Pittsburgh Penguins

Lore & Background

Prior to the arrival of the Penguins, Pittsburgh had been the home of the NHL's Pittsburgh Pirates from 1925 to 1930 and of the American Hockey League's Pittsburgh Hornets franchise from 1936 to 1967 (with a short break from 1956 to 1961). In the spring of 1965, Jack McGregor, a state senator from Kittanning, Pennsylvania, began lobbying campaign contributors and community leaders to bring an NHL franchise back to Pittsburgh. The group focused on leveraging the NHL as an urban renewal tool for Pittsburgh. The senator formed a group of local investors that included H. J. Heinz Company heir H. J. Heinz III, Pittsburgh Steelers' owner Art Rooney and the Mellon family's Richard Mellon Scaife. The projected league expansion depended on securing votes from the then-current NHL owners; to ensure Pittsburgh would be selected as one of the expansion cities, McGregor enlisted Rooney to petition votes from James D. Norris, owner of the Chicago Black Hawks and his brother Bruce Norris, owner of the Detroit Red Wings. The effort was successful, and on February 8, 1966, the National Hockey League awarded an expansion team to Pittsburgh for the 1967–68 season. The Penguins paid $2.5 million ($25.1 million today) for their entry and $750,000 ($7.2 million today) more for start-up costs. The Civic Arena's capacity was boosted from 10,732 to 12,500 to meet the NHL requirements for expansion. The Penguins also paid an indemnification bill to settle with the Detroit Red Wings, which owned the Pittsburgh Hornets franchise. The investor group named McGregor president and chief executive officer, and he represented Pittsburgh on the NHL's Board of Governors. A contest was held where 700 of 26,000 entries picked "Penguins" as the team's nickname, sharing its nickname with the athletic department of the newly named Youngstown State University in nearby Youngstown, Ohio; Youngstown is part of the Penguins' territorial rights to this day, though they did briefly share them with the Cleveland Barons in the mid-1970s. Mark Peters had the winning entry, which was inspired because the team was to play in the "Igloo", the nickname of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, a logo was chosen that had a penguin in front of a triangle, which symbolized the "Golden Triangle" of downtown Pittsburgh. The Penguins' first general manager, Jack Riley, opened the first pre-season camp for the franchise in Brant

In Their Own Story

The arena lights hummed overhead, casting a cold glow on the pristine ice. In the third period, the score was tied, and the air in the building was thick with anticipation. A Sabres forward skated with the puck, his blue and gold jersey stark against the black and gold of the defending Penguins. The crowd roared, a wall of sound that vibrated through the boards. It was just another game on the schedule, yet the history of the Rust Belt hung heavy in the air. One hit, one save, one goal could shift the momentum of a season. The players collided, sticks clashing, as the legacy of decades of competition played out in a single, frozen moment.

Reader's Guide

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Did You Know?

• The Penguins' nickname was chosen from 26,000 entries; the winning entry was inspired because the team was to play in the 'Igloo', the nickname of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena.
• Michel Briere, drafted 26th in 1969, led the Penguins to their first playoff berth since 1928 and died a year after a car crash; his number 21 was retired in 2001.
• The Penguins became the first back-to-back Stanley Cup champions in the salary cap era, winning in 2016 and 2017.