Pittsburgh Sports Heroes

But greatness isn't just born here. It's forged in the chants of fans, in Renegade playing in the fourth quarter at Steelers home games and in the understanding that it's standard practice to wear a Penguins jersey at a Pirates game. It's in the players who came to Pittsburgh, learned about its history and community, and chose it above everywhere else.

Sidney Crosby is a legend across the continent, and especially in Pittsburgh. The generational talent who was drafted first overall in the 2005 NHL Draft and is partially credited for saving the Penguins franchise - more on that later. He stands on his own as one of the greatest players the NHL has ever seen, but he's part of something bigger with the team he's been with his entire career. Entering the 2025-26 season, the trio of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang have been playing together with the Penguins for 20 seasons, which is the longest tenured trio in American sports history. It's an ode to each other and the team, of course, but also the love for the city and the fans that these three have chosen to play here for this long. And that sentiment goes beyond just these players.

Marc-Andre Fleury is one of the most beloved players in Penguins history, and the fanbase mourned when he was taken in the 2017 Expansion Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights. He bounced around a bit after that, landing in Chicago and Minnesota, before he announced the 2024-25 season would be his last. But then, something magical happened. Fleury, affectionately known as Flower, signed a one-day contract with the Penguins to play in a pre-season game. The city erupted as Fleury donned the Black and Gold one final time, for a game that essentially didn't matter, so he could officially retire from the game as a Pittsburgh Penguin.

Despite the love and pride the city has in the Penguins, the team didn't always have it easy. In 1999, the Penguins were faced with financial hardship that threatened to relocate them out of Pittsburgh. What - or who - saved the team was former captain and NHL legend Mario Lemieux, who was fresh off of his first retirement from the team after battling Hodgkin's lymphoma. The team owed him money, and it was him investing that money back into the team to buy it that started the Penguins rebuild. Lemieux, together with Ron Burkle, bought the team and completely paid off its debts in 2005, which was the same year Crosby got drafted. Think about it - a man who had retired and was owed money decided the team and the city and community behind it were worth investing back into, and were worth saving.

Andrew McCutchen had the same idea as Fleury. The MLB star was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and spent most of his career here. Then trade rumors popped up, and he admitted he dreaded the idea of leaving Pittsburgh and wanted to be a Pirate his entire career. He did end up getting traded in early 2018 and played for a few teams before he returned to Pittsburgh in 2023, when he signed a one-year deal, then another for the 2024 season, then another for the 2025 season. He reiterated that he wants to retire a Pirate, and said Pittsburgh is "where my heart is."

It's not just the modern day players who have forged their legacies here. Roberto Clemente was a star baseball player who spent his entire career with the Pirates: an All-Star nearly every season he played in the1960s, a Gold Glove winner for each of his final 12 seasons, a two-time World Series winner, and a league MVP, just to name a few of his on-field accomplishments. But it was his charitable work that solidified his name among the greatest of greats. Clemente ran free youth baseball clinics, provided financial and material aid to Latin American countries, and served as an activist against racism and injustice. His humanitarian work cultivated in his death in 1972, when he was killed in a plane crash while delivering relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. All these years later, Clemente's generous spirit continues to live on in Pittsburgh through the Roberto Clemente Foundation, and his children who stuck their roots in our rivers and continue to give back to our community.

Franco Harris is a legend in the Steel City. His likeness is featured in our airport, in our monuments, and in our parks. He's best known for one of the most famous plays in the history of American football: the Immaculate Reception, where Harris caught the football just before it hit the ground and ran for a game-winning touchdown in the AFC divisional playoff game in 1972. Harris' legacy was cemented in the Immaculate Reception, but it was carried through his charitable work in the city. Harris was chairman of The Pittsburgh Promise and raised money for Special Olympics Pennsylvania. He also supported the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor Foundation, advocated for the LIHEAP program, and was honored by the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh. And like Clemente, Harris' family continues his legacy through charitable work in his name, further solidifying his impact on the community not just through sports, but through character.

That's what it means to have a legacy in Pittsburgh. It's about showing your love for the game, but also your love the city and the community. It's about playing for the name on the front of the jersey, being your best self on and off the field or ice. It's about pride that carries across cities and countries, different sports and through generations. It's about home, whether you're born with Black and Gold in your veins or you learn to bleed it.