The Fort Pitt Hornets (sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Fort Pitt Panthers) were a

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team based in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. The team played in the

United States Amateur Hockey Association The United States Amateur Hockey Association (USAHA) was an ice hockey governing body in the United States from 1920 to 1925, which operated at an amateur level. The league was filled with predominantly Canadian-born players, but struggled to ach ...

(USAHA), which was technically a semi-pro league by 1924.

History

The Hornets were a spin-off of another USAHA club from Pittsburgh, the

Yellow Jackets Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of these ...

, and played in the league's Eastern Division. During the 1924–25 season, the Hornets finished their season with a 17–7–0 record for first place in the Eastern Division. However, the club was defeated in the USAHA championship series by their intra-city rivals, the Yellow Jackets, three games to none with one tie. Former Yellow Jackets

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

Dinny Manners served as a player-coach for the Hornets.

Rough-play allegations

The USAHA teams were known, at this time, for known for their rough play. During the Hornets' first round of the 1924–25 playoffs, which was against the

Boston Athletic Association The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) is a non-profit, running-focused, organized sports association for the Greater Boston area. The B.A.A. hosts such events as the Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. 5K, the B.A.A. 10K, the B.A.A. Half Marathon, the ...

, Pittsburgh player, Joe Sills reportedly butt-ended Leo Hughes in the face, requiring the removal of one Hughes' eyes, and nearly the other. The Boston AA’s player was a fan favourite and the team's supporters protested the hit. Boston then threatened to quit the league because of the "Unnecessary and willful roughing." However, Pittsburgh's manager, H.N. Forner, contended that injuries that were inflicted to his players, such as the case with the Hornets' Lorne Armstrong, could have been just as serious. During the series, Armstrong was cut in the back of the neck by the skate of a Boston player. The following night, Armstrong received a cut between his eyes which could have taken one of his eyes, if the cut was an inch away in either direction. As for Joe Sills, he was reportedly kneed by a Boston player and unable to play for an entire week. After Leo Hughes had lost his eye against the Hornets, the USAHA's president stated that "Hockey, you know, is not a parlour game."

Prominent players

The Hornets featured several future-NHL players such as: * Joe Miller * Bernie Brophy *

Hector Lépine Joseph Hector "Hec" Lépine (December 7, 1897 — March 29, 1951) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 33 games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens during the 1925–26 season. The rest of his career, wh ...

* Charles Larose * Johnny McKinnon

Notes

{{Defunct Pennsylvania sports teams Ice hockey teams in Pittsburgh 1924 establishments in Pennsylvania Defunct ice hockey teams in Pennsylvania Defunct Pittsburgh sports teams Fort Pitt United States Amateur Hockey Association teams 1925 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Ice hockey clubs established in 1924 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1925