Jack McGregor | |
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Born | |
Education | Yale (B.S.) Pittsburgh (J.D.) |
Occupation | Attorney |
Employer(s) | Cohen and Wolf, P.C. |
Political party | Republican |
Board member of | Advisory Board of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation |
Spouse(s) | Mary-Jane Foster (Divorced) Carol Dangerfield (Divorced) |
Children | 4 |
Parent(s) | Leah and Russell McGregor |
Jack McGregor | |
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Member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the 44th district | |
In office January 1, 1963 –November 30, 1970 | |
Preceded by | Joseph Ripp |
Succeeded by | Thomas Nolan |
Personal details | |
Political party | Republican |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | U.S. Marine Corps |
Rank | Captain |
Jack Edwin McGregor (born September 22,1934) is an American former politician who served as Pennsylvania State Senator from Pittsburgh and the founder of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. He currently resides in Bridgeport,Connecticut where he serves as counsel to Cohen and Wolf,P.C. as an advisor to companies looking to create business opportunities in the Bridgeport region. He also serves as a consultant to existing companies wishing to expand their market share in the area.
McGregor was born in Kittanning,Pennsylvania,to parents Leah and Russell McGregor. He studied at various universities and received his B.S. from Yale University in 1956,where he was a member of the Skull and Bones society. [1] He received his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law,where he was named class valedictorian and editor-in-chief of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review . He would later receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Quinnipiac University in 1995. After college,McGregor served as a captain in the United States Marine Corps. He is currently allowed to practice law in Connecticut,Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.
In the 1960s,McGregor practiced law in the Pittsburgh and Washington offices of the law firm,Reed Smith,LLP (formerly Reed,Smith,Shaw,and McClay). In 1965,McGregor became a founder the Pittsburgh Penguins,by helping bring the NHL back to Pittsburgh. In the early 1970s,he held appointive regulatory positions in the federal government,and then became general counsel of a major electric utility. He later served as general counsel and then as chief operating officer of a multinational oil company. [2] Meanwhile,his older brother,James R. McGregor,trailed a similar military to law career path. After a three-year stint in the U.S. Army as a Russian interpreter,before serving as a lawyer,and finally,judge in Allegheny County. [3]
In 1993,he married his second wife,Mary-Jane Foster. [4]
McGregor is a Republican who served in the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1963 to 1970,representing the Allegheny County-based 44th District. [5] In 1970,he ran an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of Pennsylvania. In 2004,he was appointed as a member of the Advisory Board of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation by President George W. Bush. [2] [6] Today,McGregor continues to support the GOP,by contributing funds to the Connecticut Republican Party. During the 2008 Presidential Election,McGregor supported the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin. [7]
In the spring of 1965,McGregor travelled along the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Harrisburg with a law school classmate,Peter Block,who was an enthusiastic ice hockey fan. During the long car ride,McGregor stated that he felt that Pittsburgh had not reached its potential as a sports town. This led both men to examine ways on bring the NHL back to Pittsburgh after a 35-year absence.
McGregor's plan involved lobbying some of his campaign contributors who were avid sports fans,as well as community leaders. The senator formed a group of local investors for the Pittsburgh franchise that included H. J. Heinz Company CEO H. J. Heinz II,Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney,and Mellon family heir Richard Mellon Scaife. The 1967 NHL Expansion depended on securing votes from the then-current NHL owners. To ensure Pittsburgh would be selected for expansion,McGregor enlisted the help of Rooney to petition votes from Jim Norris,owner of the Chicago Black Hawks,and Bruce Norris,owner of the Detroit Red Wings. The effort was a success and on February 8,1966,the National Hockey League granted a franchise to Pittsburgh. [8] The Penguins paid $2.5 million for its entry to the NHL and $750,000 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 Pens also paid an indemnification bill to settle with the Detroit Red Wings that held a minor league team in Pittsburgh,the Pittsburgh Hornets. McGregor was named president and chief executive officer by the investor group,and he represented Pittsburgh on the NHL’s Board of Governors. McGregor and Block each owned 12.5 percent of the team.
The team was officially named February 10,1967,after more than 26,000 entries from a newspaper contest were fielded. McGregor's wife,Carol,named them the "Penguins" since the team would play in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena,which had been dubbed "The Igloo" by the locals. Meanwhile,Jack McGregor obtained Andy Bathgate for the team's first pick in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft. [9]
McGregor was also responsible for the Penguins' their first mascot,Penguin Pete,an Ecuadorian-born penguin on loan from the Pittsburgh Aquazoo. The bird was meant as a surprise for McGregor's son,Doug,for his ninth birthday. Pete made a six appearances at various Penguins' home games before dying from pneumonia. McGregor sent Pete to an area taxidermist,and was he later displayed in the lobby of the Penguins team offices at the arena until several callers objected to the stuffed bird. [10]
On October 11,1967,Clarence Campbell and McGregor jointly dropped the ceremonial first puck of the Penguins opening home game against the Montreal Canadiens. The Penguins would go 27-34-13 that year. However,during the 1969-70 NHL season,financial issues caught up with the team. The investors were "tapped out" after having invested in a pro soccer team,the Pittsburgh Phantoms. The Penguins were sold to the Donald Parsons Group out of Michigan. The Penguins would be sold by Parsons three years later. [9]
McGregor also founded the Pittsburgh Penguins' second farm team,the Amarillo Wranglers,and served as team president. The Wranglers participated in the 1968-69 season,then suspended operations. [11] After a one season hiatus,the team returned for the 1970–71 CHL season,but permanently ceased operations after that season. [12]
In 1998 McGregor and his wife,Mary-Jane Foster,founded the Bridgeport Bluefish,a minor league baseball franchise in the Atlantic League. Prior to the 2006 season,the franchise was purchased by Get Hooked,LLC,a group of investors from Fairfield County,Connecticut that includes McGregor and Foster as co-owners. [13] However,Get Hooked dropped the Bluefish prior to the 2008 season in favor of seeking a new ballpark for the city of Yonkers,New York. The Bluefish were purchased by Frank Boulton,who is also the owner of the Long Island Ducks and the founder of the Atlantic League. [14]
Prior to joining the firm of Cohen and Wolf,McGregor served as president and chief executive officer of Connecticut-based water utility Aquarion Company. Prior to that,he operated his own venture capital company for six years. McGregor also served as president of the National Association of Water Companies,chairman of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection's Pollution Prevention Committee,and chairman of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council. In addition,he served on the boards of Fairfield University;the University of Bridgeport;and the Barnum Museum;and on the Governor's Greenway Committee;the Bridgeport Regional Economic Development Committee;and the Governor's Team Bridgeport. [2]
The Jack McGregor Scholarship is an endowment at Senator's alma mater,the University of Pittsburgh,with the purpose of providing scholarship support to financially needy student who have demonstrated strong academic performance in prior studies and who have made a commitment to utilize their law degree working in the public sector. [15]
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's corporate headquarters is located at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster,Pennsylvania.
The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport,Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball,which was not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They played their home games at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard from 1998 to 2017.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference,and have played their home games at PPG Paints Arena,originally known as Consol Energy Center,since 2010. The team previously played at the Civic Arena,also known as "the Igloo". The Penguins are currently affiliated with two minor league teams –the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL.
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). When NHL teams do not have an AHL affiliate,players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL teams. Twenty-six AHL teams are located in the United States and the remaining six are in Canada. The league offices are located in Springfield,Massachusetts,and its current president is Scott Howson.
The Original Six are the teams that comprised the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1942 and 1967. The six teams are the Boston Bruins,Chicago Black Hawks,Detroit Red Wings,Montreal Canadiens,New York Rangers,and Toronto Maple Leafs. After serving as the league's only teams for 25 seasons,they were joined by six new franchises in the 1967 NHL expansion.
The Bridgeport Islanders are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders,who own the franchise. The team started in 2001–02 season and were purchased by the Islanders in 2004. The team is based in Bridgeport,Connecticut,and play their home games at the Total Mortgage Arena.
The Lincoln Stars are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Stars' home ice is the Ice Box on the former Nebraska State Fair grounds and adjacent to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
The Ballpark at Harbor Yard was a 5,500-seat independent-league ballpark in downtown Bridgeport,Connecticut that opened on May 21,1998. The stadium was located next to the Webster Bank Arena,now known as the Total Mortgage Arena. It was named "Harbor Yard" as an allusion to Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore,Maryland.
Sports in Pittsburgh have been played dating back to the American Civil War. Baseball,hockey,and the first professional American football game had been played in the city by 1892. Pittsburgh was first known as the "City of Champions" when the Pittsburgh Pirates,Pittsburgh Panthers football team,and Pittsburgh Steelers won multiple championships in the 1970s. Today,the city has three major professional sports franchises,the Pirates,Steelers,and Penguins;while the University of Pittsburgh Panthers compete in a Division I Power Five conference,the highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States,in both football and basketball. Local universities Duquesne and Robert Morris also field Division I teams in men's and women's basketball and Division I FCS teams in football. Robert Morris also fields Division I men's and women's ice hockey teams.
The Colorado Rockies were an professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) that played in Denver from 1976 to 1982. They were founded as the Kansas City Scouts,an expansion team that began play in the NHL in the 1974–75 season. The Scouts moved from Kansas City,Missouri,to Denver for the 1976–77 season. After six seasons in Denver,the franchise moved to East Rutherford,New Jersey,for the 1982–83 season and was renamed the New Jersey Devils. Denver went without an NHL team until the Quebec Nordiques relocated to become the Colorado Avalanche following the 1994–95 season. The Rockies name itself would be applied to Denver's Major League Baseball expansion team that began play in 1993.
Howard Lapsley Baldwin is an American entrepreneur and film producer. He is the CEO of Baldwin Entertainment,which has produced films such as the Academy Award-nominated Ray. Baldwin founded the New England Whalers ice hockey franchise in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and retained ownership when the team became the Hartford Whalers and joined the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also owned part of the Minnesota North Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins NHL franchises. He won the Stanley Cup in 1992 with Pittsburgh. The WHA's coach of the year award was originally named the Howard Baldwin Trophy in his honor.
The 1967–68 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their first in the NHL. Pittsburgh was one of six cities awarded an expansion team during the 1967 NHL expansion.
The Amarillo Wranglers served as a farm team to the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. Based in Amarillo,Texas,the Wranglers were members of the Central Hockey League (CHL).
The National Hockey League (NHL) has undergone several rounds of expansion and other organizational changes during its history to reach its current thirty-two teams:twenty-five in the United States,and seven in Canada. The newest additions to the league are the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017 and the Seattle Kraken in 2021. The league has also relocated several franchises,most recently in 2011 when the former Atlanta Thrashers became the second and current incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets.
John Thomas Riley was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and executive. He is best remembered for being the first general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League. He served the Penguins from their founding through the spring of 1970,and then in a second term from January 1972 to January 1974. In 1975,he became Commissioner of the Southern Hockey League. From 1979 to 1983 he served as President of the International Hockey League.
John Carl 'Jack' Button was a professional hockey executive with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League. The Jack Button Award,given to the top prospect for the Washington Capitals,was created in his honor. He died of leukemia in 1996.
The 1967 National Hockey League (NHL) expansion added six new franchises for the 1967–68 season,doubling the size of the league to 12 teams. It was the largest expansion undertaken at one time by an established major sports league and the first change in the composition of the NHL since 1942,ending the era of the Original Six.
Donald Holcombe Parsons was an American lawyer,banker,and businessman. He was owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League from March 1968 until April 1971.
Peter Block was a co-founder and former-owner of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. He was a part of the team's ownership for just one season,selling in his share in 1968. Block rejoined the ownership group in 1971,though,and kept his stake until the team went bankrupt in 1975. He relocated to California in the mid-1980s to start a business venture and died on December 13,2015 at his home in Santa Monica from cancer.