Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL)
NHL team that moved to Philadelphia and became the Quakers.
The Pittsburgh Pirates were an NHL team that called Pittsburgh home from the 1925–26 season through the 1929–30 season. Their name was borrowed from the city’s baseball club. After that, the franchise moved to Philadelphia for the 1930–31 season, where it played as the Philadelphia Quakers. The team’s roots go back to the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets, a club that won back-to-back United States Amateur Hockey Association championships in 1923–24 and 1924–25 under manager Roy Schooley and coach Dick Carroll. Most of those players formed the core of a new professional team when the NHL granted Pittsburgh a franchise on November 7, 1925. The league acted partly to block a rival league proposed by Eddie Livingstone, a former owner of NHA teams in Toronto. NHL President Frank Calder pushed for a Pittsburgh franchise, making it the league’s seventh team and its third in the United States. The team got permission from Barney Dreyfuss, owner of the baseball Pirates, to use the name. The Pirates were placed in what later became the NHL’s American Division, alongside the Boston Bruins and New York Americans—the only other U.S. teams at the time. Their home arena was Duquesne Garden in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, and its president, Henry Townsend, owned the club. The Pittsburgh Press nicknamed them the “Mighty Steel City Sextet,” and ten former Yellow Jackets suited up for the new team. The Pirates’ first NHL game came on November 26, 1925, a Thanksgiving night road win over the Boston Bruins, 2–1, at Boston Arena. Defenseman and captain Lionel Conacher scored the franchise’s first goal, tying the game at 1–1 in the second period. Harold Darragh netted the game-winner early in the third, and goaltender Roy Worters stopped 26 of 27 shots. Two nights later, the Pirates stunned the Montreal Canadiens 1–0. That game turned out to be the last for legendary Canadiens goalie Georges Vezina, who left after the first period with chest pains and a high fever; he died of tuberculosis four months later. Pittsburgh’s first home game was on December 2, 1925, at Duquesne Garden, where 8,200 fans paid $1.00 each to watch an 8:30 p.m. faceoff. The Pirates lost 2–1 in overtime to the New York Americans, with Conacher scoring the only Pittsburgh goal.
Quick Facts
- Team Name
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Text Color
- #000000
- Division
- American Division
- Founded
- 1925
- History
- Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets / 1915–1921 (independent) / 1921–1925 (USAHA) / Pittsburgh Pirates / 1925–1930 / Philadelphia Quakers / 1930–1931
- Arena
- Duquesne Garden
- City
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Media Affiliates
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette / Pittsburgh Press / KDKA (AM)
- Team Colors
- Black, gold / #000000 #F2A900
- Stanley Cups
- 0
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Pittsburgh Pirates were traced back to the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets of the United States Amateur Hockey Association, which won back-to-back USAHA championships in 1923–24 and 1924–25. The players on that team formed the core of the new professional club granted an NHL franchise on November 7, 1925. The team took the name Pittsburgh Pirates after receiving permission from Barney Dreyfuss, owner of the baseball Pirates. Duquesne Garden, located in the city's Oakland neighborhood, served as the home arena, with president Henry Townsend as the club's owner. The Pirates began play in the 1925–26 season, defeating the Boston Bruins 2–1 on the road in their first NHL game. Two nights later, the team's uniforms also changed, as the Pirates' color scheme became blue and gold in 1928–29 and then orange and black in 1929–30.
Reader's Guide
The Pittsburgh Pirates left their mark in NHL history with several firsts. Coach Odie Cleghorn was the first NHL coach to change his players on the fly, as described in a December 21, 1925 Pittsburgh Press article, and also the first to use three set forward lines. The team set an NHL record in salaries by signing defenseman Lionel Conacher to a three-year deal worth $7,500 a year; Conacher was later named Canada's athlete of the half-century. On December 26, 1925, the Pirates and the New York Americans combined for what still stands as the NHL record for most shots in one game, with 141 shots.
The team's relocation to Philadelphia as the Quakers in 1930–31 was intended to be temporary, pending a new arena in Pittsburgh. However, the Great Depression devastated the NHL, and when a new Pittsburgh arena failed to materialize, Leonard surrendered the franchise in 1936. The last remaining active member of the Pirates was Cliff Barton, who played his final NHL game in the 1939–40 season, winning the Stanley Cup as a member of the New York Rangers. The NHL would not return to Pittsburgh until the expansion of 1967 brought the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Did You Know?
- The Pirates' first NHL game was a 2–1 road win against the Boston Bruins on November 26, 1925.
- The 1–0 win over the Montreal Canadiens on November 28, 1925, was the final game for Canadiens goaltender Georges Vezina.
- Coach Odie Cleghorn was the first NHL coach to change players on the fly and to use three set forward lines.
- The Pirates and New York Americans combined for an NHL-record 141 shots in a single game on December 26, 1925.
More in Defunct Ice Hockey Teams 1-24
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