In the early 1920’s the NHL expanded, bringing in new franchises to keep up with rival leagues. One such team was the formerly independent club, the Pittsburgh Pirates. In today’s video we’ll take a look back at how the once promising team ended up folding after just five seasons in the NHL.
The Formation
The Pittsburgh Pirates hockey team origins date back to 1915, when they began as an independent club, back then known as the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets. They later would join the United States Amateur Hockey Association, also known as the USAHA in 1921. During that period, the NHL faced stiff competition from rival hockey leagues like the PCHA, and WCHL for talented players. Making matters more complicated for the league, former disgruntled NHL founder Eddie Livingstone announced that he was going to start a rival league to the NHL, with rumors of a team being placed in Pittsburgh. The NHL acting fast to impede the proposed new league, decided to add a seventh team to the NHL. On November 7, 1925 the former Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets, now known as the Pittsburgh Pirates officially joined the league. As for the new name, the club most likely wanted to capitalize on the success of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team, who had just won the World Series a few weeks before. The team even got permission from the baseball Pirates owner, Barney Dreyfuss to use the name “Pirates” for the hockey club. However, unlike the baseball Pirates who at the time wore blue and red uniforms, the hockey Pirates chose to wear black and yellow which was a nod to the colors of Pittsburgh’s official flag. The Pirates were the third American team in the league, and were placed in what would later be known as the American Division. The other teams in that division were the Boston Bruins and the New York Americans (who were also new to the league, replacing the Hamilton Tigers). The Pirates made their home at Duquesne Garden, which was built originally in 1890 as a trolly barn before being turned into an arena. On Thanksgiving night, November 26, 1925, the Pirates made their NHL debut by beating the Boston Bruins 2-1 at the Boston Arena. The Pirates continued to have success in their first year, clinching the playoffs with a 19-16-1 record. Pittsburgh would lose however to the eventual Stanley Cup winners, the Montreal Maroons in the first round of the playoffs.
The Relocation
A few seasons later, in October 1928 the team was sold after the club’s original owner Henry Townsend passed away. The Pirates were bought by former boxer Benny Leonard, but it’s believed that Lenoard may have gotten financial help from Bill Dwyer (a prohibition bootlegger and owner of the New York Americans) to complete the purchase. The Pirates who had started out making the playoffs in two of their first three years, fell into rapid decline. They only won nine games during the 1928-29 season, and won just five games the following season. Further complicating things, the aftermath of the Stock Market Crash of 1929 put the teams and the league in a financial bind. Lower attendance and business debt left clubs forced to sell off star players in order to survive. The Pirates were $400,000 in debt, and their rapidly aging home arena Duquesne Garden was in desperate need of repairs. The arena was never an ideal home for the Pirates, as its 8,000 combined seating and standing capacity was by far the smallest in the NHL. Benny Leonard wanted to keep the club in Pittsburgh but knew the only way to keep the team afloat was to relocate the franchise. At the NHL governor meetings, on October 18, 1930, Leonard was able to officially relocate the Pirates to Philadelphia for the upcoming 1930-31 season. With the move, the club changed their name to the Philadelphia Quakers and played their home games at the Philadelphia Arena (which opened in 1920). The Quakers first season in Philadelphia would not be an improvement, as the club only managed to win four games during that season. The move to Philadelphia turned out to be the beginning of the end, as just before the next season got underway, the Quakers, along with the Ottawa Senators got permission from the NHL to temporarily cease operations. The Quakers hoped to buy time while they searched for a new arena in either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia.
The Fold
By the early 1930’s, the NHL had grown to ten teams, the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Detroit Falcons (who’d later become the Red Wings), Philadelphia Quakers, Montreal Candaiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Maroons, New York Americans, and the Ottawa Senators. But as the Great Depression devastated the global economy, sports leagues like the NHL were not immune. Over the course of the next decade, the league would be forced to downsize from ten teams to just six. The first to fold were the Quakers and Senators in 1931, but eventually the Maroons, and Americans would be gone by 1942. Benny Leonard continued to hold onto the rights to the Quakers franchise hoping that a new arena in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh would eventually take shape. But by 1936, with no new arena deal in site, Leonard relinquished control of the franchise for good. In fact, no new arena would be built in Pittsburgh until 1961 when the Pittsburgh Civic Arena first opened its doors. After the Quakers suspended operations in 1931, the legacy of the team continued to live on. The last active NHL player who had played for the Pirates and Quakers, Cliff Barton, retired in 1940 after winning the Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers. Pittsbugh and Philadelphia would have to wait until the late 1960’s before the NHL returned to both cities. In 1967, the league doubled in size, expanding to twelve teams when they added the Los Angeles Kings, the Minnesota North Stars, the St. Louis Blues, the California Seals, the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. While the Pirates’ time in the NHL was marked by adversity, their legacy lives on as a part of Pittsburgh sports history. In fact, the Penguins even wore special throwback “Pirates” inspired jerseys during the 2023 Winter Classic. The franchise’s brief existence is a testament to the challenges faced by early expansion teams and the economic hardships that could befall sports organizations during the Great Depression. Although the Pirates’ on-ice performance may not have left a lasting mark, their role as a precursor to the Penguins and as a chapter in the broader narrative of the NHL’s evolution adds a unique layer to Pittsburgh’s hockey heritage.
So what did you guys think of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Pirates moving to Philadelphia, becoming the Quakers, and eventually folding? Should the Penguins do more to honor the old Pirates team, like wearing the throwback inspired jerseys more often? Let me know in the comments below!
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