Pittsburgh Pirates’ David Bednar has Mars jersey number retired
ADAMS TWP — Mars Area High School retired the first sports jersey in the history of the school Friday, Feb. 3 — the number 24 baseball jersey, belonging to 2013 graduate and Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar.
As school administrators unveiled Bednar’s framed jersey in the high school gymnasium Friday afternoon, Bednar said he thought of the friends he made while playing baseball at the school 10 years ago, who also shared dreams of playing the sport professionally.
The Pittsburgh Pirate said he and his friends dreamed of having their jerseys retired.
“To be the first one, it's really an honor. I am incredibly proud of it, and just being from this area,” Bednar said. “To be the first one (retired), it's really special.”
Bednar, a relief pitcher, was traded from the San Diego Padres to the Pirates in 2021, having begun his major league career in 2019.
“I was a huge Pirates fan, a huge Pittsburgh sports fan, really,” Bednar said. “Now to be able to be a part of that, it's unbelievable.”
Bednar’s family still lives in the Mars area — his father is a longtime high school math teacher — so returning to the school Friday was as natural for Bednar as it was exciting.
The school staff retired Bednar’s number at a pep rally to close out the week Friday afternoon. He said he was as nervous for the ceremony as he was pitching at a game.
And the cheering fans were almost equally loud as they might be at a Pirates game.
David Kuremsky, a math teacher at Mars Area High School who emceed the ceremony, said the celebration was a long time in the making.
“We had to put it off since last January because COVID was spiking,” Kuremsky said. “Then, he had to go to spring training, so we revisited it this year to try to bring him in. It’s amazing to have someone from Mars be a professional athlete.”
Kuremsky asked Bednar some trivia questions about himself and his memories from his time as a high school student, including what his favorite class was and who his favorite teacher was. Additionally, Kuremsky told the audience that he taught Bednar when he attended the school, which also garnered applause. Kuremsky, too, said Bednar is a good ambassador and representative of Mars Area High School.
“He’s been gone for 10 years, but a lot of the kids know him,” Kuremsky said. “His dad’s a math teacher here, his sister-in-law is a junior here — just a great family.”
Zach Matusak, athletic director at the high school, said he is proud to have not only an alumnus become a professional athlete, but to be a part of the first jersey retirement ceremony.
“It’s surreal,” Matusak said. “You’re not around many professional athletes on a regular basis, and he’s such a great person to represent Mars.”
One of the best aspects of being traded to the Pirates is Bednar will no longer have to travel far to make it to attend a Steelers or Penguins game. He also said he is happy he won’t have to go far to see his alma mater’s baseball team, and hopes to be a positive influence on the current generation of high school players.
“I'm just so incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to play professional baseball and happen to get traded to my hometown team, it's something I don't take for granted,” Bednar said. “To have the opportunity to come back is something beyond dreams.”
