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WHEREAS, the eldest of eight children, Phil Coyne was born on April 26th, 1918 in the Oakland neighborhood, just a few blocks from Forbes Field, the onetime home of the Pittsburgh Pirates; and,
WHEREAS, a lifelong fan of baseball, Mr. Coyne grew up attending Pirates games and playing catch with neighborhood kids on City ballfields, and in 1935, he saw Babe Ruth hit the final three homeruns of his career at Forbes Field; and,
WHEREAS, in 1936, Mr. Coyne was hired as an usher by the Pirates organization, a job he has held and relished ever since, and since then, his only time away from the ballpark was spent serving our country in World War II from 1941-1945; and,
WHEREAS, in his 81 seasons and over 6,000 games as an usher at Forbes Field, Three Rivers Stadium, and now at PNC Park, Mr. Coyne has witnessed baseball history from Bill Mazeroski’s legendary walk-off homerun in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series and Roberto Clemente’s 3,000th hit to World Series championships and the Pirates’ recent playoff appearances after a 20-year postseason drought; and,
WHEREAS, at the age of 99, Mr. Coyne has rarely missed a day of work, a remarkable feat that he attributes to a combination of luck and eating two Oreos with a glass of milk each night before bed; and,
WHEREAS, to this day, the lifelong resident of Oakland and soon-to-be centenarian still guides Pirates fans to their seats in Sections 26 and 27 of America’s most beautiful ballpark and insists that he hopes to continue for his 82nd season as an usher if his mind and body allow him to return; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognize Phil Coyne for his remarkable commitment to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and the Pittsburgh community and for demonstrating passion for the game of baseball; and,
BE IT FUTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare August 29th, 2017 to be “Phil Coyne Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.