Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets was the name of three separate ice hockey teams 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 original team was part of 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) from 1920 to 1925 and developed from predecessors dating back to 1915. After winning the USAHA Championship in 1924 and 1925, the ostensibly amateur (but arguably semi-professional) Yellow Jackets turned fully professional and became the

Pittsburgh Pirates 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 Associati ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. After the Pirates relocated in 1930 to play as the Philadelphia Quakers, a second Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets club (founded by the owner of the original club) played for two seasons in the International Hockey League, a minor professional circuit. A third Yellow Jackets team was organized at the amateur level in 1935 by John H. Harris and competed in the

Eastern Amateur Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart, ...

before folding in 1937.

Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets I

Origin

The roots of the Yellow Jackets trace back to the winter of 1915–16, when

Roy Schooley Roy Dunlap Schooley (April 13, 1880 – November 13, 1933) was a former hockey referee who later became the manager of both Duquesne Gardens, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets of the United States Amateu ...

, a local politician and former hockey referee, put together an amateur team to play exhibition games at the Duquesne Garden. Schooley brought in Canadian players including Dinny Manners, brothers

Larry Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence (given name), Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment *Larry D. Alexander, American arti ...

and Joe McCormick, and

Russell McCrimmon Russell "Silver" McCrimmon (March 1, 1890 – June 24, 1934) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Canada Hockey League in the 1921–22 season. A highlight of the season was a three-game series sweep of the St. Paul (Minnesota) Athletic Club, which had won the

MacNaughton Cup The MacNaughton Cup is a trophy awarded annually to the regular season conference champion of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). The trophy is named after James MacNaughton of Calumet, Michigan, who was a supporter of amateur ice h ...

as champion of the American Hockey Association and had defeated the Lachine club of Canada, holders of the

Art Ross Cup The Art Ross Trophy, more commonly referred to as the Art Ross Cup, was an amateur challenge ice hockey trophy which was competed for between 1913 and 1920. History The Art Ross Trophy got its name from its donator, the ice hockey player and mana ...

. After beating St. Paul, the Duquesne Garden team was claimed to be the hockey champion of the world, though this claim was not officially or widely recognized.

PAA era (1916–1920)

After its first season, the Duquesne Garden exhibition team established an affiliation with the

Pittsburgh Athletic Association The Pittsburgh Athletic Association was a gentlemen's club, private social club and club (organization), athletic club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, USA. Its clubhouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Located a ...

(PAA), a private athletic and social club, adopting that organization's name, colors, and "Winged Head" insignia. The team finished its 1916–17 campaign with a 37–3–0 record. During the winter of 1917–18 the PAA team joined the

New York Wanderers The New York Wanderers were an amateur ice hockey team from Manhattan, New York City. The New York Wanderers played seven seasons in the American Amateur Hockey League between 1903 and 1914 and won the championship title in 1903–04. 1896 Sta ...

Boston Arenas The Boston Arena Hockey Club, colloquially known as the Boston Arenas, were an American amateur ice hockey team from Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Arenas played its home games at the Boston Arena (now Matthews Arena) at 238 St. Botolph Street ...

and Boston Navy Yard in forming the

United States National Hockey League The United States National Hockey League (or National Amateur Hockey League) was an amateur ice hockey league that operated in Boston, New York City and Pittsburgh for one season in early 1918. History The league consisted of the New York Wanderer ...

, which would last only one season. The PAA won the league title and went on to defeat the Montreal Hochelaga club, holders of the

, in an international amateur championship series to win a new honor called the Fellowes international trophy. That season's overall record of 24–3–2 included a 22-game winning streak. There was no 1918–19 season for the PAA, with Duquesne Garden being used as a barracks and most of the players in military service. The team resumed its dominance in 1919–20, going 25–5–3 playing an independent schedule.

First Olympic ice hockey

The PAA team figured prominently in the formation of the first U.S. Olympic ice hockey team. When the sport was about to debut as an Olympic competition at the 1920 Games in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, the PAA won a three-team American tournament (with

Boston AA 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 ...

and St. Paul AC) that was originally supposed to determine which one of the clubs would be sent intact to the Olympics to represent the United States. However, as it became clear that no team had enough US-eligible players to furnish a full Olympic roster, it was decided to choose representatives from all three of the teams. Four of the eleven selections were from the PAA:

Herb Drury Herbert Joseph Drury (March 2, 1896 – July 30, 1965) was a Canadian-born American ice hockey defenseman who played six seasons in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Quakers. Internationally he played fo ...

, Joe McCormick (who was appointed US team captain), Larry McCormick, and

Ray Bonney Raymond Claude Bonney (10 March 1919 – 25 April 1994) was an Australian politician. Bonney was born in Tasmania. In 1972, he was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly as a Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a ...

, all but the last of whom were born in Canada but had acquired US citizenship. PAA manager Schooley, who assembled the Olympic team, said that the PAA's Manners, McCrimmon, and

Ed Nagle Edmund Burke "Doc" Nagle (August 10, 1893 – June 24, 1966) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, born in Ottawa. He played with the Saskatoon Sheiks of the Western Canada Hockey League. Biography Nagle was a dentist, hence his nickna ...

, who were also Canadian-born, would have been worthy of inclusion had they been eligible. The Americans won the silver medal by overwhelming all of their opponents except for Canada's gold medalist

Winnipeg Falcons The Winnipeg Falcons were a senior men's amateur ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Winnipeg Falcons won the 1920 Allan Cup. That team went on to represent Canada in the Ice hockey at the 1920 Summer Olympics, 1920 Olympic games he ...

, to whom they lost 2–0.

Entry into USAHA

In late October, 1920, the

was formed, with Schooley and W.S. Haddock serving as co-founders and respectively acting as the league's secretary-treasurer and president. The team that had been playing under the PAA banner reorganized as the Pittsburgh Hockey Club, shedding the red and gray colors of the PAA for new uniforms of black and gold. An original member of the USAHA, the team played only a few exhibition games in its inaugural season before suspending operations because of eligibility problems. It was reapproved for league play for the following season. The team became known as the Yellow Jackets.

"Pittsburgh's Canadians"

According to former sports reporter Paul Sullivan, who covered hockey for much of his life for the ''

Pittsburgh Gazette Times The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'' and later the ''

Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph The ''Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph'' was an evening daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1927 to 1960. Part of the Hearst newspaper chain, it competed with ''The Pittsburgh Press'' and the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' until bein ...

'', the USAHA was not a completely amateur league. Sullivan noted that even though the USAHA was called an amateur league, "They didn't come down from Canada because they thought Pittsburgh was a nice place." The eastern teams of USAHA soon imported Canadian players, to add to their rosters of local players. In February 1923, Schooley invited

Lionel Conacher Lionel Pretoria Conacher, MP (; May 24, 1900 – May 26, 1954), nicknamed "The Big Train", was a Canadian athlete and politician. Voted the country's top athlete of the first half of the 20th century, he won championships in numerous sports. ...

, a future

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

, to come to Pittsburgh and officiate games, "to see if the crowd would take to him". Schooley then asked Conacher to play with the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets in a four-game series against his former team, the

Toronto Aura Lee The Toronto Aura Lee Hockey Club operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1916 to 1926. They played at Arena Gardens in Toronto. In January 1925, the trustees of the Aura Lee Athletic Cl ...

hockey team, and against the

Hamilton Tigers The Hamilton Tigers were a professional ice hockey team based in Hamilton, Ontario. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1920 to 1925. The Tigers were formed by the sale of the Quebec Bulldogs NHL franchise to Hamilton intere ...

. Conacher impressed the Pittsburgh fans by scoring 11 of the Yellow Jackets' 23 goals in the four games. Schooley then used his connections in the Pittsburgh media to promote Conacher to the city's hockey fans. After seeing how well the fans took to Conacher, Schooley made him the team's captain, and asked him to invite a number of his friends to play for the Yellow Jackets. These players included Harold Cotton,

Hib Milks Hibbert Henry "Hib" Milks (April 1, 1899 – January 21, 1949) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Quakers, New York Rangers and Ottawa Se ...

Harold Darragh Harold Edward "Howl" Darragh (September 13, 1902 – April 28, 1993) was a Canadian ice hockey right winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Quakers, Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple ...

Rodger Smith Denis Rodger Smith (July 26, 1896 – January 31, 1935) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played six seasons in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Quakers between 1925 and 1931. He was bor ...

Duke McCurry Francis Joseph "Frank, Duke" McCurry (June 13, 1900 – November 8, 1965) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 145 games in the National Hockey League, with the Pittsburgh Pirates between 1925 and 1929. Playing career Bo ...

, "Tex" White and goalie

Roy Worters Roy Thomas "Shrimp" Worters (October 19, 1900 November 7, 1957) was a Canadian professional Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Canadiens and New York American ...

Dick Carroll Richard Leo Carroll (April 28, 1885 – January 20, 1952) was a Canadian ice hockey coach. He led the Toronto team in the National Hockey League to the Stanley Cup championship in 1918 and the Toronto Canoe Club junior hockey team to the Memor ...

, who had coached the

Toronto Arenas The Toronto Arenas or Torontos were a professional men's ice hockey team that played in the first two seasons of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was operated by the owner of the Mutual Street Arena, Arena Gardens, the Toronto Arena Company. ...

to the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

in 1918, was appointed the team's coach once Conacher and his teammates arrived in Pittsburgh for the 1923–24 season by Schooley. However the use of Canadian players drew criticism, with the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-based teams leading the charge. In one instance, the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...

'' questioned why: "Boston hockey … ashooked up with Pittsburgh at all… fter allthe best hockey in Boston is played by our own boys … nd Pittsburgh hockey… is played mainly by a bunch of traveling mercenaries, who practically all are of Canadian birth and training." ''Boston Herald'' columnist W.E. Mullins referred to the Yellow Jackets as "Pittsburgh's Canadians". These imported players joined current Yellow Jackets players Dinny Manners and Herb Drury, the latter of whom was about to win his second silver medal as a member of the U.S. Olympic hockey team.

USAHA championship era: 1923–1925

In the Yellow Jackets' 1923–24 season opening game at Duquesne Garden, Conacher scored a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

. The Yellow Jackets posted a 15–5–0 record for the season to earn first place in the league's Western group. Pittsburgh then defeated 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 ...

to win the Fellowes Cup 4 games to 1 in the playoffs. A Boston newspaper, the ''

Boston Traveller The ''Boston Evening Traveller'' (1845–1967) was a newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts. It was a daily newspaper, with weekly and semi-weekly editions under a variety of ''Traveller'' titles. It was absorbed by the ''Boston Herald'' i ...

'', on January 29, 1924, termed the Yellow Jackets "a wonder team" and another account referred to Conacher as "Canada’s Wonder Athlete". The trio of Rodger Smith, Conacher and Roy Worters was part of Pittsburgh’s "stonewall defense." The Yellow Jackets were so dominant by 1924 that they spun off another Pittsburgh team, named the

Fort Pitt Hornets The Fort Pitt Hornets (sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Fort Pitt Panthers) were a semi-professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team played in the United States Amateur Hockey Association (USAHA), which was tech ...

, who played in the Eastern Division. Dinny Manners, who served as

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 ...

of the Yellow Jackets in the 1922–23 season, when they were only a .500 club, still played for the team during the 1923–24 season, however the following season he joined the Hornets. In their 1924–25 season, the Yellow Jackets finished their split regular season with a 15–3–2 first-half record for first place in the Western Group, followed by a 10–8–2 second-half record for second place in the west. After sweeping the second-half winner Eveleth Arrowheads in the group playoff, the Jackets moved on to the league finals against their in-city rivals the Fort Pitt Hornets, who had won the Eastern Group. The favored Yellow Jackets defeated the Hornets three games to none, with one tie, to retain the Fellowes Cup.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and the NHL

The Yellow Jackets stopped playing after the USAHA folded at the end of the 1924–25 season. When Schooley encountered financial problems he sold the team to Duquesne Garden president Henry Townsend and attorney James Callahan. Townsend and Callahan were granted an NHL expansion team and simply transferred the Yellow Jackets into the NHL as their expansion club keeping the entire roster of the Yellow Jackets intact. The team took the name

from the baseball club, something the new NFL team would also do eight years later. The team wore black and yellow uniforms that largely resembled the Yellow Jackets' outfits from the previous season. The Pirates made it to the NHL semifinals within a year and would be barely nudged out of the playoffs. In 1926, the playoff series was just two games long, with total goals deciding the issue. The Pirates, who finished third in the seven-team NHL, lost to the

Montreal Maroons The Montreal Maroons (officially the Montreal Professional Hockey Club) were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL). They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935. They were the la ...

, 3–1, in the opener in Pittsburgh and tied, 3–3, in Montreal. The Maroons' 6–4 edge in goals gave them the series and they went on to win the 1926 Stanley Cup. Among the Jackets-turned-Pirates were two Hockey Hall of Famers—Lionel Conacher and goalie Roy Worters. The Pirates would operate from 1925 until 1930.

Uniforms

The Pittsburgh Hockey Club that succeeded the Pittsburgh Athletic Association hockey team in 1920 wore black jerseys with gold trim and the word "Pittsburg" (as the name of the city was still sometimes spelled) written in script diagonally across the chest. Black and gold had also been worn by the club's original predecessor, the 1916 Duquesne Garden team. In November 1922, the Pittsburgh club switched to gold jerseys with a black "P" on the front; the nickname "Yellow Jackets" appeared in the press by the next month. On the sleeves were patches in the form of the coat of arms of the city of Pittsburgh. A late version of the Yellow Jackets jersey modified the "P" logo on the front and had the word "Champions" cursively written above the "P". When the Yellow Jackets became the city's first NHL team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, they retained the colors, chest logo, and sleeve patches from the previous season's uniforms but changed the word above the "P" to read "Pirates". The team's colors gained new relevance decades later when the city's second NHL team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, wanted to change their uniform colors from blue and white to black and gold. When the change was protested by the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, the Penguins showcased the Pirates-Yellow Jackets jerseys as precedence for the move.

Season-by-season record (USAHA)

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets II

The Pirates left Pittsburgh and became the short-lived Philadelphia Quakers in 1930, due to issues related to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and the failure to find a replacement for the aging Duquesne Garden. Shortly afterwards, Schooley applied for an expansion franchise in the International Hockey League. He gave the team the name of "Yellow Jackets" which he still had to the rights to. The team competed in the IHL for only two seasons. In 1932, the Yellow Jackets served as a

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

for the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

who often took several of their key players in mid-season. Before a March 1932 game against the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, Pittsburgh's

Doc Romnes Elwin Nelson "Doc" Romnes (January 1, 1907 – July 21, 1984) was an American ice hockey player and coach. He played professionally in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Americans from ...

was recalled to Chicago to aid the team in their NHL title chase. This and other roster moves over the season left the Yellow Jackets' coach, Charlie Reid to constantly change his forward lines. By 1932, the Yellow Jackets were having financial problems, despite the support Pittsburgh fans gave them, leaving some doubt as to whether the team would operate in 1932–33. On August 22, 1932, it was reported that the defunct Pittsburgh Pirates would be returning to the NHL for the upcoming season. The news put the Yellow Jackets in limbo, since the Pirates still held territorial rights and could deny the team permission to operate. However the trust company that owned the Jackets had the right to deny the NHL team the right to play at Duquesne Gardens. However the optimism was short-lived and on October 1, 1932 the Pirates formally suspended operations. The Yellow Jackets went dormant as well, and ultimately disbanded without playing another season.

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets III

In January 1935, Pittsburgh theater chain owner John H. Harris, who had taken a lease on the Garden in 1932, hired coach and former player Dinny Manners to put together an amateur team with the intent of placing it in the

. This was the third hockey team in Pittsburgh to take the name Yellow Jackets, not including yet another team of the same name in a local commercial league. The team spent its shortened first season in early 1935 as an independent playing various exhibition games against other clubs. Then on October 29, 1935, the ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'' reported that the Yellow Jackets had joined the EAHL with the

New York Rovers The New York Rovers were a senior ice hockey team that was established in 1935. They played in the Eastern Hockey League as a farm team of the New York Rangers. The Rovers played alongside the Rangers in Madison Square Garden (1925), Madison Square ...

. During the team's three seasons of play,

Frank Brimsek Francis Charles "Mr. Zero" Brimsek (September 26, 1913 – November 11, 1998) was an American professional ice hockey goaltender who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins and Chicago Black Hawks. He won ...

served as the team's goaltender. Brimsek would go on to win 252 games in goal, which gave him the record for winningest American-born netminder. His record would stand until February 15, 1994, when

Tom Barrasso Thomas Patrick Barrasso (born March 31, 1965) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 18 seasons. He began his time in the NHL with the Buffalo ...

and the NHL's

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) 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 playe ...

defeated the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

, 5-3, at the

Pittsburgh Civic Arena The Civic Arena, formerly the Civic Auditorium and later Mellon Arena, was an arena located in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Civic Arena primarily served as the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's National Hockey League (NHL) ...

. The Yellow Jackets had a hand in providing Pittsburgh with another professional hockey team, the

Pittsburgh Shamrocks 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 ex ...

. The idea for the Shamrocks team came about when Yellow Jackets' owner, John Harris, and Charles King, president of the International American Hockey League, met in Pittsburgh to discuss Pittsburgh’s possible entrance into the league in the fall. The meeting resulted in the establishment of the Shamrocks and established that the Garden's ice time would be split by the new IHL team and the Yellow Jackets, who became the newest members of the Eastern Amateur Hockey League. During his tenure as owner of the Yellow Jackets, John Harris made two notable decisions. First, on March 31, 1936, he hired

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norway, Norwegian figure skating, figure skater and film star. She was a three-time List of Olympic medalists in figure skating, Olympic champion (Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics, ...

, 24-year-old

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

to perform before a Yellow Jackets’ game, leading to the creation of the

Ice Capades The Ice Capades were traveling entertainment shows featuring theatrical ice skating performances. Shows often featured former Winter Olympic Games, Olympic and United States Figure Skating Championships, US National Champion figure skating, figur ...

. Then, on October 4, 1936, Harris purchased the

Detroit Olympics The Detroit Olympics were a minor league hockey team located in Detroit, Michigan that was a member of the Canadian Professional Hockey League 1927-29 and the International Hockey League 1929-36. The team played all of their home games at the D ...

and moved the team to Pittsburgh, where they were renamed the

Pittsburgh Hornets The Pittsburgh Hornets were a minor-league professional men's ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Contrary to popular belief, the Pittsburgh Hornets did not evolve from the International Hockey League's Pittsburgh Shamrocks. The ...

. Some players from the Yellow Jackets and Shamrocks players then joined the Hornets. After the 1936–37 season, the Yellow Jackets folded. Two players from the team have been inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

: Brimsek in 1966 and winger

Gordie Drillon Gordon Arthur Drillon (October 23, 1913 – September 23, 1986) was a Canadian ice hockey player. He was born in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. From 1936 through to 1942 he was part of one of the NHL's most prolific scoring lines as a member o ...

in 1975.

Season-by-season record (EAHL)

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

References

{{Defunct Pennsylvania sports teams

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 ...

Ice hockey clubs established in 1915 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1937 Defunct ice hockey teams in Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets was the name of three separate ice hockey teams based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The original team was part of the United States Amateur Hockey Association (USAHA) from 1920 to 1925 and developed from predecessors dating ...

Eastern Hockey League teams International Hockey League (1929–1936) teams United States Amateur Hockey Association teams 1915 establishments in Pennsylvania 1937 disestablishments in Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets I

Origin

PAA era (1916–1920)

First Olympic ice hockey

Entry into USAHA

"Pittsburgh's Canadians"

USAHA championship era: 1923–1925

The Pittsburgh Pirates and the NHL

Uniforms

Season-by-season record (USAHA)

Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets II

Season-by-season record

Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets III

Season-by-season record (EAHL)

See also

References