For Some, The Draft in Pittsburgh Was a Homecoming
Long after they moved from the region, these families retained their black-and-gold roots.
ALICE DOYLE WITH HER DAUGHTERS, KAREN AND PAMELA, AT PPG PLACE. PHOTO BY ERIN YUDT
Before visitors could take in one of Pittsburgh’s best views, incline operator John Yecko first had to get them up the hill.
At the Duquesne Incline on Thursday, Yecko moved between the controls; one activates the door, another opens and closes the car. A different control sends the funicular up and down Mount Washington.
Green is good, he says. Red is not. And just in case the unexpected happens, there is an emergency brake, a backup emergency brake and backup diesel power.
“We have triple redundancy in the system,” Yecko says.
DUQUESNE INCLINE OPERATOR JOHN YECKO. PHOTO BY ERIN YUDT
That system was extra busy on Thursday as NFL Draft visitors made their way through Pittsburgh, many of them seeing the city not just as a host site, but as a place they once called home.
For one Los Angeles-based family, the Draft lined up with a family reunion. While they already had roots in Pittsburgh, the Draft just gave the trip a little extra energy.
“We coordinated it to coincide with the Draft,” Alice Doyle says.
The family stayed near the North Shore and Mount Washington, rode the incline, and took in a city that felt very different from Los Angeles.
Pittsburgh, they noted, still has something L.A. does not.
“It’s a big city with a small-town feel,” says Karen Doyle, Alice Doyle’s daughter.
It was a common refrain from visitors throughout the city over the weekend: big event, small-town feel.
BROTHERS ARCHIE AND GUY JACKSON WITH THEIR COUSINS, SHIRLEY AND ROBERT HARRISON IN MARKET SQUARE. PHOTO BY ERIN YUDT.
For Archie Jackson, the trip was about football, family and coming home. Jackson grew up in the Hill District but has lived in Atlanta for 30 years. He says his family has been planning a trip to Pittsburgh for the Draft for about six months.
“We’re from Pittsburgh,” Jackson says. “It’s a one-time event.”
Jackson attended the Draft with his brothers and cousins, some of whom have since moved to Florida, Atlanta and Ohio. His family also spent time with his mother, who is in her 90s and still lives in the Hill District.
Jackson says he returns to Pittsburgh about twice a year, but this visit felt different.
“It’s good to come back home,” he says.
PHOTO BY ERIN YUDT
Jackson’s cousin, Florida resident Robert Harrison, called the Draft a “bucket list” trip. For his family, football has long been a reason to gather. Even when the family attends Steelers games in Florida, Harrison says Pittsburgh fans make it feel familiar.
“They travel everywhere,” he says.
The trip was also a reminder of how Pittsburgh looks to people who left, return, and who measure the city against how they remember it. For Jackson, the area felt safe and sound — especially compared to the city he left during the collapse of the region’s steel industry decades ago.
“When I left [Pittsburgh] in 1983, Market Square, the city, didn’t feel like this…happy and full of life,” Jackson says.
PHOTO BY ERIN YUDT
At the incline, Yecko had his own view: visitors coming and going, cars filling and emptying, and Pittsburgh from above.
From where he stood, the Draft was good for visitors and the daily commuters. And if the NFL ever wants to come back to the city?
Yecko said he’d be happy to see Pittsburgh host it again.
“[The NFL Draft] is reminding locals to take the inclines, to take public transit,” Yecko says. “The Draft is highlighting all of our public services and reminding people to use what service is around them.”
Erin Yudt is a reporter with the Pittsburgh Media Partnership Newsroom, part of the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University. She most recently was a multimedia content producer and digital reporter at WKBN in Youngstown and is a graduate of Point Park University. Reach her at erin.yudt@pointpark.edu.
PMP Director Kim Palmiero contributed to this report.
The PMP Newsroom is a regional news service that focuses on government and enterprise reporting in southwestern Pennsylvania. Find out more information on foundation and corporate funders here.
