Three No. 1s were saluted last night in festivities that included a flash of a championship ring, a wave of a Terrible Towel and a potential seat on the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees.
That's apparently what happens when you bring together the 1979 World Series winning Pirates, the 1978 Steelers, who won the Super Bowl championship in January 1979, and a 2003 Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year who wore a Pitt jersey bearing No. 1, all-everything receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
They, along with Penn State basketball player and all-time Big Ten women's scorer leader Kelly Mazzante as the 2003 Dapper Dan Sportswoman of the Year, were the heart of the 68th Annual Dapper Dan Dinner before a sold-out crowd of 1,500 inside the Hilton Pittsburgh's Grand Ballroom.
This being the 25th anniversary of the City of Champions' celebrated '79, the 23 members of that Steelers team and 11 members of that Pirates edition were reunited for their inductions into the Dapper Dan Sports Hall of Fame.
"I know Willie's watching tonight," former Manager Chuck Tanner said, accepting for the 1979 Pirates and mentioning the late captain and conscience of that club, Willie Stargell. "I do, I honest to God know that." Tanner also spoke about how that team remains the only one in baseball's past century to win a World Series without a 15-game winner and a 100-RBI hitter. He spoke about the unity of the team that relied on its various parts.
"The ring I will receive April 6 might be more expensive, might even be prettier," added former outfielder Bill Robinson, a coach with the world-champion Florida Marlins. Robinson then raised his left hand, flashed his '79 jewelry and added, "But it will never mean as much as this ring here."
Steelers chairman Dan Rooney accepted on behalf of the the 1978 Steelers, recalling how Super Bowl XIII helped to propel an economically and, outside of sports, emotionally strapped region in a year bookended by the Pirates' victory that October.
"Pittsburgh was going through some tough times then," Rooney said, "and the fact that we were the City of Champions really meant something. I'd like to see us get back to that. I don't know how many politicians are here tonight, but we should get them on the ball first."
Former defensive lineman John Banaszak called the team coached by Chuck Noll and dotted by nine Pro Football Hall of Famers "the greatest football team to ever play the game." He talked of beating "the Dallas Cryboys ... I mean, Cowboys" in Miami that January. He pulled out a Terrible Towel and waved it above his head, not only saluting those Steelers but their faithful fans as well.
Mentor, friend and former Minnesota Vikings receiver Cris Carter introduced Fitzgerald, adding a few words of caution: "I'm still the best receiver in the room."
Carter, a friend of the Fitzgerald family for more than a decade, recalled when young Larry was a Vikings ballboy.
"He might be one of the best receivers," said Carter, now an HBO broadcaster, "but he was one of the worst ballboys. ... I knew he had to play football, because a 9-5 job just wasn't going to cut it."
In his four-minute acceptance speech, Fitzgerald got emotional when thanking Pitt coach Walt Harris, whom he called a "father/uncle/coach," and his father, Larry Fitzgerald Sr.
"It's hard to put into words how much he means to be. It's been a tough last year, I'm not going to lie about that," said Fitzgerald about loss of his mother, Carol, to cancer in April. "My dad has been my rock in my corner."
Before he went back to Indianapolis and the NFL combine as part of his route into professional football, Fitzgerald talked with affinity about his adopted hometown the past two years.
"The city of Pittsburgh has been so good to me," he said. "I was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minn. But I've spent two years in Pittsburgh, and it's been the greatest experience of my life. I'm grateful to this city."
Fitzgerald looked to Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and interjected, "I haven't had a chance to ask you yet, but ... a couple of years down the road, after I get my degree, I want to be on the board of trustees."
Mazzante was unable to attend, leaving yesterday afternoon with the Lady Lions for a game today in Iowa. She sent a videotape acceptance, along with her father, Louis, of Montoursville, and Penn State athletic director Tim Curley, who called her "the most consistent player I've ever seen in a Nittany Lion uniform. And I can honestly say she's the most humble athlete I've ever been around."
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Former Minnesota Vikings receiver Cris Carter, left, with Dapper DanSportsman of the Year Larry Fitzgerald.
Click photo for larger image.
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First Published: February 22, 2004, 5:00 a.m.