PNC Park employee found dead
After knee surgery kept him from working at PNC Park during last year's baseball season, stadium usher Michael Schacht was delighted to be at work for Friday night's game.
"He was just so happy to be back. He loved baseball. We all do. That's why we're here," said Jacqueline Caliguiri, an usher at PNC Park who has worked with Schacht for seven years.
He worked Friday night's 14-inning game, which ended at 12:17 a.m. Saturday, watching from Section 227 in the upper deck as the Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies in unusually cold weather.
Twenty-five minutes after the game ended, Schacht, 58, was found in the street a mile-and-a-half from the stadium — near the intersection of Brighton Road and Brighton Place. He was lying face down, unresponsive and bleeding from the head, said Pittsburgh police Sgt. Ronald Griffin.
His car, a silver 2002 Hyundai Sonata, and his identification were missing, Griffin said. Police are calling Schacht's death suspicious.
Last night, while setting up for the team's third home game, Caligiuri and other ushers remembered Schacht as an affable man who was devoted to his family.
"The nicest, nicest guy. We talked about our kids all the time," she said. "He had trouble walking but was always so happy to be here."
Bob Famiglietti, Schact's supervisor, noticed how happy Schacht was to be back at the ballpark on Friday night.
"He was a great guy. He knew everything — every last thing — about this team and its history, and pretty much everything about all baseball history," Famiglietti said.
Bob Nutting, chairman of the team's board of directors, said he regards staff members like Schacht as an extended family. Schacht was remembered with a moment of silence at the start of Saturday's game.
"We at the Pirates family are shocked and deeply saddened by the news of the senseless death of Michael Schacht, a dedicated PNC Park employee. Our thoughts, hearts and prayers go out to Michael's family and friends," Nutting said.
Attempts to reach Schacht's family were unsuccessful.
While police said Schacht was found bleeding from the head, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office found no evidence of trauma, an investigator there said.
The medical examiner's office said the cause of Schacht's death has not been determined and is pending toxicology studies, which take about two months.
Schacht was found about midway between the stadium and his home. Team officials said ushers have access to heavily discounted parking in a lot one block from the stadium and it would be unlikely that anyone going to a game — even those wanting to park for free — would park so far away.
Schacht is married and the father of two grown children. He had worked as an usher at the park since 2004, said Brian Warecki, a spokesman for the team.
The team's ushers are mainly people who are retired or who, like Schacht, are working second jobs. Many season-ticket holders know ushers on a first-name basis.
"Some of the ushers at PNC Park have been doing this since the days of Forbes Field," Warecki said.
The last game played at Forbes Field was in 1970.
Police are asking anyone with information to call homicide detectives at 412-323-7161. Callers can remain anonymous.
