After 20 years of losing, loyal fan enjoys Bucs’ success
Chuck Conko, 61, of Uniontown is pictured in his apartment on Mon. Sept. 2. Conko is a longtime fan of the Pirates, ever since his dad taught him the game of baseball when he was five years old.
Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard
Sports memorabilia decorates the apartment of Chuck Conko, 61, of Uniontown.
Conko is a longtime fan of the Pirates, even since his dad taught him the game of baseball when he was five years old.
Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard
Conko is pictured in his apartment on Monday watching a Pirates game.
Conko is a longtime fan of the Pirates, ever since his dad taught him the game of baseball when he was five years old.
On July 31, Pittsburgh Pirates catcher and one of the catalysts for the baseball team’s success, Russell Martin, came up to bat in the eighth inning of a tied game with the St. Louis Cardinals.
In the stands, lifelong Pirates fan Chuck Conko of Uniontown was looking on as Martin, who Conko said is by all accounts the team’s most valuable player this season, dug in to face Cardinals reliever Trevor Rosenthal in the 4-4 game between two of the best teams in all of baseball.
The Cardinals, who at the time had just slipped behind the Pirates in the National League Central Division, were desperately trying to claw back to the top spot and trying to hang on to that evening’s game, after leading the Pirates 4-2 after four innings.
But Martin had other plans. He ripped a single to left field, driving in second baseman Neil Walker to give the Bucs a 5-4 lead.
In the ninth, closer Mark Melancon came on and retired the Cardinals in order to give the Pirates a 2 ½-game lead in the division and move them 23 games above .500.
“It was a great game to get to go to,” said Conko, 61. “I don’t get to the stadium often at all. It was exciting and another come-from-behind win.”
Conko, who some might call a super fan, said that another Pirates fan made that July night possible after listening to Conko on the radio talking about the Pirates.
Conko is bound to a wheelchair and is paraplegic, but, that hasn’t stopped him from getting to several games over the years at PNC Park, Three Rivers Stadium and even Forbes Field. And it didn’t keep him from the ballpark on July 31.
“A man named George Verona from Coraopolis had listened to me calling in to the post game shows on 93.7 The Fan radio and was under the impression that I had never been to a game and he wanted to take me. I explained to him that I had been to games before but he still wanted to. He coordinated with Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation to get us to the game and we went. It was very nice.”
During Conko’s trip, the Pirate Parrot stopped to visit and the Pirates President Frank Coonley also chatted with Conko, who has been closely following the Pirates since he was 5 years old.
Conko said that during the decades of heartbreak and triumph with the Pirates, he has seen great teams come and go, noting that the 1971 team, which went on to win the World Series, was probably the best he has seen.
“I have been fortunate enough to see three Pirates world championships in my lifetime. As a season, in 1960, I was still too young to appreciate it. For me, 1971 was the one I enjoyed the most. I am a lifelong Roberto Clemente fan and that series was his. That entire year was the most exciting to me,” Conko said.
While that season stands out, Conko said it was a trip to Forbes Field as a youngster in 1958 that fostered his love for the game.
“The first game ever that I saw was the Pirates and Giants at Forbes Field on a Saturday afternoon,” Conko said. “I met Danny Murtaugh and Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. I remember that I told Mays that he was a great player but I asked him not to hit a home run to beat the Pirates. Sure enough, he came up in the eighth inning and did just that.”
This year, Conko said he has hope for a possible playoff run for the first time in two decades for his beloved team and said he had hope for the future of good baseball in Pittsburgh.
“I think they have a good chance to get to the playoffs, at least a Wild Card,” Conko said. “I would like to see them win the division, then they would bypass the one-game sudden death playoffs, but that might be a little over their head this year. St. Louis and Cincinnati are both good ball clubs. They have more stretch run and playoff experience but this is a good Pirates team.”
He said that while “the jury is still out, because the final result isn’t in” on the 2013 edition of the Bucs, the team is clearly the best it has been since the Pirates last won their division in 1992 and he is especially intrigued to watch the continued maturation of two young outfielders who happen to be his favorite players — Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte.
“I think this team is a good team, but it is not a great team,” Conko said. “They need more balance. More offense. More consistent offense. They need to cut down on strikeouts. They need better strike-zone discipline.”
But even with their shortcomings, Conko thinks that the future of the Pirates is bright, thanks in part to solid leadership coupled with an infusion of young talent.
“There are some youngsters like (pitchers) Jeff Locke and Gerrit Cole and they’ve never been through any of this before and we will have to see how they do when the season is over. After 20 years of losing, I’d like to see the team be good for a number of years if they could. You have to give (general manager) Neal Huntingdon credit and (manager) Clint Hurdle. Hurdle is a great manager and he is a great leader. He is a great person, too.”