Pittsburg, PA
2 Negro League baseball stars lying in unmarked graves honored with new headstones
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – On Monday, a Rome Monuments crew installed two grave markers in Pittsburgh’s Highwood Cemetery.
The two makers were dedicated to Clarence “Win” Harris and Frank Miller, two Negro League baseball stars, who, up until this point, were lying at rest in unmarked graves.
It is not exactly known why Harris and Miller, with some 20 other Negro League players, were laid to rest without headstones, but Sean Gibson, the great-grandson of Negro Leagues legend Josh Gibson and the Executive Director of the Josh Gibson Foundation, says this initiative is about keeping these players’ memories alive.
“I know today, Frank Miller is definitely resting in peace,” said Gibson. “Now, somebody can come by and see Frank Miller, and that was the whole purpose of the QR code, is that these graves have been unmarked for so long, and if someone comes by, we want the people to know who these people are. The main goal was that we want to give all these players that we know of, a final resting place, and be finally resting in peace. And now, Frank Miller and Clarence Harris are finally resting in peace.”
Each marker costs about $1,000 to install, and while the Josh Gibson Foundation is grateful for every donation it receives, the organization was specifically honored when it got a group of middle school students who contributed and were eager to preserve the past.
Such is the story of the seventh-grade students at Ryan Gloyer Middle School, who raised over $800 for Clarence Harris’ marker. Three students, Karen Jiang, Fay Baden and Vanessa Simon, were on hand at Highwood Cemetery to see the marker installed.
“We made some posters to raise some more awareness,” said Baden. “We sat outside at lunch and made some announcements at lunch, letting everyone know that they could donate.”
“It just touches the bottom of my heart to know that our work that we put into this, and the resources we had, could actually do something so great,” Simon said.
The Negro Leagues Memorial Marker Initiative has nine more graves to mark and preserve in Western Pennsylvania, and the hope is that this project could not just spread across the state in the future, but across the county, to allow all these Negro League stars to once again come home.
More information on this project and ways to donate to this initiative can be found here.
Pittsburgh-area natives Joe Manganiello and Caitlin O’Connor are returning to their roots.
Manganiello, from Mt. Lebanon, and O’Connor, from Uniontown, have bought a home in the South Hills after getting engaged this summer.
On Pittsburgh Today Live on Thursday, O’Connor talked about the couple’s move from Hollywood to Mt. Lebanon.
“It’s so nice to be home,” she said.
While Manganiello and O’Connor are happy to be back in southwestern Pennsylvania, O’Connor said it’ll be a bigger adjustment for the beloved chihuahua Bubbles. From the Pittsburgh Steelers fashion show to the gala celebrating the new airport terminal, the tiny dog is seemingly always in Manganiello’s arms.
“Bubbles is a California girl. She really doesn’t like the cold. We wrap her in a blanket and she has many, many puffy coats. I bought her a Steelers puffy to put in her stocking, so we’re going to see how she does over the next few months. But it’s not that long. It’s not forever. Winter will come and go,” O’Connor said.
And they all got quite the Pittsburgh welcome. O’Connor said it snowed when they were moving in, and Manganiello was outside shoveling for over two hours. She said she’s getting him a snowblower for Christmas.
The couple won’t be braving the Pittsburgh winter for too long. O’Connor said they’ll soon be off to South Africa, where Manganiello will film “One Piece” for Netflix. He’ll star as the villain Crocodile in the popular Japanese manga series.
“Bubbles will be in a better state,” O’Connor joked, saying it’s currently summer in South Africa. “I just bring Bubbles to set and hang out. It’s really the best job.”
Police in Westmoreland County are investigating a late-night shooting that happened at an apartment complex in Irwin Borough.
Irwin Police Chief Daniel Wensel confirmed to KDKA-TV that the department, along with Westmoreland County detectives are investigating a shooting that happened at the Bevington Building along Sweetbriar Drive within the Villages of Easton Apartment Complex.
Dispatchers said the first call related to the incident came in around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Details are limited but Chief Wensel said there is no danger to the public.
It’s unclear if any injuries have been reported or if any arrests have been made.
Chief Wensel said that more information is expected to be released once detectives and the department get further along in the investigation.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are re-signing veteran running back Trey Sermon, the team announced today. Sermon has had multiple on-and-off stints with the Steelers since signing with the team rookie mini-camp. He’s appeared in three games for the Steelers in 2025.
Sermon was drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. In 46 career games, Sermon has 505 yards on 134 carries and three touchdowns with the 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, and Steelers.
The Steelers have the chance to put the Baltimore Ravens on the ropes this Sunday. If they defeat the Detroit Lions, the Ravens would have to defeat one of the New England Patriots or Green Bay Packers for the Week 18 matchup between the Steelers and Ravens to have any stakes. The Steelers can also clinch the division before Week 18 if they win their next two games and the Ravens go 1-1 or 0-2.
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