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The final touches are added to the Pirates new state of the art three-tiered ballpark before it’s inaugural opening. It was one of the first of it’s kind in that Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss had it made out of steel and concrete, most likely in response to the common occurrence of the wooden ballparks being destroyed by fire.
On June 30, 1909, Forbes Field was officially open in front of more than 30,000 rooters. The Pittsburgh Press wrote “the ceremonies were witnessed by the largest throng that ever attended an event of this kind in this or any other city in the country … Forbes Field is so immense—so far beyond anything else in America in the way of a baseball park—that old experts, accustomed to judging crowds at a glance, were at a loss for reasonable figures.”
Unfortunately for the Bucs rooters the Cubs would prevail in a 3-2 thriller that wasn’t settled until the final frame. Tied at one run a piece, Chicago would score twice in the top of the ninth, aided by a Jap Barbeau error at third base, to take a 3-1 lead. The Pirates would battle back in the bottom of the inning but would fall short scoring one run and taking the loss.
Take note of how far home plate is from the stands, a lot of room for the catcher to go after foul balls
