Pittsburgh Professionals
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The Pittsburgh Professional Hockey Club, also referred to as the Pittsburgh Professionals and Pittsburgh Pros, were a professional
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 that participated in the
International Professional Hockey League The International Professional Hockey League (IPHL) was the first fully professional ice hockey, professional ice hockey leagues, ice hockey league, operating from 1904 to 1907. It was formed by Jack Gibson (ice hockey born 1880), Jack "Doc" Gi ...
(IPHL) from 1904 until 1907. The team was based in the Duquesne Garden and was the first inter-city professional hockey team in the city of
Pittsburgh 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 ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The Pros' line-ups included several important early professional hockey players, the most notable being
Hod Stuart William Hodgson "Hod" Stuart (February 20, 1879 – June 23, 1907) was a Canadian professional ice hockey cover-point (now known as a defenceman) who played nine seasons for several teams in different leagues. He also played briefly for the O ...
, who was considered, in certain hockey circles, to be the "greatest hockey player in the world."Mason pg. 6


History


Origins

The club was made up of players from the various teams of the
Western Pennsylvania Hockey League The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL) was an originally amateur and later professional ice hockey league founded in 1896 and existing through 1909. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the league became the pre-eminent ice hockey league in ...
(WPHL), which dissolved after the 1904 season. During the
1902–03 WPHL season The 1902–03 WPHL season was the sixth season of operation for the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League. This was the first season whereby the league and its teams were recognized as professional, making it the first professional ice hockey league. ...
, the league champion
Pittsburgh Bankers The Pittsburgh Bankers were one of the earliest professional ice hockey clubs. The club was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was a member of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, the first league to openly hire hockey players, from 1899–1 ...
competed against the
Portage Lakes Hockey Club The Portage Lakes Hockey Club was one of the first professional ice hockey clubs. Based in Houghton, Michigan, the club played at the Amphidrome from 1904 until 1906. While members of the International Professional Hockey League, the team won th ...
, which was based in
Houghton, Michigan Houghton (; ) is the largest city and seat of government of Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the Keweenaw Peninsula, Houghton is the largest city in the Copper Country region. It is the fifth-largest city in the Uppe ...
, for the "Pro Championship of the United States". A four-game series was arranged with Portage Lakes and the Bankers, with Portage Lakes winning the four game series 2–1 with a game tied, despite being outscored bt the Bankers, 11–6. In the fall of 1903, James R. Dee of Houghton started discussions with WPHL representatives in Pittsburgh to initiate discussion on the formation of a national hockey association.Mason pg. 5 The next season, Portage Lakes continued to play professional exhibition games, but raided Pittsburgh's teams for top players like
Riley Hern William Milton "Riley" Hern (December 5, 1878 – June 24, 1929) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He was the first professional goaltender to play on a Stanley Cup-winning team. Biography Hern began playing ice hockey at an earl ...
and
Bruce Stuart Charles Bruce Stuart (November 30, 1881 – October 28, 1961) was a Canadian amateur and professional ice hockey forward who played for the Quebec Bulldogs, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Wanderers, Portage Lakes Hockey Club, Pittsburgh Victorias ...
. After the 1903–04 WPHL season, the
Pittsburgh Victorias The Pittsburgh Victorias were one of the earliest professional ice hockey teams. The club was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and were members of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, the first league to openly hire hockey players, from 1902â ...
were defeated by Portage Lakes in a battle for the "American Championship". A meeting was held on November 5, 1904 which included prominent business leaders from Pittsburgh, Sault Ste. Marie,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
and
Northern Michigan Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan (known colloquially to residents of more southerly parts of the state and summer residents from cities such as Detroit as " Up North"), is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popul ...
. A number of cities were considered for this new professional league, however the league accepted teams from Houghton (Portage Lakes), Pittsburgh (Pros), Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (
Canadian Soo The Sault Ste. Marie Marlboros, also known as the Canadian Soo and Soo Algonquins, was a professional ice hockey team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. It was the lone Canadian entry in the International Hockey League of 1904–1907, and ...
),
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most populated ...
(
Michigan Soo Indians The Michigan Soo Indians, also known as the American Soo Indians, was a professional ice hockey team from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States. The team played for three seasons in the International Professional Hockey League, the first full ...
) and
Calumet Calumet may refer to: Places United States *Calumet Region, in northern Illinois and Indiana **Calumet River **Calumet Trail, Indiana ** Calumet (East Chicago) * Calumet, Colorado *Calumet, Iowa * Calumet, Michigan *Calumet, Minnesota * Calumet ...
&
Laurium, Michigan Laurium (; or ) is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan, in the center of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The population was 1,977 at the 2010 census. The village is mostly surrounded by Calumet Township, with ...
(
Calumet Miners The Calumet Miners, also known as the Calumet-Laurium Miners and the Calumet Wanderers, was a professional ice hockey team from Calumet & Laurium, Michigan. The team played for three seasons in the International Professional Hockey League, the fi ...
). Also at this meeting, the representatives of the Canadian Soo suggested a
revenue sharing Revenue sharing is the distribution of revenue, the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services among the stakeholders or contributors. It should not be confused with profit shares, in which scheme only the profit is share ...
plan that would divide gate receipts in a 60–40 home-visitor split. This revenue sharing plan would make the long journey to Pittsburgh possible, considering the Pros played at the high capacity (5,000 seats) Duquesne Garden. Although Pittsburgh much larger in size, to the other IPHL markets. However, like the other league markets, its population featured a large percentage of working-class citizens. While civic boosters helped drive the interest in the games in Michigan and Canada, Pittsburgh used its large population base and established hockey tradition to fill its arena. Pittsburgh's local supporters adopted nickname, "Coal Heavers," for their team.


Season-by-season

The Pros did not fare well in its first season, posting only an 8–15–1 record for fourth place in the league. The Pros' inaugural season was also distracted by the actions and June 7, 1905 death of Pros' player William "Peg" Duval, due to
alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
. Duval had been suspended in December 1904 without pay by the Pros for not being in condition to play although he returned to the team in time to score the winning goal in a game against Calumet on January 7, 1905. He was permanently released by the team in February 1905 for being unable to stay in condition to play. A ''Pittsburg Press'' newspaper report at that time said that "'Peggy' when in condition can hold his end up with any of them, but the wine when it is red seems to have a fascination for him, hence his downfall." However the following season, the team acquired Hod Stuart, who was considered the best player of his era, in certain hockey circles. On December 11, 1905, before the start of the 1905–06 season, Stuart, who previously played in Pittsburgh (for the Bankers of the WPHL in 1903), was suspended from the league after the western teams complained that he had won too many championships and was too rough for the league. He was reinstated by the league on December 30, and joined the Pittsburgh Professionals. During the 1905–06 season the Professionals were one of three teams vying with Portage Lakes and Michigan Soo Indians for first place. However the Pros would finish the season in third place. Stuart started the next season with Pittsburgh, but later left the team following a dispute. However the Pittsburgh line-up still included the recent addition of several notable players such as; Tommy Smith and
Horace Gaul Horace Joseph Gaul (December 21, 1883 – July 9, 1939) was a Canadian professional ice hockey and lacrosse player who played from 1904 until 1913 most notably with the Pittsburgh Professionals, Haileybury Comets, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Tecu ...
of the
Ottawa Hockey Club Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core of ...
and Jimmy Gardner of the
Montreal Wanderers The Montreal Wanderers were an amateur, and later professional, ice hockey team based in Montreal. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL), the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA), the National Hockey Association ...
. These players joined Pros alumni; goalie Jack Winchester and Lorne Campbell in the line-up. Campbell and Smith finished ahead of future Hall-Of-Famers;
Didier Pitre Joseph George Didier "Cannonball" Pitre (September 1, 1883 – July 29, 1934) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Nicknamed "Cannonball," he was renown for having one of the hardest shots during his playing career. One of the first playe ...
,
Newsy Lalonde Édouard Cyrille "Newsy" Lalonde (October 31, 1887 – November 21, 1970) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League (NHL) and a professional lacrosse player. Lalonde is regarded as one of hockey's and lacrosse's ...
and
Bruce Stuart Charles Bruce Stuart (November 30, 1881 – October 28, 1961) was a Canadian amateur and professional ice hockey forward who played for the Quebec Bulldogs, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Wanderers, Portage Lakes Hockey Club, Pittsburgh Victorias ...
in scoring. However Pittsburgh's play only earned the team another third-place finish in the standings. The team's uniform colors were reported in successive seasons as gold (or yellow or orange) and black, maroon and white, and blue and white.


Demise

The team and the IPHL existed until after the 1906–07 season. The revenue-sharing program that granted the visiting team forty percent of the gate receipts, however proved to lead to the demise of the team and the league. The revenues would prove inadequate to maintain player salaries, particularly with the advent of other professional leagues, leading to the IPHL's collapse. However, the league's demise led to the rebirth of the WPHL, which was now a fully professional league.


Prominent players

The following members of the Pittsburgh Professionals later became members of 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 ...
: * Jimmy Gardner (1963) * Tommy Smith (1973) *
Bruce Stuart Charles Bruce Stuart (November 30, 1881 – October 28, 1961) was a Canadian amateur and professional ice hockey forward who played for the Quebec Bulldogs, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Wanderers, Portage Lakes Hockey Club, Pittsburgh Victorias ...
(1961) *
Hod Stuart William Hodgson "Hod" Stuart (February 20, 1879 – June 23, 1907) was a Canadian professional ice hockey cover-point (now known as a defenceman) who played nine seasons for several teams in different leagues. He also played briefly for the O ...
(1945)


Notes


References

* {{Defunct Pennsylvania sports teams Defunct ice hockey teams in Pennsylvania International Professional Hockey League teams 1904 establishments in Pennsylvania 1907 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Ice hockey clubs established in 1904 Sports clubs disestablished in 1907