City Game

The City Game Pitt Panthers–Duquesne Dukes
Men's History
First meeting	January 13, 1932
Last Meeting	November 30, 2018
Last Result	PITT: 74–53
Next Meeting	TBA
Number of Meetings	87
All-Time Series	PITT: 55–32
Largest victory	Duquesne, 100–66 (12/9/1967)
Current Streak	PITT: Won 2
Longest Streak	Pitt, 15 (12/22/2001–12/4/2015)
Women's History
First meeting	December 6, 1974
Last Meeting	November 20, 2021
Last Result	PITT: 69-64
Next Meeting	TBA
Number of Meetings	39
All-Time Series	PITT: 22–17
Largest victory	Pitt, 91–32 (12/6/1974)
Current Streak	PITT: Won 1
Longest Win Streak	Pitt, 13 (12/6/1974–11/30/1994)

2km
1.2miles

Duquesne

Pitt

  

Locations of University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University (2.1 miles apart.)

The City Game is an annual college basketball game between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the Duquesne University Dukes. The term "City Game" is also used refer to women's basketball games played annually between the two universities and may also be used to refer to other athletic competitions between the two schools.

History

The City Game trophy, presented to the winner by Dapper Dan Charities of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh's Don Hennon drives around Duquesne University's Bob Slobbodnik during a Pitt victory on December 13, 1958

The basketball series was first played in 1932. The cross-town rivalry between the two schools intensified quickly, and the development of bad blood between the two schools on the basketball court and in the boxing ring led to the cessation of series following the 1939 game until it was renewed in 1953. ^[1] The teams met various times in the Steel Bowl tournament, an in-season four-team tournament sponsored by U.S. Steel that was held from 1951 through 1976 in Pittsburgh. ^[2]

The rivalry reached its peak when both schools again found themselves members of the same athletic conference, the Eastern 8 (originally named the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League in its first season of 1976–77, formally the Eastern Athletic Association, and renamed the Atlantic 10 Conference following the 1981–82 season), from 1976 to 1982. During this period, the head coaches of Pitt and Duquesne, Tim Grgurich and Mike Rice respectively, were alumni of their schools and had played against each other in the 1960s. There was genuine dislike between coaches and players, and during these contests fights frequently broke out between players, and sometimes among fans. ^{[3] [4]} The series of games between the schools during the years that both were members of the Eastern 8 was won by Pitt 9–7. Duquesne and Pitt have met once in post-season play, not including two Eastern 8 Tournament games, which resulted in a 65–63 Duquesne victory over the Panthers in the first round of the 1980 NIT at the Civic Arena.

However, the competitiveness of the series has waned since Pitt left for the Big East Conference beginning in the 1982–83 season as Pitt has now won 32 of the last 35 games. ^[5] The men's basketball series is currently on hiatus, having last been played in 2018. It is unknown when the series will resume, as there have been disputes about the scheduling terms, including the venue. ^[6]

Location

The location of the City Game has varied between both on-campus and off-campus venues for both schools and throughout their history, they have also shared venues to use as their home floor. Both Pittsburgh and Duquesne used the Pitt Pavilion, located inside of Pitt Stadium, for their home games until January 28, 1939 when Pitt's director of athletics Jimmy Hagan announced a cessation of basketball relations with Duquesne following the development of bad blood between the schools on the court. ^[1] The series returned in 1953 at Pitt's home floor, Fitzgerald Field House, that had opened in 1951. This facility on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh would serve as the home floor of the Panthers through the opening of the Petersen Events Center in 2002, although Pitt played select home games at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena in the 1980s and 1990s. Duquesne also used Fitzgerald Field House as its home floor following the demolition of its home court, Duquesne Gardens, in 1956. Duquesne began playing games in the Civic Arena as early as December 1961 and subsequently switched to using the Civic Arena as its primary home floor between 1964 and 1988. Duquesne moved into a new on-campus home at the A. J. Palumbo Center beginning in the 1988–89 season. From 1990 to 2001, the series was back to being played at the Civic Arena/Mellon Arena. The series then rotated on a yearly basis between the on-campus venues of the Petersen Events Center and the A. J. Palumbo Center.

In 2009, the game returned to Mellon Arena and was the last basketball game played at that venue (not counting a Harlem Globetrotters game on December 26, 2009). Pitt rallied from trailing by 16 to winning 67–58 in double overtime. It was the first multiple overtime game in the series' history.

Upon the opening of the PPG Paints Arena in 2010, the game will be held annually at that site. Each team has an exclusive locker room in the new facility. ^[7]

Men's game results

Duquesne victories

Pittsburgh victories

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 January 13, 1932 Pitt Pavilion Duquesne 28–21 2 January 13, 1933 Pitt Pavilion Duquesne 26–25 3 February 17, 1933 Pitt Pavilion Duquesne 25–24 4 January 12, 1934 Pitt Pavilion Duquesne 30–29 5 February 6, 1934 Pitt Pavilion Pittsburgh 31–29 6 January 4, 1935 Pitt Pavilion Duquesne 27–25 7 February 8, 1935 Pitt Pavilion Pittsburgh 35–34 8 February 8, 1936 Pitt Pavilion Duquesne 54–42 9 February 18, 1936 Pitt Pavilion Pittsburgh 46–41 10 February 10, 1937 Pitt Pavilion Pittsburgh 51–50 11 February 24, 1937 Pitt Pavilion Duquesne 32–31* 12 January 12, 1938 Pitt Pavilion Pittsburgh 35–28 13 February 23, 1938 Pitt Pavilion Duquesne 39–37 14 January 28, 1939 Pitt Pavilion Duquesne 40–29 15 December 12, 1953 Fitzgerald Field House Duquesne 79–43# 16 December 10, 1955 Fitzgerald Field House Duquesne 71–49 17 December 15, 1956 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 59–50 18 December 14, 1957 Fitzgerald Field House Duquesne 81–64 19 December 13, 1958 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 71–56 20 December 12, 1959 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 75–44 21 December 17, 1960 Fitzgerald Field House Duquesne 80–66 22 December 16, 1961 Fitzgerald Field House Duquesne 73–70 23 December 15, 1962 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 85–59 24 December 7, 1963 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 69–67OT 25 December 10, 1966 Civic Arena Duquesne 72–65 26 December 9, 1967 Civic Arena Duquesne 100–66 27 December 7, 1968 Civic Arena Duquesne 57–42 28 December 29, 1970 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 70–58 29 December 30, 1971 Civic Arena Duquesne 87–67 30 December 8, 1972 Civic Arena Duquesne 67–61 31 December 7, 1973 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 82–65 32 December 6, 1974 Civic Arena Duquesne 100–94 33 December 5, 1975 Civic Arena Duquesne 75–74 34 December 11, 1976 Civic Arena Duquesne 79–78 35 February 12, 1977 Fitzgerald Field House Duquesne 66–63OT 36 February 27, 1977 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 64–56 37 February 5, 1978 Civic Arena Duquesne 88–66 38 February 22, 1978 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 72–65 39 February 1, 1979 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 89–83 40 February 17, 1979 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 60–54 41 January 16, 1980 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 55–53 42 February 10, 1980 Civic Arena Duquesne 67–66 43 March 6, 1980 Civic Arena Duquesne 65–63 44 February 4, 1981 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 60–53 No. Date Location Winner Score 45 February 15, 1981 Civic Arena Duquesne 66–64 46 March 7, 1981 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 64–60 47 January 14, 1982 Fitzgerald Field House Duquesne 72–62 48 February 14, 1982 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 69–68 49 March 2, 1982 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 66–64 50 November 30, 1982 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 62–53 51 December 27, 1983 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 64–59 52 January 14, 1984 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 75–69 53 February 4, 1985 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 77–61 54 January 20, 1986 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 95–76 55 January 12, 1987 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 102–77 56 January 11, 1988 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 85–58 57 December 19, 1988 Palumbo Center Duquesne 80–76 58 December 18, 1989 Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh 92–87 59 December 19, 1990 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 84–65 60 January 6, 1992 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 93–69 61 December 19, 1992 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 102–91 62 December 30, 1993 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 77–66 63 December 19, 1994 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 76–72 64 November 29, 1995 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 84–73^ 65 December 21, 1996 Civic Arena Pittsburgh 75–73 66 February 5, 1998 Civic Arena Duquesne 80–69 67 January 25, 1999 Mellon Arena Pittsburgh 65–60 68 December 20, 1999 Mellon Arena Pittsburgh 74–56 69 December 21, 2000 Mellon Arena Duquesne 71–70 70 December 22, 2001 Mellon Arena Pittsburgh 78–63 71 November 23, 2002 Petersen Events Center Pittsburgh 82–67 72 December 3, 2003 Palumbo Center Pittsburgh 59–45 73 December 4, 2004 Petersen Events Center Pittsburgh 87–57 74 December 7, 2005 Palumbo Center Pittsburgh 71–60 75 December 6, 2006 Petersen Events Center Pittsburgh 73–56 76 December 5, 2007 Palumbo Center Pittsburgh 73–68 77 December 3, 2008 Petersen Events Center Pittsburgh 78–51 78 December 2, 2009 Mellon Arena Pittsburgh 67–582OT 79 December 1, 2010 Consol Energy Center Pittsburgh 80–66 80 November 30, 2011 Consol Energy Center Pittsburgh 80–69 81 December 5, 2012 Consol Energy Center Pittsburgh 66–45 82 November 30, 2013 Consol Energy Center Pittsburgh 84–67 83 December 5, 2014 Consol Energy Center Pittsburgh 76–62 84 December 4, 2015 Consol Energy Center Pittsburgh 96–75 85 December 2, 2016 PPG Paints Arena Duquesne 64–55 86 December 1, 2017 PPG Paints Arena Pittsburgh 76–64 87 November 30, 2018 PPG Paints Arena Pittsburgh 74–53 Series: Pittsburgh leads 55–32

Where there are discrepancies between game scores, the score provided in the table is the one provided by sources from the winning team.
* This game is listed as a Duquesne victory with a score of 31–30 in the Pitt media guide.
# This game is listed as a Duquesne victory with a score of 75–46 in the Pitt media guide.
^This game is listed as a Pittsburgh victory with a score of 84–74 in the Duquesne media guide.

Women's basketball

The women's basketball City Game series dates to 1974 when the University of Pittsburgh resurrected its women's varsity athletic program. The Pitt women's 91–32 win against Duquesne in the 1974 Pitt Tournament marked its first game and victory of the modern era since the program had been on hiatus at the close of the 1926–1927 season. Including the 1974 win, Pitt dominated the early series winning the first 13 games. The game has sometimes been played as a double header with the men's game and has been played three times at the Civic Arena in 1995, 1996, and 1998. Pitt leads the series 22–17 and was the winner of four straight prior to the Dukes winning four in a row since 2009.

Baseball

The baseball contest between the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University was often referred to as the baseball version of the City Game and was sometimes played at special venues including Major League Baseball's PNC Park. The first collegiate baseball game at PNC Park was played on May 6, 2003, between Pittsburgh and Duquesne. ^[8] Duquesne won the game by a score of 2–1. ^[9] Following the 2010 season, Duquesne discontinued its varsity baseball program, bringing the City Game baseball series to an end. ^[10] The PNC Park City Game series ended in Pitt's favor, four games to two, with the 2007 game canceled because of poor field conditions. ^{[11] [12] [13]} The final City Game baseball series was split with Pitt winning an April 14, 2010 game at Trees Field 21–9, ^[14] and Duquesne, oddly serving as the home team at Pitt's Trees Field, winning the final meeting, 10–9, on May 12, 2010. The all-time series between the schools ended in Pitt's favor, 58–22–1. ^[15]

Men's soccer

Duquesne victories

Pittsburgh victories

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 August 31, 1996 Founder's Field Pittsburgh 1–0 2 October 29, 1997 Rooney Field Pittsburgh 3–1 3 September 4, 1998 Founder's Field Tie 0–0 4 October 6, 1999 Rooney Field Pittsburgh 2–0 5 September 13, 2000 Founder's Field Pittsburgh 3–0 6 September 12, 2001 [a] Rooney Field Tie – No. Date Location Winner Score 7 October 17, 2007 Founder's Field Pittsburgh 3–1 8 September 4, 2008 Rooney Field Tie 0–0 9 September 7, 2010 [b] Rooney Field Tie – 10 September 16, 2011 Urbanic Field Pittsburgh 1–0 11 September 16, 2012 Rooney Field Pittsburgh 2–1 Series: Pittsburgh leads 7–0–2

1. This match was cancelled due to the September 11 attacks.
2. This match was suspended due to severe weather.

Football

Duquesne victories

Pittsburgh victories

Tie games

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
1	October 26, 1901	Schenley Park	W.U.P.	18–0
2	October 20, 1903 [a]	Colosseum	Pittsburgh College	10–6
3	October 8, 1932	Pitt Stadium	Pittsburgh	33–0
4	November 11, 1933	Pitt Stadium	Pittsburgh	7–0
5	October 17, 1936	Pitt Stadium	Duquesne	7–0
6	October 9, 1937	Pitt Stadium	Pittsburgh	6–0
7	October 8, 1938	Pitt Stadium	Pittsburgh	27–0
8	October 21, 1939	Pitt Stadium	Duquesne	21–13
9	August 30, 2025	Acrisure Stadium
Series: Pittsburgh leads 5–3 [19]

1. Pitt's (W.U.P.'s) opponent on October 20, 1903 played under the name of Manchester Athletic Club, but used players mainly from Pittsburgh College of the Holy Ghost (later to be known as Duquesne University). ^[16] The University of Pittsburgh lists its opponent that day as Manchester A.C. (and does not count the game toward its all-time record vs. Duquesne), ^[17] while Duquesne counts the game as its own. ^[18]

See also

• Sports in Pittsburgh
• College rivalry
• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. Sam Sciullo Jr., 100 Years of Pitt Basketball, 2005, Sports Publishing L.L.C., Champaign, IL, pg. 22, ISBN   1-59670-081-5, Accessed December 3, 2008.
2. Sam Sciullo Jr., 100 Years of Pitt Basketball, 2005, Sports Publishing L.L.C., Champaign, IL, pp. 36, 43, ISBN   1-59670-081-5
3. Sam Sciullo Jr., 100 Years of Pitt Basketball, 2005, Sports Publishing L.L.C., Champaign, IL, pg. 68, ISBN   1-59670-081-5
4. Perrotto, John (2009-12-02). "Pitt, Duquesne play final City Game at Mellon". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2009-12-02.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
5. Fittipaldo, Ray (2008-12-03). "The City Game ... not what it used to be for Pitt or Duquesne basketball". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
6. Meyer, Craig (2021-05-03). "Pitt and Duquesne unlikely to play a City Game in 2021 — and perhaps beyond that". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
7. "Pitt has own locker room in Consol Energy Center". 25 August 2010.
8. "Pittsburgh Baseball Falls to Duquesne, 2–1, at PNC Park". PittsburghPanthers.com. 2003-05-06. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
9. Fittipaldo, Ray (2003-05-07). "Pitcher's big-league effort lifts Duquesne past Pitt, 2–1". Duquesne/Atlantic 10. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 2017-08-18. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
10. "Duquesne U. To Save $1M By Cutting 4 Varsity Sports". Associated Press. 2010-01-26. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
11. Axelrod, Phil (2008-04-17). "Baseball: Three freshmen step up as Panthers rout Dukes". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Archived from the original on 2017-08-18. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
12. Axelrod, Phil (2005-04-15). "Baseball: Pitt, Duquesne to treat game like exhibition". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Archived from the original on 2017-08-18. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
13. "Panthers Fall to Duquesne, 5–2 at PNC Park". PittsburghPanthers.com. 2009-05-06. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
14. "Joe Leonard Hits for the Cycle in 21–9 Pitt Win Over Duquesne". PittsburghPanthers.com. 2010-04-14. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
15. "Panthers Drop Final City Game to Duquesne, 10–9". PittsburghPanthers.com. 2010-05-12. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
16. "Bluffites Fooled WUP". The Pittsburg Press. October 21, 1903. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Pitt Football Media Guide 2023" (PDF). Pitt Athletics Communications Office. 2023. pp. 120, 130. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
18. "Duquesne Football Record Book" (PDF). Duquesne University Athletics. 2023-07-20. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
19. "Duquesne vs Pittsburgh (PA)". CFB Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2021.