Is 2019 poised to become the worst sports year in Pittsburgh history? Not yet



… but things are not pretty

A few weeks ago, a Pittsburgh newspaper columnist wrote a piece with this headline: “2019 has been one of worst Pittsburgh sports years.”

At the time, the Steelers were 0-4 going into a Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals. However, things did look grim. It has definitely not been pretty.

They have improved somewhat for the Steelers, but his basic premise is still possible,

I’m dying to flip the calendar to 2020. Because 2019 has been one of the worst Pittsburgh sports years in recent memory.

In fact, unless the Steelers turn things around and scramble to make the playoffs, 2019 will go down as the first time in 13 years that Pittsburgh didn’t see a single playoff victory from any of its three professional sports teams.

Tim Benz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Sept. 28, 2019

For me, the worst news is the Pirates, who have not won a World Series title since 1979. They did have shots at getting there in the 1990s, but Jim Leyland was not Danny Murtaugh or Chuck Tanner -- and Bonds was no Clemente or Stargell.

Now, the worst news is that while the manager and president are gone, the owner is not leaving, which is the only hope for the team. In addition, GM who traded away Gerrit Cole and Austin Meadows and secured Chris Archer will still hold his job.

Sure, the Pens, the most successful franchise in Pittsburgh over the past decade, were swept by the Islanders in the first round, not winning even one game.

And the Steelers have a tough road to reach the playoffs, though they are not out of it yet.

Still, Benz points out and 2003 may have been a much worse year. The Pirates may not reach the playoffs in the rest of my lifetime, but the Pens and Steelers are still respectable franchises — though both need some work.

Actually, I remember the 1950s when the Pirates and Steelers were both pathetic franchises. We are not in that territory — yet — and hopefully never will be.

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