THE 21-66 BOOKSHELF
WHERE WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA SPORTS HISTORY LIVES
Behind the Mic: Pittsburgh's Greatest Sports Broadcast Journalists
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By David Finoli, Tom Rooney, Frank Garland & Thomas Leturgey
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As sports fans in Pittsburgh, we were lucky. Our Mount Rushmore of sports broadcasters—Prince, Lange, Cope, and Hillgrove—rivals that of any metropolitan area in the country.
Listening on the porch or in our living rooms as we grew up, hearing these masters of the mic paint their incredible stories of the games, was perhaps just as important as watching those who played on the fields.
It wasn’t just the play-by-play broadcasters who enlightened us. The people by their sides—the color analysts who helped explain what we saw or heard—were certainly important, too. So were the talk show hosts who allowed us to vent and the anchors who brought us breaking stories. They were all pivotal to the experience.
But my appreciation isn’t limited to those who told the stories decades ago. Lanny Frattare, Greg Brown, Bob Pompeani, Paul Alexander, and Andrew Stockey are just a few of the talented journalists who continue to uphold the legacy of brilliant Western Pennsylvania sports broadcasting.
We believe it’s important to honor their efforts and accomplishments, which is why we’ve created this book—our own Pittsburgh Broadcast Journalist Hall of Fame, if you will. Hopefully, the memories you conjure up while reading these pages will bring you as much joy as we felt while telling these stories.
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The 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Guide
By David Finoli, John Dreker, Wilbur Miller, Anthony Murphy, Jeff Reed, John Perrotto and Griffin Floyd
Draft Nation ranks the top 60 prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates' minor league system and provides analysis, draft history, and in-depth scouting reports on all of your favorite players from Indianapolis to Bradenton. Track the emerging "young Bucs" as they rise through the farm system, striving to play at PNC Park.
This guide is a must-have resource for draftniks, super-fans, and amateur statisticians alike. If you are a fan of the Pirates and crave insider insights on players, Draft Nation's experts have prepared the ideal reference material for all the future call-ups, potential trade capital, and newest draft picks for your favorite team.
Battling the Church Pews:
The History of Golf's Premier Events in Western Pennsylvania
By David Finoli, David Moore, Tom Rooney & Chris Fletcher
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There are few areas in the country that can match the incredible history of professional golf in western Pennsylvania. From Bobby Jones dominating the competition in the 1925 U.S. Amateur, to Ben Hogan's inspirational win at the 1953 U.S. Open, and a young Jack Nicklaus overcoming Arnold Palmer and his loyal legion of fans, “Arnie’s Army,” in the 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont, Battling the Church Pews tells the remarkable story of these extraordinary championship moments.
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In total, 42 national championships and major tournaments have been played in this area. Names like Nicklaus, Hogan, Langer, Carner, Miller, Wright, Jones, and Sarazen have all earned their place on the winners’ list. So have underdogs such as S. Davidson Herron, Mike Reid, Joe Daley, and the University of Pittsburgh’s Sam Parks Jr., who captured the U.S. Open in 1935.
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While many of these memorable championships were contested at Oakmont, other iconic courses in the region have also hosted these prestigious events. Places like Laurel Valley Golf Club, Pittsburgh Field Club, Fox Chapel Golf Club, Allegheny Country Club, Sewickley Heights Golf Club, the Kahkwa Club in Erie, St. Clair Country Club, The Longue Vue Club, and even the now-defunct Churchill Valley Country Club have all produced incredible moments.
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Their tales are all here, accompanied by many wonderful photographs. The story is told by local historians and authors David Finoli, Tom Rooney, and Chris Fletcher, as well as Oakmont historian David Moore, who brings his in-depth knowledge of the sport to the project.
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In 2025, Oakmont will host its 10th U.S. Open—a feat unmatched by any other golf course in the country—and Battling the Church Pews will prepare golf fans for the continuation of this incredible story.
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47 Years:
The Story of the 2023-24
Duquesne Dukes
By David Finoli, Zachary Weiss & Robert Healy III
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For 47 years Duquesne Basketball fans suffered. Not only were they looking hoping for a championship of some sort, but just an NCAA tournament bid that had eluded the program since winning the Eastern Eight Tournament in 1977.
Finally the long wait came to an end when the latest version of the Dukes, came back after a disastrous start in the Atlantic Ten play to play exciting basketball down the stretch and then win the tournament ending the torment.
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The story tells of the players and games in this memorable season, as well as just what happened to this once elite program to put them in such a tailspin.
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It was truly a season to celebrate!!!
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The Steel City 100
By David Finoli & Chris Fletcher
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What would life be without lists? What would life be without sports? Therefore, what would sports be without lists?
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Follow the logic, or lack thereof. Each day the average American compiles that beacon of efficiency, the to-do list, be it mental, or in the case of the truly anal retentive, on an actual piece of paper or digital file that is colorfully named To Do. We’re entertained by lists, including those Top 10s that moved from Late Show host David Letterman squarely into our culture. We’re impugned by them—or at least some people are. For the past 45 years, fashion critic and former designer Mr. Blackwell has laid out his worst-dressed list of the style-challenged celebrities. If nothing else, Mr. Blackwell reminds us that Cher is still alive and well.
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And the making of lists is alive, too. Nowhere is that activity more suited than it is to the world of sports. Both giant sports media conglomerates have glommed onto the idea that sports + lists = entertainment.
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Lists make for lively discussions, arguments and the tossing back of a few beers. (Although we do not condone nasty arguments that can lead to emotional scarring, we are in favor of conversation and Penn Pilsner.) There are the records, where we know that Hank Aaron holds the most glamorous of all sporting achievements by crushing 755 home runs in his non-chemically altered major league career. There are the rankings, each year a source of controversy in college football. And there are those truly arcane listings and records: Most home runs hit on a birthday (6—held by Alex Rodriguez and Mark Reynolds). If you can dream it, you can create a list for it.
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So, at last we get to the reason we’re gathered here: To select and celebrate the Steel City 100, the greatest athletes in Western Pennsylvania history.
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Brought to you by two of Western Pennsylvania's premier sports historians it gives you not only bios on the best 100 athletes ever to grace the playing fields here but a list of athletes 101-300 and the best 25 to come from the area but make their marks on teams outside of it.
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Draft Nation's 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Guide
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By David Finoli, John Dreker, Wilbur Miller, Emmet Mahon, Jeff Reed, Anthony Murphy and John Toth
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Debuting as the number one baseball book release on Amazon when it came out in late February, this is perhaps the most comprehensive preview on the Pittsburgh Pirate system ever put together by this experienced group of writers who have been following the system closely over the past decade . It covers a thorough analysis of the team's top 50 prospects, a sketch of prospects number 51-75, great historical essays on Pirate prospects of the past, a complete analysis position by position of the 2023 Bucs and where they stand for 2024, projections for the 26-man roster on opening day as well as where the top 50 prospects will be playing in 2024 and so much more. Brought to you by the country's preeminent draft site, Draft Nation.
Moment In the Sun:
One Game Players For the Pittsburgh Pirates
By John Dreker
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Let’s face it, one of the things that made the movie “Field of Dreams” so intriguing was the story of Moonlight Graham. He struggles to finally live his dream of sitting on a major league bench only to never get a chance to come to the plate. And then his major league career was over.
While it still would have been classic had he been a fictitious player, Moonlight Graham was real, and the movie brought to life the fact that there have been so many of these players who have either had the same experience, or perhaps did get to the plate or on the mound for one game, and that was it.
Dreker brings to life 20 of these players who had a Graham-like experience for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He tells these players stories in detail. They were more than just an at bat or an inning pitched. They were 20 men who had the chance to live their dream, even if it was for one day. A dream that hundreds of thousands have begun the pursuit of over the past 140 plus years, and only a small percentage, 20,777 as of 9/15/24 to be exact, have accomplished.
The players need to be remembered and Dreker does a wonderful job of doing that. Players like Cy Neighbors and John Bormann have worn the Pirates uniform, just like Clemente, Stargell and Mazeroski.
Here is their tale. Their moment in the sun so to speak.
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Pittsburgh Boxing: A Collected History
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By Douglas Cavanaugh
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Book one of this series—Pittsburgh Boxing: A Pictorial History—showcased the numerous champions, contenders, clubfighters, and behind the scenes movers and shakers that the “Steel City” spawned over the decades. In this follow-up piece, the memorable events and rich local culture they all contributed to takes center stage:
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Harry Greb’s blistering series with Philadelphia’s boxing master Tommy Loughran.
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Billy Conn’s battles with Joe Louis and Solly Krieger inside of the ring, Gene Tunney and his own father-in-law outside of it.
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The hilariously colorful (mis)adventures of Fritzie Zivic, welterweight champion and the proudly self-proclaimed “dirtiest fighter in the world.”
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The Titanic disaster, which claimed the lives of two boxers en route to Pittsburgh to pursue their ring careers.
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The disallowing of the “color line” that encouraged many African Americans, including Henry Armstrong and John Henry Lewis, to seek their fistic fortunes in Pittsburgh.
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The impact of visiting stars like Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, Jack Johnson, Sam Langford, Ezzard Charles, Willie Pep and the incomparable Sugar Ray Robinson.
In addition, local luminaries such as Art Rooney, Gus Greenlee, Red Mason, Jake Mintz and brawling baseballer “Greenfield” Jimmy Smith make memorable appearances inside these pages, not to mention a visit from two of the most colorful boxing characters to ever blow in from New York, “Howling“ Hymie Caplin and his mysterious cohort, “Evil Eye” Finkle.
Pittsburgh Boxing: A Pictorial History
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By Douglas Cavanaugh
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PITTSBURGH’S GREATEST SPORTS LEGACY, RECLAIMED. Pittsburgh is a city that has always been acutely aware of its sports heritage, from the Steelers to the Pirates to the Penguins. Yet over the passage of time it has somehow managed to forget perhaps its most successful sporting tradition of all – its professional boxing legacy. In an attempt to exhume what sportswriter Roy McHugh dubbed “a lost civilization,” this book recalls many of the Steel City’s forgotten prizefighting heroes of yesteryear and brings them back to life in pictures and words. Pioneers such as Dominick McCaffrey and Jack McClelland. Hungry clubfighters like Whitey Wenzel and Eddie Wimler, along with early African_American standouts like Eddie Carver and Young Bijou. There are top contenders like Bob Baker, Johnny Ray and Patsy Brannigan and uncrowned champs like Charley Burley, Tommy Yarosz and Wee Willie Davis. Then of course, there are the world champions themselves: Billy Conn, Fritzie Zivic, Sammy Angott, Frank Klaus, Jackie Wilson, the incomparable Harry Greb (considered by many experts to be the greatest pound for pound fighter of all-time), and many others. These and many more featured inside in all their fistic glory, hopefully to reassert their rightful place among Pittsburgh’s greatest sports heroes.
Kings on the Bluff
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By David Finoli and Robert Healy III
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The story of the lone national championship a Pittsburgh division 1 basketball team has won on the court: the 1955 Duquesne Dukes. It's complete with a chapter telling the story of the program after the long-awaited national title was won.
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Kings on the Bluff: The Next Chapter
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By David Finoli and Robert Healy III
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The Story of the 1955 National Champion Duquesne Dukes, complete with an updated Appendix celebrating the greatest players, coaches and moments in the programs history.
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Perfection: The 1910 Pittsburgh Panthers
By David Finoli and Gary Kinn
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There was one undefeated and unscored upon team in the long storied history of Pitt football, that was the 1910 squad. Outscoring their opponents 282-0, this team was led by Hall of Fame coach Joe Thompson, who also was an inspirational hero in World War I. It's a wonderful story that is brought back to life iun the pages of this book
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Breaking Barrier: The Chuck Cooper Story
By David Finoli and Chuck Cooper III
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One of the most important pioneers in the history of Integrating sports in this country, Chuck Cooper was not only a tremendous player, but an inspirational human being that not only broke barriers on the court, but outside of the fields of play.
Unlucky 13: They Wore A Pirate Uniform
By John Dreker
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Most young kids would be happy to spend just one day on a big league bench watching a game. As you get older and better at baseball, that dream expands to getting to the majors, even if it is for just one game. Once you actually put on that big league uniform, you then just want to chance to prove yourself. These 13 players put on the Pittsburgh Pirates uniform during the regular season, but for one reason or another, they never played an official game for the team.
This unlucky group of 13 baseball players each have a unique story regarding their time in Pittsburgh. Some made the Opening Day roster. Some joined the team mid-season. Others were with the team at the end of the season. Their common thread is that the timing was never right to get them into a game. What they did after their time in Pittsburgh also differs greatly. It ranges from a Hall of Fame career with one team, down to a player who never even got into a game of pro ball. The rest had various outcomes, ranging from a decent short career in the majors, to a tragic but heroic ending, to toiling in the minors for many years without another chance. Together they make up the Unlucky 13.
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The 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys: The Worst Team in Pittsburgh Pirates History
By John Dreker
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There have been many books on the franchises greatest teams, but what is forgotten is a team that rates as the franchises worst; so bad that the second worst isn't even close. Dreker does an amazing job of telling the fascinating tale of this bad squad and just how they got this way. It's a must read for not only any fan of the franchise but of the game itself.
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They Call Him Dots: The Dots Miller Story
By John Dreker
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One of the premier Pirate historians in the country John Dreker shares his hometown of Kearny, New Jersey with Pirate second baseman Dots Miller. Miller was a pivotal part of the Bucs first World Series championship squad in 1909. Long-forgotten, Dreker brings to life this outstanding player in a captivating biography
When Pittsburgh was a Fight Town
By Roy McHugh
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Roy McHugh was an iconic figure as a Pittsburgh sportswriter whose favorite sport was boxing. He wrote this manuscript about the thrilling history of the sport in Pittsburgh during the first half of the 20th century when there were few if any areas that rivaled its cast of successful boxers. The manuscript went unpublished until after his death when his friend and boxing historian Douglas Cavanaugh took care of making McHugh's dream a reality by having it published. It was well worth the wait.
Roll Out the Stoney's: The History of Stoney's Beer
By David Finoli
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While most of the books on this site deal with sports, this one deals with a legendary Western Pennsylvania beer. It takes you through the Jones family (who happens to include actress Shirley Jones) taking over the brewery in Smithton at the turn of the 20th century, to its creative way it kept the company alive during prohibition and the depression, then the selling of the company, where it came close to extinction, and finally to its current state, where a group led by the Jones family reacquired it, putting back in area bars and refrigerators where it belongs.
Foundations: The Resurgence of Wilkinsburg Football 1996-1999
By David Finoli
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As the 1990s were halfway through, the proud tradition of Wilkinsburg football was at an all-time low and the track squad was non-existent. Enter Tony Mitchell. Mitchell provided the area with one of the most dramatic turnarounds in WPIAL history as his method of discipline coupled with a positive attitude not only made the football program a playoff competitor, but the track team a state power. Read how Mitchell made it happen in this inspirational book.
The Steel City 500
By Chris Fletcher & David Finoli
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An outstanding look at the history of sports in Western Pennsylvania through the eyes of these two authors and historians as choose the top 500 athletes ever to grace the Western Pennsylvania fields of play.