They represent the very best of Pittsburgh sports.

Arnold Palmer, Roberto Clemente, John Woodruff, Josh Gibson, Joe Greene, Mario Lemieux, Chuck Cooper, Suzie McConnell-Serio, Franco Harris, Bill Mazeroski, Sidney Crosby, Swin Cash, Dan McCoy and Honus Wagner are part of the “Downtown Renown” exhibit commissioned through the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

The sports greats can be viewed in window displays throughout Downtown through Dec. 31.

“I think it’s fascinating,” said McConnell-Serio of Upper St. Clair, a WPIAL and PIAA basketball champion, U.S. Olympic gold medalist, WNBA, college and high school player and coach. “I can’t wait to see all of them.”

She coached the women’s basketball team at the University of Pittsburgh from 2013 through 2018.

“This is pretty cool,” said McConnell-Serio. “I am honored to be part of such an amazing group of athletes. I am in good company.”

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Artist Gavin Benjamin of Lawrenceville combined original photography and images with collage, paint and varnish.

“It is wonderful to be part of such a well run machine with what the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is doing,” said Benjamin, who began with photographs and completed the work over a period of a few weeks. “I wanted to take them to another level in a way people might not be thinking of them.”

The new art showcase features vibrant designs that celebrate the careers of Pittsburgh sports icons. ➡️ https://t.co/ayCvzNWoFU pic.twitter.com/MJ1cr46E55

— Downtown Pittsburgh (@DowntownPitt) October 23, 2020

He created the art via photoshop. Some were touched up by hand. He said using photo collage is like bringing many musical instruments to create one tune. He said he likes that the art is outside.

“Art should be available to the everyday person, from the person who works in the deli to the bus driver to the president of a company,” Benjamin said. “I feel like this will bring the story to the people. People in Pittsburgh are proud of their sports gods and goddesses. These athletes have learned confidence from playing a sport. They’ve built relationships with teammates from all walks of life, all on the same field. We need more of that in our world today.”

Benjamin will also feature some of the art in an exhibit that runs Nov. 18-Jan 1 at BoxHeart Gallery in Bloomfield. A 3D tour will be available on the gallery’s website.

The PDP project was developed in conjunction with The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Senator John Heinz History Center in the Strip District.

“These athletes are ground breakers and door openers,” said Anne Madarasz, director of the sports museum. “These individuals changed their individual sports. This is also a way for the city to connect with art.”

Madarasz said with the challenge of living in a pandemic, these windows can inspire and unify the city, reminding it of the power of sport and individuals to effect positive change.

Sports figures are a subject people like to talk about, Madarasz said. She, KDKA-TV sportscasters Bob Pompeani, Rich Walsh, and Josh Taylor, worked on the athlete selections.

McCoy, a sled ice hockey player and former member of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team, said he is “honored to be featured with so many incredible Pittsburgh athletes.” McCoy, of Tarentum, who has spina bifida represented the U.S. in the Sochi Paralympic Games where the team defeated host country Russia, 1-0, to win the gold. McCoy notched two assists in five games.

He was on the U.S. National Team for the 2015 World Sledge Hockey Championships in Buffalo, N.Y.where he scored a goal in the gold medal game to help the U.S. defeat Canada 3-0.

“The artist did a superb job,” said McCoy, who is a personal trainer. “I also like that you can learn more about the athlete. This might lead to some people learning more about sled hockey and Paralympic and adaptive sports.”

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Benjamin, who was born in Guyana, South America and raised in Brooklyn, said the juxtaposition of objects and composition of forms that tell a compelling story are something he tried to integrate in every piece. He said the pieces are “honest and curious and bright and thoughtful” – all of the things that made him want to be a professional artist.

Each window has a visual as well as a career outline of the athlete, and a bar code you can scan with your smart phone to read a detailed biography.

“I am not a sports aficionado,” said Benjamin, who attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City.“I like that these athletes are in motion. I wanted to use that energy in this art. So I took all that information and just ran with it.”