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The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Association in 1881 under the name Pittsburgh Alleghenys, the club joined the National League in 1887 and was a member of the National League East from 1969 through 1993. The Pirates have won five World Series championships, nine National League pennants, nine National League East division titles and made three appearances in the Wild Card Game.
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). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the league has an affiliation agreement with one NHL team. 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 Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the American Amateur Football Union from 1888 to 1895, the National Football League from 1929 to 1930, the American Association from 1936 to 1941, the Atlantic Coast Football League from 1963 to 1964 and 1970, and the Continental Football League from 1965 to 1969. The team was based for most of its history in Orange, New Jersey, with many of its later years in Newark. Its last five seasons of existence were as the Orlando Panthers, when the team was based in Orlando, Florida. The NFL franchise was sold back to the league in October 1930. The team had four head coaches in its two years in the NFL – Jack Depler in Orange, and Jack Fish, Al McGall and Andy Salata in Newark.
The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup, but reached the semifinals twice. While it was the first team in New York City, it was eclipsed by the second, the New York Rangers, which arrived in 1926 under the ownership of the Amerks' landlord, Madison Square Garden. The team operated as the Brooklyn Americans during the 1941–42 season before suspending operations in 1942 due to World War II and long-standing financial difficulties. The demise of the club marked the beginning of the NHL's Original Six era from 1942 to 1967, though the Amerks' franchise was not formally canceled until 1946.
The Rochester Americans are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The Americans are the fourth oldest franchise in the AHL, and have the second longest continuous tenure among AHL teams in their current locations after the Hershey Bears.
Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League (NFL) franchise. From 1909 to 1924, the stadium also served as the home football field for the University of Pittsburgh "Pitt" Panthers. The stadium sat on Forbes Avenue, named for British general John Forbes, who fought in the French and Indian War and named the city in 1758.
The Homestead Grays were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States.
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 Pittsburgh Shamrocks were a professional ice hockey team, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that played in the International Hockey League in 1935–36. The team played all of its home games at Duquesne Garden. During their lone season in existence, the Shamrocks finished in fourth place in the West Division behind the Detroit Olympics, Cleveland Falcons, and Windsor Bulldogs. The Shamrocks scored 137 goals and allowed 170. The team folded after one season. It is estimated that the team lost $36,000 during 1935–36 season.
Harry Lawrence Newman was an All-Pro American football quarterback. He played for the University of Michigan Wolverines (1930–32), for whom in 1932 he was a unanimous first-team All-American, and the recipient of the Douglas Fairbanks Trophy as Outstanding College Player of the Year, and the Helms Athletic Foundation Player of the Year Award, he was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He then played professionally for the New York Giants (1933–35), and the Brooklyn/Rochester Tigers (1936–37).
Michael John "Lefty" Sebastian was an American football halfback in the National Football League for the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Cleveland Rams. Nicknamed the Rose of Sharon, he also played for the Rams while they were still members of the second American Football League as well as the AFL's Rochester Tigers. Prior to his professional career, Sebastian played college football at the University of Pittsburgh. At Pitt, he played under coach Jock Sutherland, who had declared Sebastian the best passer whom he had seen in "many days."
The American Football League (AFL) was a professional American football league that operated in 1936 and 1937. The AFL operated in direct competition with the more established National Football League (NFL) throughout its existence. While the American media generally ignored its operation, this second AFL was the first "home" of the Cleveland Rams, which joined the National Football League after one year in the AFL.
The 1939 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the franchise's seventh season as a professional football club in the National Football League (NFL). The Pirates brought John McNally back for his third year, however, after finishing with a 2–9 record, Owner Art Rooney provided him with support by signing Walt Kiesling during the offseason. Despite this, the Pirates experienced their worst season yet, placing last in the league with a 1–9–1 record. The team just barely tallied a number in the win column, but during Week 11, they beat the Philadelphia Eagles. It was their first win at home in 9 games at Forbes Field. It was also the final season for the franchise before becoming the "Steelers" the following season.
The 1938 Pittsburgh Pirates season was their sixth as a professional football club in the National Football League (NFL). The '38 Pirates welcomed back John McNally as head coach after finishing with a 4-10 record the previous year. McNally coached the team's second 2-win season in 3 years, as they placed last in the NFL Eastern Division.
The 1936 AFL season is the first season of the second American Football League, the formation of which was announced by Harry March, former personnel director of the NFL's New York Giants, on December 15, 1935. Fifteen cities bid for charter franchises; on April 11, 1936, franchises were awarded to eight cities: Boston, Cleveland, Jersey City, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, and Syracuse. By mid-summer, Jersey City, Philadelphia, and Providence withdrew; soon afterwards, Rochester was given a franchise, only to have it relocated to Brooklyn, despite the lack of availability of a home stadium at the time.
The 1937 AFL season is the second and final season of the second American Football League. After the folding of the Syracuse/Rochester Braves in the 1936 season and the departure of the Cleveland Rams for the National Football League, the league added the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Bulldogs, the latter being the first professional football team to play its home games on the American West Coast.
The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948. Formed with the intention of joining the National Football League in 1937, the Bulldogs were the first team on the major league level to play its home games on the American West Coast. They were considered "the best football team in existence outside the NFL".
The Pennsylvania Keystoners was the idea for an American football team thought up by then-Pittsburgh Pirates owner, Art Rooney, in 1939 to have a single National Football League franchise based in both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The team would play half of its home games in each location.
The Rochester Tigers were a professional American football team that competed in the second American Football League in 1936 and 1937. Owned by Mike Palm and Harry Newman, the Tigers were originally awarded to Rochester as a charter member of the AFL, but were shifted to Brooklyn two weeks afterward despite the lack of availability of a home stadium in its new home town, then moved back to Rochester midway through the 1936 season.
American football in Western Pennsylvania, featuring the city of Pittsburgh and surrounding areas, has had a long and storied history, dating back to the early days of the sport. All levels of football, including high school football and college football, are followed passionately, and the area's National Football League (NFL) team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, is consistently one of the sport's most popular teams. Many of the NFL's top stars have come from the region as well, especially those that play quarterback, earning Western Pennsylvania the nickname "Cradle of Quarterbacks".
References
- ↑ "Plan New 'Pro' Football League for New Season". The Morning Call . Allentown, PA. Associated Press. November 13, 1935. p. 19.
- ↑ "Pro League Ready to Go". Pittsburgh Press . April 12, 1936. p. Sports-1.
- 1 2 3 Sell, Jack (October 11, 1963). "The Pittsburgh Amerks". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ↑ Sell, Jack (October 5, 1936). "Amerks' Strong Finish Beats Syracuse, 17-16". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.