Burgh Trivia:

The First Baseball Stadium in the U.S. - In 1909 the first baseball stadium, Forbes Field, was built in Pittsburgh.

· First Heart, Liver, Kidney Transplant - December 3, 1989 The first simultaneous heart, liver and kidney transplant was done at Presbyterian-University Hospital.

· The First Internet Emoticon - 1980 The Smiley :-) was the first Internet emoticon, created in 1980 by Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Scott Fahlman.

· First Robotics Institute - 1979 - The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

· First Night World Series Game - 1971 Game 4 of the 1971 World Series was the first night game in Series history.

· South Side was once known as Birmingham.

· Most of the present day South Side once belonged to the Carson family. The present streets are named for members of the family. Carson, Sarah, Jane, etc

· Before it was the "Steel Capital" of the world, the Burgh was the "Glass Capital" of the world.

· The only major river in North America that flows South to North. The Monongahela.

· First Big Mac - 1967 Created by Jim Delligatti at his Uniontown McDonald's, the Big Mac debuted and was test marketed in three other Pittsburgh-area McDonald's restaurants in 1967. By 1968 it was a mainstay on McDonald's menus throughout the country.

· First Pull-Tab on Cans - 1962 The pull-tab was developed by Alcoa and was first used by Iron City Brewery in 1962. For many years, pull-tabs were only used in this area.

· First Retractable Dome - September 1961 Pittsburgh's Civic Arena boasts the world's first auditorium with a retractable roof.

· First U.S. Public Television Station - WQED April 1, 1954 WQED, operated by the Metropolitan Pittsburgh Educational Station, was the first community-sponsored educational television station in America and was also the first to telecast classes to elementary schools (1955).

· First Polio Vaccine - March 26, 1953 The polio vaccine was developed by Dr. Jonas E. Salk, a 38-year-old University of Pittsburgh researcher and professor, and his staff at the University of Pittsburgh.

· First All-Aluminum Building - ALCOA August 1953 The first aluminum-faced skyscraper was the Alcoa Building, a 30-story, 410 foot structure with thin stamped aluminum panels forming the exterior walls.

· First Zippo Lighter - 1932 George G. Blaisdell invented the Zippo lighter in 1932 in Bradford, Pennsylvania.

· First Bingo Game - early 1920's Hugh J. Ward first came up with the concept of bingo in Pittsburgh and began running the game at carnivals in the early 1920s, taking it nationwide in 1924.

· First U.S. Commercial Radio Station - KDKA - November 2, 1920.

· The First Gas Station - December, 1913 In 1913 the first automobile service station, built by Gulf Refining Company, opened in Pittsburgh at Baum Boulevard and St. Clair Street in East Liberty.

· First Motion Picture Theatre - 1905 The first theater in the world devoted to the exhibition of motion pictures was the "Nickelodeon," opened by Harry Davis on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh.

· First Banana Split - 1904 The banana split was invented by Dr. David Strickler, a pharmacist, at Strickler's Drug Store in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

· The First World Series - 1903 The Boston Pilgrims defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three in baseball's first modern World Series.

· First Ferris Wheel - 1892/1893 The first Ferris Wheel, invented by Pittsburgh native and civil engineer, George Washington Gale Ferris (1859-1896) was in operation at the World's Fair (Columbian Exposition) in Chicago. It was over 264 feet high and was capable of carrying more than 2,000 passengers at a time.

· Long-Distance Electricity - 1885 Westinghouse Electric developed alternating current, allowing long-distance transmission of electricity for the first time.

· First Air Brake - 1869 The first practical air brake for railroads was invented by George Westinghouse in the 1860s and patented in 1869.

St. Joe/Mt. Oliver Trivia:

St. Joseph's First 100 Years 1870 - 1970 (click here)

Mt. Oliver Website(click)

Map of Mt. Oliver(click)

Mt. Oliver was supposed to be called Mt. Olivet. Due to a transcriber error when recording the name of the Borough, the ending "t" was changed to an "r".

St. Joseph's Church stands on the ground that was originally a Civil War Fort named Fort Jones.

Click here for the 1959 St. Joseph Senior Playbill