After dinner, as the sun dropped beyond the horizon, Bob O'Connor often retreated to Schenley Park Golf Course, where he found solace, not to mention the bottom of the holes on the practice putting green.
For as long as he could, O'Connor lagged putts and chatted with friends.
"That's where he hung out all the time," O'Connor's wife, Judy, said Friday.
Eventually, the course that O'Connor called home could bear his name. An organization that conducts clinics there is proposing the course be renamed the Bob O'Connor Golf Course at Schenley Park.
It would be next in a long line of memorials to Pittsburgh mayors -- from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, to the Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race, to Babcock Boulevard in honor of former Mayor Edward V. Babcock.
"If you're going to honor him, it's got to be something he's really connected with and had real feelings about and would be a reasonable honor," said Moe Coleman, director emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh's Institute of Politics. "I think the golf course would meet those standards."
Honoring respected politicians, athletes and civic leaders by naming a building or event after them helps society mourn while adding character to the region, said Dr. Michael Frantz, a psychiatrist at Mercy Behavioral Health on the North Side.
"It shows he had an impact in the area, and even though he's physically not here, it solidifies their (place) in history," Frantz said.
Richard Caliguiri was among the most beloved mayors in the city's history, as evidenced by the bronze statue of his likeness on the steps outside the City-County Building, Downtown.
"It's obviously quite an honor," said Caliguiri's son, David. "It's a great feeling to go by the statue. It's like the meeting place."
Judy O'Connor said her husband deserves similar recognition, whether it's at the golf course or elsewhere.
Bruce Stephen, executive director of The First Tee of Pittsburgh, pitched the idea of changing the Schenley Park course name. The organization's Hole-in-One Weekend Saturday and today is dedicated to O'Connor's memory. Stephen has spoken with City Council President Doug Shields and the O'Connor family.
The city owns the course, and council would have to approve a name change, but Shields said he would support such legislation.
"I'm sure there's going to be a lot of discussion about how best to honor Bob's memory here," Shields said. "Certainly the golf course would be appropriate; it was one of his favorite places in the city."
Despite being a councilman and then mayor, O'Connor never shunned others at the golf course, Stephen said.
"I know that the people who have golfed at Schenley Park all knew Bob -- the regulars, the seniors, lots of the kids -- they all knew Bob," Stephen said. "It's a sign of respect and honor, to name something that he was so closely associated with after him.
"I wouldn't have gone forward with it if the O'Connors didn't think that Bob would want this."
Additional Information:
In remembrance
Former Pittsburgh mayors have been memorialized by having their names associated with buildings or events, such as:
- Edward V. Babcock: Babcock Boulevard in the North Hills
- Richard S. Caliguiri: Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race; Caliguiri Plaza, a senior citizens high-rise in the city's Allentown section
- David L. Lawrence: David L. Lawrence Convention Center; David Lawrence Hall at the University of Pittsburgh; Lawrence Hall at Point Park University
- Magnus K. Murray: Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill
