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Comparing cities: Pittsburgh vs. Detroit
Video: Pens vs. Red Wings
Trib writers discuss final series
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Top 5 Pittsburgh-Detroit sports moments
• 1909 World Series: The Pirates defeated the Detroit Tigers, 8-0, in Game 7 to clinch their first modern-day Major League Baseball championship. The series featured five future Hall of Fame players, including Pirates shortstop Honus Wagner (who batted .333) and Tigers outfielder Ty Cobb (.231). The Tigers became the first team to lose three consecutive World Series, as Pirates rookie pitcher Babe Adams registered victories in Games 1, 5 and 7.
• Super Bowl XL: The Steelers gave Jerome Bettis, a Detroit native, a championship homecoming at Ford Field, beating the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10, for Pittsburgh's fifth Super Bowl trophy. Hines Ward had five receptions for 123 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown pass from receiver Antwaan Randle El in the fourth quarter, and won MVP honors. Willie Parker set a Super Bowl record with a 75-yard touchdown run, and Ben Roethlisberger, at age 23, became the youngest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
• 1941 heavyweight title fight: Despite giving up 25 pounds, Pittsburgh light heavyweight Billy Conn punished Joe Louis of Detroit, leading on all scorecards through 12 rounds of their fight at the Polo Grounds in New York. But Conn, in his attempt to knock out the champ, instead took a right to the chin, getting floored at 2:58 of the 13th round to lose his shot at the heavyweight title.
• Thanksgiving Day coin flap: Bettis represented the Steelers for a coin flip with the Detroit Lions to determine who received first possession in overtime on Nov. 26, 1998. Bettis called "tails," but referee Phil Luckett said Bettis called "heads" and awarded the Lions the ball. Chris Oldham's 15-yard facemask penalty on Lions quarterback Charlie Batch, a Homestead native, set up Jason Hanson's 42-yard field goal that gave Detroit a 19-16 victory.
• 1971 MLB All-Star Game: The American League had lost nine consecutive midsummer classics before Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis gave up a 520-foot shot to Reggie Jackson and, two batters later, another homer to MVP Frank Robinson in the third inning at Detroit's Tiger Stadium. Roberto Clemente also hit a home run, one of six future Hall of Fame selections to do so in the game.
Top 5 Pittsburgh-Detroit sports connections
• Swin Cash, a McKeesport native, led the Detroit Shock to WNBA championships in 2003 and '06. But after a falling out with coach Bill Laimbeer, she was traded in the offseason. Cash ranked second in franchise history in scoring, rebounding and assists. The Shock traded the two-time All-Star, Olympic gold medalist and NCAA champion (with Connecticut) to the Seattle Storm for the No. 4 pick in this year's WNBA Draft.
• Jim Leyland, who played in the Detroit Tigers' minor-league system, led the Pirates to three consecutive National League pennants in the early 1990s but skipped town when the Bucs started to cut costs and salary. Leyland later led the Tigers to the 2006 World Series, where -- despite home-field advantage gained by the American League's 3-2 victory in the All-Star Game at PNC Park -- they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals (where Leyland previously was a scout). Detroit lost in five games, despite a home run and two-out double by Upper St. Clair native Sean Casey, who was acquired in a trade with the Pirates.
• Dick Groat spent one season with the Fort Wayne (now Detroit) Pistons, averaging 11.9 points in 26 games. After serving in the military, he spent seven seasons playing shortstop for the Pirates, forming a dynamic double-play duo with Bill Mazeroski. Groat, a Swissvale native, won the National League batting title and MVP honors for the Pirates' 1960 World Series champions.
• Following in the footsteps of Hall of Fame quarterback Bobby Layne, who left the Lions to play for the Steelers, North Side native Kevin Colbert became the Steelers' director of football operations after 10 years as the Detroit Lions' pro scouting director. Colbert helped assemble the Super Bowl XL champions by drafting Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu and Casey Hampton. He also lured back Homestead native Charlie Batch, a former Lions quarterback.
• Scotty Bowman played roles on the Penguins' Stanley Cup champions -- first as director of player development in 1991 and then as head coach in '92. After leading the Pens to an NHL-record 17 consecutive wins and a franchise-record 119 points, an upset loss to the New York Islanders in the Patrick Division final led to his exit. The Hall of Fame coach took over the Red Wings, leading them to Cup titles in 1997, '98 and 2002. Those teams included another star from the Penguins' Cup teams, Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Murphy.
