro Leagues historian, the exhibit features life-size bronze statues, by sculptor John Forsythe, of seven Negro Leagues greats, each accompanied by an interactive kiosk, and the Highmark Legacy Square Theatre, an indoor 25 seat movie theatre.
The other players honored at Highmark Legacy Square are catcher Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords, Crawfords pitcher Satchel Paige, Crawfords/Grays outfielder Cool Papa Bell, Grays/Crawfords center fielder-manager Oscar Charleston, Grays first baseman Buck Leonard, and Grays pitcher Smokey Joe Williams.
PNC Park opened in 2001 as the fifth home of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates, replacing Three Rivers Stadium. Funded in conjunction with Heinz Field and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the $216 million park stands along the Allegheny River, on the North Shore with a view of Downtown Pittsburgh. PNC Park, designed by HOK Sports Venue Event, part of the HOK Group, was the first two-deck stadium built in the United States since 1953. Seating just 38,496--the second smallest capacity in baseball, its intimate design puts the highest seat just 88 feet away from the field. Built in the style of "classic" stadium, PNC Park also introduced unique features, such as the use of limestone in the building's façade, a riverside concourse, steel truss work, an extensive out-of-town scoreboard, and many local eateries.
Pittsburgh - PNC Park: Highmark Legacy Square - Judy Johnson
Judy Johnson, born William Julius Johnson (1900-1989), was a sure-handed, contact-hitting third baseman who broke into the Independent League Baseball with the Bacharach Giants in 1918 and starred for the Hilldale Athletic Club. He served as a player-coach for the Homestead Grays in 1930, where he is best known for discovering Josh Gibson. During the mid-1930's, Johnson was the team captain of the Pittsburgh Crawfords, perhaps the Negro League's greatest dynasty. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.
Highmark Legacy Square, a permanent exhibit located inside the Left Field Gate Entrance at PNC park, was on June 26, 2006 to honor and reserve the history of the Negro Leagues and the great players from the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords. Designed by Ed Steele, owner of ESA Design and designer of the Negro League Museum in Kansas City, and Rob Ruck, University of Pittsburgh professor and Negro Leagues historian, the exhibit features life-size bronze statues, by sculptor John Forsythe, of seven Negro Leagues greats, each accompanied by an interactive kiosk, and the Highmark Legacy Square Theatre, an indoor 25 seat movie theatre.
The other players honored at Highmark Legacy Square are catcher Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords, Crawfords pitcher Satchel Paige, Crawfords/Grays outfielder Cool Papa Bell, Grays/Crawfords center fielder-manager Oscar Charleston, Grays first baseman Buck Leonard, and Grays pitcher Smokey Joe Williams.
PNC Park opened in 2001 as the fifth home of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates, replacing Three Rivers Stadium. Funded in conjunction with Heinz Field and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the $216 million park stands along the Allegheny River, on the North Shore with a view of Downtown Pittsburgh. PNC Park, designed by HOK Sports Venue Event, part of the HOK Group, was the first two-deck stadium built in the United States since 1953. Seating just 38,496--the second smallest capacity in baseball, its intimate design puts the highest seat just 88 feet away from the field. Built in the style of "classic" stadium, PNC Park also introduced unique features, such as the use of limestone in the building's façade, a riverside concourse, steel truss work, an extensive out-of-town scoreboard, and many local eateries.