Sports fans visiting Pittsburgh won’t want to miss a trip to the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center in the city’s Strip District.  The state-of-the-art museum captures the unforgettable and almost forgotten tales of Pittsburgh sports through hundreds of artifacts, more than 70 hands-on interactive exhibits and 20 audio-visual programs.  If that’s not reason enough, here’s a look at a few exhibits that are sure to make any sports fan cheer!

Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum

Senator John Heinz History Center
1212 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222
412-454-6000

Lifelike museum figure of Franco Harris and Franco’s turf

Sports fans can relive Franco Harris’ “Immaculate Reception” through a lifelike museum figure depicting the controversial play that led to the Steelers’ victory over the Oakland Raiders and an AFC Championship.  The display even contains a 15-square-foot piece of turf from Three Rivers Stadium where Franco Harris made this memorable play!

Indy 500 Racecar

Visitors to the Sports Museum will also get a glimpse of the Indy 500-winning car in 2000 owned by local racing legend Chip Ganassi. Driver Juan Montoya averaged 167.496 mph during his journey to the checkered flag.

Forbes Field Mural

Baseball fans won’t want to miss seeing the 40-foot, two-story mural depicting Forbes Field as it looked during the seventh game of the1960 World Series!  Bill Mazeroski hit a walk-off home run to knock off the favored New York Yankees.

Mario Lemieux’s Jersey

What Pittsburgh hockey fan doesn’t want to look back on the Penguins back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships?!  Relive the glory days when Mario Lemieux was back on the ice with a glimpse of the actual jersey that he wore as he led his team to sweep the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 in the series to capture the second of back-to-back Stanley Cups!  The Pens, of course, would not win another until the Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals.

High School Football Rivalry Helmet Wall

High school football helmets represent the decades-long rivalries between many Western Pennsylvania school districts and communities. The ‘rivalry helmet wall’ gives visitors a look at the rivalries that have been a critical part of the region’s culture of football excellence.