Counting Down the Top 10 Pittsburgh Sports Moments of 2013

The 2013 calendar year wasn’t the best one in terms of success for the local Pittsburgh sports teams, but it did produce some magical moments along the way.

Sure the Steelers, Penguins and Pitt Panthers underachieved, but the Pittsburgh Pirates were there to capture the heart of the city.

Oct 9, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher

(45) throws against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning in game five of the National League divisional series playoff baseball game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

We here at City of Champions Sports have combined to bring you our yearly count down of the Top 10 moments of 2013.

For a change you won’t see a lot of Steelers or Penguins moments dominate the list, as the Bucs deserve much of the attention. However we did our best to recognize all the great moments of the year.

We hope you enjoy and have a great new year as we look forward to bringing you the great moments of 2014 as well.

Honorable Mentions:

Gerrit Cole’s Pirates Debut in front of an electric crowd at PNC Park.

Pitt defeats Notre Dame on national television, one of the positive moments for Paul Chryst’s team.

Pitt freshmen Tyler Boyd, James Connor and Chad Voytik lead Pitt to Little Caesars Pizza Bowl win over Bowling Green.

Steelers go 6-2 down the stretch and narrowly miss out on playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Rise of the Riverhounds at Highmark Stadium: They brought home a winning season as well as a playoff berth to the Steel City. Their new affiliation agreement with the Houston Dynamo of MLS continues to grow the sport of soccer in Pittsburgh. (Larry Snyder)

After RMU men’s hockey won the inaugural Three Rivers Classic at Consol Energy Center, the Colonials helped host the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four in April. (Snyder)

Daniel McCoy, from Cheswick, Pa., and University of Pitt student, makes the National Sled Hockey team again, and will compete on Team USA at the Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014. (Snyder)

Pedro Alvarez‘ single gives Pirates 2-1 series lead over Cardinals, part of a monster postseason run for El Toro.