Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and of course West Virginia is heavily undermined. Sinkholes every so often, but most homes are "protected" generally do to local building requirements that requires reinforced basements and footers.
My father liked to tell of the Beadling Pa Soccer game in the 1950s, where a player was moving the ball, had it under complete control, then the ball of free and the player was no where to be found. He had fell into a sinkhole in the middle of the field, it opened up and down the player went. The ball was still "live" and an official ran over to make sure the player was all right, but the game was never stopped.
Beadling Sportsman's club ran the soccer team for decades, then in the 1970s sold off the playing field to Upper St Clair Township to be a township owned Soccer Field (at the same time the club sold off its practice field which had been right by the club AND the hillside behind the club and the Field. The Developer then filled in the Practice Field so he would have a relatively flat road access to the area behind the club house for the housing development he was building (According to the official Beadling Soccer Club web page it was the mine's former Machine Shop, but I was told by old timers that it was the old lime Shack, could have been both, first a machine Shop then as the mine closed down was used as a lime Shack).
Yes, the club ended up with a lot of money and used some of the money on its sport team and some on the Club House. They ruined the club house, the old club house had character, made of the bricks commonly used in Pittsburgh in the late 1800s (Mentioned by O Henry in one of his short stories, the mention was NOT complimentary and I suspect the story killed the use of that type of Brick, it was a real crappy brick), The brick had been painted sometime in the distant paste (Maybe in the late 1800s when it was the Lime shed for the Coal Mine operating in the area, or just may be the nature of that real crappy brick), At least two stories high with a study roof over the remaining two stories (and this was one HUGE building, you could fit a modern full size basketball court it is, without the stands, maybe with the stands, it has been decades since I was in the building), as you entered on to the left side of the building was the oak bar, Rectangle in shape, you could fit 10 men on the left and right and another 5-6 men on the far and near sides, without them touching each other (yes it was a big bar, but in that building it looked small even to me when I was in grade-school (I remember it to this day it was a huge bar but looked small in that huge building), above the entrance, near where the Second Floor would be, if it had a second floor and it did not, was a huge furnace, blowing hot air in winter in the direction of the bar (With the bricks in that building, it was NEVER hot in the summer so no Air Conditioning was present), The Club had divided the building at the entrance so the bar and the Furnace was on the "Small Side" of the building and on the opposite side of the wall the club has installed was a slightly larger room for big events (Weddings Parties, club meetings, Christmas parties etc).
What did the Beadling Sportsmen club do to this building? For the first time ever they had money and they installed WALLS and a LOW CEILING. White walls instead of Crappy Brick walls. Actual heating ducts, instead of the Furnace half way to the roof. Florescent lights installed in the new low ceiling instead of of lights hanging down form the roof two floors up. It looked like any other post 1960 bar I have been in, worse they extended the roof and built a Spanish like brick (out of Good Looking bricks) walkway/poach. Blane, lost its whole character of being a lime shack. When they once with my Father after the conversion, never went back.
Yes, I like my bars, Clean, sanitary, oak/wood and minimal lights. That is the type of bar my Father took me to when I was a baby, a grade Schooler and even a High Schooler. This 1960 modern crap is for Hospitals NOT bars.
Sorry, but the Beadling Club has a special place in my youth and the story of the sinkhole just brought it back.
Beadling Club Official Web Site:
http://www.beadling.com/100yearshistory.I do NOT know the exact relationship between the Beadling Sports Club and the Beadling Soccer Club, but the Sports Club is still using and located at its traditional address of 675 Painters Run Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15228, (412) 221-9945. While the Soccer Club is using a Bridgeville Address, Beadling Soccer Club, P.O. BOX 435, Bridgeville, PA 15017.
I know that when the practice field was sold in the 1970s and the regular field was transferred to Upper St Clair ownership about the same time period, the Soccer team was told by Upper St Clair Township that they would no longer have first option for the field, but would be treated like any other applicate for the field. This was no problem for the Club, for the field needed work, but may have started a division between the Sports Club and the Soccer team, I do not know, my contact was minimal (Via my father who was a Social Member of the Sports Club, joined for it was on his Letter Carrier Route of the 1960s and 1970s).