Bill Mazeroski's former Hempfield house sells for $150,000
A lineman for West Penn Power Co. in Greensburg bought the home of Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski, fitting because the house was once featured in an advertisement for the electric supplier.
Nathaniel Smirga picked up the home and nearly 20 acres along Walton Tea Room Road in Hempfield for $150,000 at auction March 22, just as coronavirus pandemic restrictions went into effect.
Smirga said he bought the home belonging to Mazeroski and his wife, Milene, because he liked the house and the property. He outbid about four others at an auction conducted by Mark Ferry Auctioneers of Unity.
The former Arona resident is in the process of updating the house. He found a 1960s advertisement from West Penn Power promoting the home as an all-electric residence.
The Mazeroskis were pleased with the results of the auction, said Jeanine Ferry of Mark Ferry Auctioneers.
They bought the property in 1959 for $4,600, according to the county Recorders of Deeds Office.
That was a year before “Maz” launched the historic home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, lifting the Pirates over the New York Yankees, 10-9. The only championship-winning, walk-off home run in World Series history made Mazeroski forever a Pittsburgh sports legend.
The Mazeroskis moved to the Philadelphia area and sold a vast sports memorabilia collection, as well as some household goods, at auction Jan. 1. Items sold included numerous photos and paintings of Mazeroski hitting that home run as well as fan scrapbooks chronicling that game and his career.
Mazeroski played 17 seasons for the Pirates and collected two World Series rings. In addition to the 1960 World Series, he was a member of the 1971 team — a backup to starting second baseman Dave Cash — that beat the Baltimore Orioles, also in seven games.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.