Sports in Pittsburgh

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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. Pittsburgh's major teams have seen great success, with the MLB's Pirates winning 5 World Series titles, the NHL's Penguins winning 5 Stanley Cups, and the NFL's Steelers winning a tied league record 6 Super Bowls. The Pittsburgh Panthers have also been successful in the NCAA with 9 national championships in football and 2 in basketball. The flag of Pittsburgh is colored with black and gold, based on the colors of William Pitt's coat of arms; Pittsburgh is the only city in the United States in which all professional sporting teams share the same colors. The city's first National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and that team's non NHL predecessor, the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets, wore black and gold as their colors in the 1920s. The colors were adopted by founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Art Rooney, in 1933. In 1948, the Pittsburgh baseball Pirates switched their colors from red and blue to black and gold. Pittsburgh's second NHL franchise, the Pittsburgh Penguins, wore blue and white, due to then general manager Jack Riley's upbringing in Ontario. In 1979, after the Steelers and Pirates had each won their respective league championships, the Penguins altered their color scheme to match, despite objections from the Boston Bruins, who have used the black and gold combination since the 1935 36 NHL season. In 1975, late Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope invented the Terrible Towel, which has become "arguably the best known fan symbol of any major pro sports team." Cope was one of multiple sports figures born in Pittsburgh and its surrounding area; others include golfer Arnold Palmer, Olympian Kurt Angle, and basketball player Jack Twyman. Pittsburgh is also sometimes called the "Cradle of Quarterbacks" due to the number of prominent players of that position who hail from the area, including NFL greats Jim Kelly, George Blanda, Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Dan Marino, and Joe Montana.

The City of Pittsburgh has had various professional sports franchises throughout its history and today is home to three teams competing at the highest professional level in their respective sports: the Pittsburgh Pirates of the MLB, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL, and the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL.

Prior to 1876, three amateur Pittsburgh baseball teams—the Enterprise, the Xanthas, and the Olympics—competed, most often at Recreation Park. On April 15, 1876, Recreation Park was the site of a game between the Xanthas and the Pittsburgh Alleghenies (alternately spelled "Alleghenys"), an unrelated forerunner to the "Alleghenys" team which would later be renamed the Pirates. The Alleghenies won the game 7–3. The 1877 squad was the most successful yet, finishing within 1 game of the pennant in the International Association; only a Canadian team had a better record, allowing the city potential bragging rights for being the best American team that season. 1882 marked the first "major league" and fully professional season for the Pittsburgh Alleghenies (Pirates) and in 1887, the Alleghenies moved from American Association to the National League after owner William Nimick became frustrated over a contract dispute. The Pirates were purchased in 1900 by Barney Dreyfuss, who would go down in history as the "Father of the modern World Series" and its precursor, the Chronicle Telegraph Cup, both of which saw the Pirates participate in the inaugural series. He recruited Hall of Famers Fred Clarke and Pittsburgh native Honus Wagner and built the first concrete and steel (first "modern") baseball stadium, Forbes Field. Under Dreyfuss, the Pirates won pre World Series world titles in 1901 and 1902, National League pennants from 1901–1903, 1909, 1925 and 1927 and World Series in 1909 and 1925. The 1902 squad set major league records for winning percentage and even today is the second most winning team ever fielded in the sport. The franchise won the World Series three more times— in 1960, 1971, and 1979. In 1960, the team became the first to win a World Series on a walk off home run, hit by Bill Mazeroski, and they remain the only team to win on a walk off homer in the decisive seventh game. In 1979, the Pirates repeated the accomplishment of their own 1925 World Series team, coming back from a three games to one deficit, winning three games in a row when facing elimination, for the title. Thus the Pirates became (and they currently remain) the only franchise in the history of all sports to win world titles more than once when coming back from a 3 1 deficit. The 1979 Pirates also are unique in that they are the only team in all sports to have players who captured all four MVP awards: Seasonal (Willie Stargell, co MVP with Keith Hernandez), All Star Game (Dave Parker), NLCS (Willie Stargell), and World Series (Willie Stargell) within a single season. Since 1970 the team has won their division and qualified for the playoffs nine times: six in the 1970s, and three times in a row from 1990 to 1992. Pirate players have won the league MVP award in 1960 (Dick Groat), 1966 (Roberto Clemente), 1978 (Dave Parker), 1979 (Willie Stargell), 1990 (Barry Bonds), 1992 (Barry Bonds), and 2013 (Andrew McCutchen) and the Cy Young Award in 1960 (Vernon Law) and 1990 (Doug Drabek). In 2001, the team opened PNC Park on the city's North Shore, regularly ranked as one of the top three baseball parks in the country. In addition to the Pirates, the Pittsburgh Stogies, Pittsburgh Burghers and Pittsburgh Rebels played in various leagues from 1884 to 1915. The Rebels won the pennant in 1912 and finished just a half game shy of a pennant in 1915. The Pittsburgh Keystones, Homestead Grays (playing in the city limits), and Pittsburgh Crawfords played in the Negro leagues. With players including Josh Gibson and Cumberland Posey the Grays won 12 league titles—the most by any Negro league team

Pittsburgh South Side won Western Pennsylvania Basketball League and Central Basketball League titles in 1904, 1907 and 1913, coming in second place in 1908, 1911 and 1915. The "Black Fives" league enjoyed success in the city with Monticello Loendi winning national championships in 1912, and four in a row from 1920–23. The Pittsburgh Pirates from 1937–39 and Pittsburgh Raiders in 1944–45 continued professional basketball in the city in the National Basketball League. Pittsburgh had one of the founding members of what became the NBA, the Pittsburgh Ironmen however only played a single season 1947–48 before folding. The Pittsburgh Renaissance (or Rens) played from 1961 until 1963 in the ABL, posting the city's best record in almost 40 years when they finished 2nd in 1962. The most lasting legacy of pro roundball in Pittsburgh was the Pittsburgh Pipers Pittsburgh Condors of the American Basketball Association from 1967 until 1972. In the first ABA World Championship in 1968, the Pipers defeated the New Orleans Buccaneers, which were owned by Harry Connick Sr.

After the ABA Pipers/Condors folded in 1972 the city hosted the Pittsburgh Piranhas of the CBA in the mid 1990s. The franchise made it to the championship round in the 1994–95 season. Taking the series into the 6th game the Piranhas lost by a basket in the final seconds (92 94) by what they claimed was an ineligible player, the CBA denied a replay game in what would have been Pittsburgh's second pro basketball world title. In the late 2000s the Pittsburgh Xplosion, a development league team owned by former NBA player Freddie Lewis, played in a revamped ABA/CBA at Mellon Arena and the Petersen Events Center before ceasing operations prior to the 2008–09 season because of the economic recession. Another professional basketball team, the Pittsburgh Phantoms of the American Basketball Association, played during the 2009–10 season and held their games at the Carnegie Library of Homestead, but folded prior to the following season.

First played in Pittsburgh in 1895, ice hockey grew in popularity after the Duquesne Gardens opened in 1899. In 1901 the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL), a semi professional ice hockey league based in Pittsburgh in the early 1900s, may have been involved in the first trade involving professional hockey players. In 1907, the WPHL was the first league to openly hire hockey players. The league played its games in three Pittsburgh hockey arenas, the Gardens, the Schenley Park Casino and the Winter Garden at Exposition Hall. The Casino, which was destroyed by a fire in 1896, had the first artificial ice surface in North America, was the first place in Pittsburgh where organized ice hockey was played and had the most modern indoor lighting system of the time era, that consisted of 1,500 incandescent lamps, 11 arc lights and 4 white calcium lights. In 1905–1907, the city was represented in the International Professional Hockey League, the first fully professional hockey league, by the Pittsburgh Professionals. The Gardens housed the largest indoor rink in the world and was home to the city's first NHL franchise, the Pittsburgh Pirates, from 1925 to 1930. The Gardens also was home to the Pittsburgh Shamrocks and the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets of the International Hockey League as well as the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League. In 1961, Pittsburgh Civic Arena was constructed for use of the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. Founded, by Jack McGregor and Peter Block as part of the 1967 NHL expansion, the Pittsburgh Penguins have played home games in downtown Pittsburgh since their inception—first at the Civic Arena, and since 2010 at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins won back to back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992. The franchise recorded their third Stanley Cup in 2009. The teams included players Mark Recchi, Kevin Stevens, Jaromír Jágr, and Mario Lemieux. Lemieux holds multiple franchise records and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997. He suffered from multiple injuries, including Hodgkin's lymphoma, throughout his career. In 1999, Lemieux purchased the Penguins and saved the franchise from bankruptcy. He returned to play one year later as the first player/owner of the modern era. The Penguins, led by top point scorers Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, returned to the Stanley Cup finals in 2008 and won the franchise's third Cup in 2009. The franchise recorded their fourth Stanley Cup in 2016 and their fifth Stanley Cup in 2017.

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC are members of the USL Championship (second division) and play at Highmark Stadium. The Riverhounds are one of the oldest professional soccer clubs in the United States operating outside of MLS; the only two older clubs are fellow USL Championship side Charleston Battery and USL League One's Richmond Kickers, both of which were founded in 1993. Like their counterparts, the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, the Riverhounds are a full time professional club, and many of their current and former players have represented their countries in international play. Historic teams such as the suburban Harmarville Hurricanes won the U. S. Open Cup, U. S. Soccer's national championship, with Harmarville winning in 1952 and 1956 and reaching the final in 1953. Pittsburgh area teams Gallatin and Morgan Strasser also won the Open Cup in its earlier years, but since the end of the 1950s, only the Riverhounds have advanced as far as the quarterfinals, which they achieved in 2001 and 2023. The amateur club Pittsburgh Beadling has contested for regional and national titles for over 100 years, winning the National Amateur Cup in 1954, though Beadling now operates primarily as a youth club. Aldo Donelli, better known as a Duquesne University Football player and coach played soccer with a number of clubs in the 1920s and 1930s and was a member of the United States men's national soccer team during the 1934 FIFA World Cup. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. In a 4–2 qualifying victory over Mexico in Rome, Italy on May 24, he tallied all four times, becoming the first American to score his first three international goals with the senior team in the same match. The region's interest in soccer continues as modern stars such as natives Justin Evans, Meghan Klingenberg, Don Malinowski, John Stollmeyer, A. J. Wood and Marvell Wynne II have all achieved international success.

The Pittsburgh Forge Rugby Club are rugby union team based in South Side Pittsburgh. The club formed in 2018 when the Pittsburgh City RC and the Pittsburgh Highlanders combined to form the Forge. The Pittsburgh Forge currently fields two competitive men's senior sides and one competitive women's side. The men currently participate in the Midwest Competition Region (NCR1) at the Division II and Division III levels, and the women also play in the Midwest Competition Region at the Division II level. The Pittsburgh Sledgehammers are a rugby league team based in Cheswick, Pennsylvania (outside of Pittsburgh) which was formed in 2010 and plays in the AMNRL competition. The Pittsburgh Harlequins are a rugby union team also based in Cheswick. The Pittsburgh Harlequins Rugby Club was founded in 1973 by a group of University of Pittsburgh law students. The organization has an active roster of 45 players and an alumni roster inclusive of more than 70 seasons of play. The Harlequins Rugby Club is a Division I member of the Mid Atlantic Rugby Football Union. Over 300 active players wear the Harlequin jerseys every year at the Division 1 men's, Under 19, and Under 14 levels. In 1995, the Founders Field Center for Athletic Leadership was developed to support the Harlequins Men's and Youth programs. The 12 acre Founders Field facility includes lighting, irrigation, a clubhouse, locker rooms, concessions, and parking.

Since the 1960s the city has focused on revitalizing its rivers, hosting the Bassmaster Classic and the Forrest Wood Cup in the 2000s and seeing a boom in local fishing participation. Among the variety are Catfish and Trout.

Pittsburgh is the host city for both the annual Three Rivers Regatta (since 1977) and the annual Head of the Ohio (since 1987) races and events. The University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and Duquesne University as well as several area high schools have long standing rowing teams. In 2010 National Geographic named the city to its top six of "Best Cities for Kayaking". Kayak Pittsburgh is the largest river recreation rental in the area located on the North Shore on the Allegheny River. Suburban Ohiopyle State Park offers some of the best white water rafting in the country.

Such teams as the Pittsburgh Triangles have built a small but loyal fan base for tennis in the region, being a perennial championship contender in the 1970s and winning a world title in 1975. Generations later the region still has deep tennis roots with the year round all weather Mellon Park Tennis Center being a world class facility for the sport, and helping to develop natives such as Bjorn Fratangelo, Bonnie Gadusek, Donald Johnson and Gretchen Magers in succeeding in international competition and rankings. From 1979 to 1984 the city also hosted a yearly international tournament, the Pittsburgh Open.

There are several universities within the city that field athletic teams in NCAA Division I including the University of Pittsburgh (often referred to as "Pitt"), Duquesne University and Robert Morris University. Of these, Pitt is the only school that is a member of the so called "Power Five" conferences that are primary partners in the College Football Playoff structure (the Atlantic Coast Conference). Other universities in Pittsburgh that field athletic teams include Carnegie Mellon University (Division III), Chatham University (Division III), Point Park University (NAIA), and Carlow University (NAIA).

College football in Pittsburgh dates back to the University of Pittsburgh which first organized a football team in 1889 and played its first sanctioned game in 1890. In the first half of the 20th century, Pitt, Duquesne, and Carnegie Tech (now called Carnegie Mellon) all fielded football squads that made "major" bowl game appearances from the 1920s through the 1930s. These appearances included Duquesne in the 1933 and 1936 Orange Bowl, Carnegie Tech in the 1938 Sugar Bowl, and the University of Pittsburgh appearing in four Rose Bowls (1927, 1929, 1932, 1936) as well as nearby Washington and Jefferson College in the 1922 Rose Bowl. In particular, Pitt was a national power during this era, claiming 8 national championships under the guidance of coaching legends such as Pop Warner and Jock Sutherland. More recently, the Panthers won another National Championship in 1976 and competed for several more through the 1980s. Multiple inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame played at Pitt, including Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Mike Ditka, and Larry Fitzgerald. Pitt is the only university in Western Pennsylvania to still play college football at the highest level, the Football Bowl Subdivision, while Duquesne and Robert Morris have football teams that compete in the Football Championship Subdivision, and Carnegie Mellon fields a Division III football team.

Three Pittsburgh universities, the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, and Robert Morris University, compete in NCAA Division I basketball. Pitt and Duquesne are the traditional basketball powers in the city, but all three universities have made multiple appearances in the National Invitation Tournament and NCAA tournament. Pitt claims two pre NCAA tournament National Championships in 1928 and 1930 while Duquesne won the NIT title in 1955, its second straight trip to the NIT title game. Since the 2000–2001 season, a team from the region has always reached a post season tournament, with Pitt having won multiple Big East Conference championships and having appeared in nine consecutive NCAA Tournaments, advancing to the Sweet 16 four times and the Elite Eight once. In the years 1941, 1964, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1989, 1992 and 2008, two of the city's universities sent teams to tournaments; in 2009 and 2010, all three universities earned bids to post season tournaments. Pitt women's basketball has also made recent appearances in the NCAA tournament. A rivalry game between Pitt and Duquesne, termed the City Game, is played annually between the two schools' men's and women's basketball teams, as well as their baseball teams.

Along with college football and men's and women's basketball, the area universities compete in many additional sports. The University of Pittsburgh also fields NCAA Division I teams in baseball (its oldest sport. first played in 1869), cross country, gymnastics, track and field, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball, and wrestling. The Duquesne Dukes, in addition to many of the sports above, also participates in Division I lacrosse, golf, and rowing. Robert Morris University fields Division I teams in men's and women's hockey, among other sports.

A Formula 1 ChampBoat Series race, the Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta, which is the largest inland regatta in the country during July at Point State Park. There is also an annual large rowing regatta, the Head of the Ohio, which was founded in 1987 and is one of the largest inland regattas in the United States.

The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, the last remaining vintage automobile race run on city streets in the United States, is held annually at Schenley Park.

For 30 years Pittsburgh has also hosted a large 10K and 5K road race, the Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race, which attracts nearly 10,000 athletes and has been ranked as a Top 20 Multi Race Events by USA Track & Field's publication On The Roads. In addition, the 28th Pittsburgh Marathon will be hosted in the city in May 2018.

Pittsburgh was previously home to the first national high school all star basketball game, The Dapper Dan Roundball Classic, from 1965 to 1992, prior to its move to Detroit and later Chicago. It has long been home to the City Game between Pitt and Duquesne.

Since 1983 the Dirty Dozen Cycle Race has been held in the city.

Since 1936 the Dapper Dan Charities, a civic sports organization founded in part by a former editor Pittsburgh Post Gazette has hosted an annual local and national celebrity and sport star dinner first at the William Penn Hotel then at the Hilton ballrooms and more recently at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Pittsburgh has its own cricket league conducted by Pittsburgh Cricket Association which was founded in 2005. The league features about 16 teams and the games are held at linbrook park and edgebrook field. The Pittsburgh Cricket Association, revived in 2004 from the long dormant 1882 Pittsburgh Cricket Club charter, comprises 16 active teams and more than 250 members. PCA is a 501(c)(3) non profit corporation organized for charitable purposes to further the sport of cricket in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas. The specific purposes for which this corporation is organized are: To promote, encourage, foster and cultivate interest in the sport of cricket; To initiate, sponsor, promote and carry out plans, policies and activities that would further the development and advancement of cricket in Pittsburgh and North Eastern PA; To develop, foster and train amateur athletes for representation in state, national and international cricket competitions; to promote building of facilities for other non traditional sports like badminton, table tennis and rugby. Tennis: Historically the Pittsburgh Triangles of the 1970s played tennis at the Civic Arena, winning the WTT championship in 1975. The arena also hosted the Pittsburgh Open tennis tournament from 1979 until 1984. The year round facilities at Mellon Park Tennis Center currently serve the city. Gaelic football: Teams such as the Celtics (men's) and Banshees (women's), founded in 1976 and 2002, respectively. The Celtics won the Midwest title in 2002, 2006, and won both the midwest and National titles in 2011. The Banshees won the Midwest title in 2004, 2005, and both the midwest and Junior B shield national title in 2011. Roller derby: Steel City Derby Demons of the WFTDA. Dodgeball: NDL's Pittsburgh Punishers.

Multiple professional athletes were born or raised in the Pittsburgh area. Major League Baseball players Ken Griffey Sr., his Hall of Fame son Ken Griffey Jr., and Hall of Famer Stan Musial were born in Donora, Pennsylvania. Hall of Fame inductee, player and manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Honus Wagner was born and raised in Chartiers. Major League outfielder Tito Francona and pitcher Doc Medich were born in Aliquippa. Super Bowl winning coaches Bill Cowher and Mike Ditka were born in Pittsburgh and Carnegie respectively. Super Bowl winning quarterback Joe Namath and Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett were born in Beaver Falls and Rochester respectively. 3 Time Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana is from New Eagle. Jim Kelly from East Brady was the leading QB of the Buffalo Bills to 4 straight Super Bowl appearances. Johnny Unitas, National Football League's most valuable player in 1959, 1964 and 1967 is from Pittsburgh as well. Owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban and Basketball Hall of Fame member Jack Twyman were born in Pittsburgh. Olympic gold medalists Swin Cash and Kurt Angle, the latter of whom went on to become a major star in professional wrestling, were born in McKeesport and Pittsburgh respectively. Professional golfers Rocco Mediate and Arnold Palmer were born in Greensburg and Latrobe respectively. Author Jim O'Brien, who was born in Pittsburgh, has authored 20 books about Pittsburgh sports.

The Pittsburgh region also has developed many notable athletes that have gone on to outstanding careers in professional sports. The region has produced a multitude of NFL quarterbacks, giving Western Pennsylvania the nickname "Cradle of Quarterbacks". Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Joe Namath, Jim Kelly, Johnny Unitas, Bruce Gradkowski, Marc Bulger, George Blanda, Johnny Lujack, Jeff Hostetler, Gus Frerotte, Willie Thrower, Warren Heller, Johnny Gildea, Tyler Palko, Alex Van Pelt, Sandy Stephens, Terry Hanratty, Mike McMahon, Major Harris, Matt Cavanaugh, Chuck Fusina, Rod Rutherford, Ted Marchibroda, Babe Parilli, John Hufnagel, Tom Sherman, Richie Lucas, Boyd Brumbaugh, Scott Zolak, Ed Matesic, Tom Clements, Coley McDonough, Charley Seabright and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch all hail from within a 50 mile radius of the city.

ClubSportLeagueVenueFirst season(in Pittsburgh)Last season(in Pittsburgh)Championships(in Pittsburgh)Fate of team Allegheny Athletic Association American football Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit Recreation Park 1890 1896 1890, 1892, 1894, 1896 Club folded team Duquesne Country and Athletic Club American football Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit Exposition Park III 1895 1900 1895, 1898, 1899 Club folded team Duquesne Country and Athletic Club ice hockey Western Pennsylvania Hockey League Duquesne Gardens, Winter Garden at Exposition Hall 1908 1920 Club folded team Fort Pitt Hornets ice hockey United States Amateur Hockey Association, Duquesne Gardens 1924 1925 Team partially merged into the Pittsburgh Pirates Glassport Odds American football Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit ? ? 1913 1950 Folded Harmarville Hurricanes soccer U. S. Open Cup, National Amateur Cup ? ? 1947 1967 1952, 1956 Folded Homestead Grays baseball Negro leagues Forbes Field 1912 1950 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1948 Folded Homestead Library & Athletic Club American football Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit Carnegie Library of Homestead 1900 1901 1900, 1901 Club folded team Hope Harvey/Majestic Radios/J. P. Rooneys American football Independent Exposition Park III 1921 1932 1930, 1931 Team morphed into the Pittsburgh Pirates/Steelers McKeesport Olympics American football Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit, Independent ? ? 1896 c. 1940 Folded Pennsylvania Enforcers/Pittsburgh Cougars ice hockey America East Hockey League IceoPlex at Southpointe 2007 2009 Folded Pennsylvania Pit Bulls/Pittsburgh Hard Hats/Pittsburgh Xplosion basketball American Basketball Association, Continental Basketball Association Pittsburgh Civic Arena / Peterson Events Center 2004 2008 Folded Pittsburgh baseball Ohio–Pennsylvania League ? ? 1912 1912 Relocated to New Martinsville after just 4 days Pitcairn Quakers American football Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit Broadway Stadium 1904 1920 Folded Pittsburgh Allegheny baseball International Association for Professional Base Ball Players Union Park 1876 1878 Folded Pittsburgh Americans American football American Football League II Forbes Field 1936 1937 Folded Pittsburgh Athletic Club American football Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit East Liberty Park 1891 1898 1891 Folded team Pittsburgh Athletic Club ice hockey Western Pennsylvania Hockey League Duquesne Gardens 1899 1909 1899, 1900, 1901 Folded team Pittsburgh Bankers ice hockey Western Pennsylvania Hockey League Duquesne Gardens 1900 1909 1903, 1908, 1909 Club folded team Pittsburgh Bulls indoor lacrosse Major Indoor Lacrosse League Pittsburgh Civic Arena 1990 1993 Folded Pittsburgh Burghers baseball Players' League Exposition Park III 1890 1890 Folded with the League Pittsburgh Cannons soccer American Soccer League ? ? 1972 1972 Folded Pittsburgh Hardhats softball APSPL, UPSL Morrell Field, LaRussa Field 1977 1982 Folded Pittsburgh Champions softball NASL LaRussa Field 1980 1980 Folded with the league Pittsburgh Crawfords baseball Independent, Negro National League (II), Negro American League Greenlee Field 1931 1938 1932*, 1933*, 1934, 1935, 1936 Relocated to Toledo Pittsburgh CrosseFire indoor lacrosse National Lacrosse League Mellon Arena 2000 2000 Relocated to Washington D. C. Pittsburgh Filipinos baseball United States Baseball League, Federal League Exposition Park III 1912 1913 1912 Became the Pittsburgh Stogies/Rebels Pittsburgh Force women's American football Women's Football Alliance Campbell Field Munhall, Pennsylvania 2009 2014 Inactive Pittsburgh Forge ice hockey Island Sports Center North American Hockey League 2001 2004 2003 Relocated to Toledo Pittsburgh Gladiators arena football Pittsburgh Civic Arena Arena Football League 1987 1990 Relocated to Tampa Pittsburgh Hornets ice hockey American Hockey League Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh Civic Arena 1936 37 1966 67 1951–52, 1954–55, 1966–67 Folded Pittsburgh Ironmen basketball Basketball Association of America Duquesne Gardens 1946–47 1946 47 Folded Pittsburgh Keystones baseball Negro National League Ammon Field 1887 1921 1887, 1922 Folded Pittsburgh Keystones ice hockey Western Pennsylvania Hockey League Schenley Park Casino, Duquesne Gardens 1895 1904 1902 Club folded team Pittsburgh Lyceum American football Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit Duquesne University, Recreation Park 1902 192? Club folded team Pittsburgh Lyceum ice hockey Western Pennsylvania Hockey League Duquesne Gardens, Winter Garden 1907 1920 Club folded team Pittsburgh Maulers American football United States Football League Three Rivers Stadium 1984 1984 Folded Pittsburgh Monticello/Loendi basketball Black Fives League ? ? 1903 192? 1912, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923 Folded Pittsburgh Phantoms basketball American Basketball Association Langley High School, Carnegie Library of Homestead 2009 2010 Folded Pittsburgh Phantoms soccer United Soccer Association Forbes Field 1967 1967 Folded Pittsburgh Phantoms roller hockey Roller Hockey International Pittsburgh Civic Arena 1994 1994 Folded Pittsburgh Pipers/Condors basketball American Basketball Association Pittsburgh Civic Arena 1967–68 1970–72 1967–68 Folded Pittsburgh Piranhas basketball Continental Basketball Association A. J. Palumbo Center 1994 95 1994 95 Folded Pittsburgh Pirates ice hockey National Hockey League Duquesne Gardens 1925 26 1929–1930 Relocated to Philadelphia Pittsburgh Pirates / Raiders basketball National Basketball League ? ? 1937–39 1945 Folded Pittsburgh Pirates (WPHL) ice hockey Western Pennsylvania Hockey League Duquesne Gardens 1907 1908 Folded Pittsburgh Power arena football Arena Football League CONSOL Energy Center 2011 2014 Folded Pittsburgh Professionals ice hockey International Professional Hockey League Duquesne Gardens 1904 1907 Folded with the League Pittsburgh Rebellion women's American football Legends Football League Highmark Stadium 2017 2017 Folded Pittsburgh Rens basketball American Basketball League Pittsburgh Civic Arena 1961 1963 Folded with the League Pittsburgh Shamrocks ice hockey International Hockey League Duquesne Gardens 1935 36 1935 36 Folded Pittsburgh South Side basketball Western Pennsylvania Basketball League/Central Basketball League ? ? 1903 1915 1904, 1907, 1913 Folded Pittsburgh Spirit indoor soccer Major Soccer League Pittsburgh Civic Arena 1978 1986 Folded Pittsburgh Stars American football National Football League (1902) Recreation Park 1902 1902 1902 Folded with the League Pittsburgh Stingers indoor soccer Continental Indoor Soccer League Pittsburgh Civic Arena 1994 1995 Folded Pittsburgh Stogies baseball Union Association Exposition Park II 1884 1884 Folded with the League Pittsburgh Stogies/Rebels baseball Federal League Exposition Park III 1914 1915 Folded with the League Pittsburgh Triangles tennis World TeamTennis Pittsburgh Civic Arena 1974 1976 1975 Folded Pittsburgh Victorias ice hockey Western Pennsylvania Hockey League Duquesne Gardens 1902 1904 1903 Club folded team Pittsburgh Winter Garden ice hockey Independent Winter Garden at Exposition Hall 1915 1916 Club folded team Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets ice hockey United States Amateur Hockey Association, Duquesne Gardens 1915 1925 1924, 1925 Became the Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets ice hockey International Hockey League, Eastern Amateur Hockey League Duquesne Gardens 1930–31 1936 1937 Folded Steel City Derby Demons roller derby Women's Flat Track Derby Association Romp'n Roll Roller Skating Rink 2006 2006 Folded
*The championships listed for the teams are the highest possible achievement in their respective leagues for each season. For baseball seasons prior to the advent of the World Series in 1903 and the Negro World Series in 1942, National League Championships and Negro National League Championships are listed.