Beard earns Pittsburgher ‘Wahl Man of the Year’ title

After a cross-country search for award-winning whiskers, grooming implement maker Wahl announced Wednesday that it had selected Pittsburgh local Conor Barrett as its 2015 Man of the Year.

In additional to bearded bragging rights, the title brings with it a $1,000 grand prize and an appearance in a national advertisement for the brand.

Barrett was chosen from 12 follicularly endowed finalists -- one chosen from each stop on Wahl’s 2014 11-city Face the Day Tour and one chosen from online submissions.

Barrett’s win is all the more impressive given that his hometown ranks a lowly No. 20 on the list of facial-hair-friendly cities compiled by Wahl and announced earlier this year.

We’re giving the beard a polite golf clap but, as someone who routinely follows the pursuits of the hirsute, we’re obliged to point out that there’s a lot of really fantastic facial hair out there. That’s especially true right here in Los Angeles which, despite being ranked No. 2 on the facial-hair-friendliness list (just behind Boston) wasn’t even on the tour’s itinerary (the closest it got was Salt Lake City).

So maybe the wheels on Wahl’s barber bus will roll into the City of Angels on this year’s annual tour.

I’m guessing we’d serve up a winner -- and by more than a whisker too.

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