The Pittsburgh Triangles were a charter franchise of

World Team Tennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...

(WTT). The Triangles won the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

WTT Championship. The team folded after the 1976 season.

Team history

The Triangles were founded in 1973 as a charter member of WTT by Century Features, Inc. owner Charles "Chuck" Reichblum (later popularly known as "Dr. Knowledge"), industrialist John H. Hillman III, and lawyer William "Bill" Sutton. In 1972, the three

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 ...

executives had previously founded the similar National Tennis League (NTL), a forerunner to WTT and Reichblum's brainchild, which was made redundant by the advent of WTT (founding members of which had been invited to join the NTL prior to formation of the competing WTT in 1973). The team began play in WTT's inaugural 1974 season. Just prior to the start of the Triangles' initial season, on May 1, 1974,

Fox Chapel Fox Chapel is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, and is an affluent suburb of Pittsburgh located northeast of downtown. The borough continually garners national prominence and is home to many of the wealthiest and most powerful ...

insurance broker An insurance broker is an intermediary who sells, solicits, or negotiates insurance on behalf of a client for compensation. An insurance broker is distinct from an insurance agent in that a broker typically acts on behalf of a client by negotia ...

, sports promoter, and

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...

Frank B. Fuhrer purchased a controlling interest in the team. Fuhrer was elected the team's

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

. Reichblum remained

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. Sutton remained part of the ownership group and was re-elected as the team's secretary-treasurer and general counsel. The Triangles played their home matches at the Civic Arena in

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, ...

. During their first season, the Triangles, clad in bright yellow and green uniforms, played in the WTT Eastern Division with teams from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

, and Toronto-Buffalo. WTT also had an eight-team Western Division for a total of 16 teams representing most of the major

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

s in the United States. There was even a team from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

called the Leis. The Triangles folded following the 1976 season. With Pittsburgh and

both lacking franchises, the league had considered fielding a team called the Pennsylvania Keystones in 1977, composed of players from the Soviet Union. However, with the

Cleveland Nets Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U. ...

struggling to draw fans for their home matches, owner Joseph Zingale decided to fill the WTT void in nearby Pittsburgh and have his team play approximately half of its home matches in

Richfield Township, Summit County, Ohio Richfield Township is one of the nine townships of Summit County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,424 people in the township, 2,138 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township. Geography Located in the northwester ...

and the other half in Pittsburgh. The team was called the Cleveland-Pittsburgh Nets. After the Nets announced they would play half their matches in Pittsburgh, the league had planned to have the Keystones play in Philadelphia. The team of Soviet players did compete in WTT in 1977, but it did not have a permanent home and played its "home" matches in several different cities. The name Pennsylvania Keystones was scrapped, and the team was officially called the Soviet National Team and informally the Soviets. As for the Nets, they played approximately half their 1977 home matches at the

Coliseum at Richfield Richfield Coliseum, also known as the Coliseum at Richfield, was an indoor arena located in Richfield Township, between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. It opened in 1974 as a replacement for the Cleveland Arena, and had a seating capacity of 20,273 ...

and the other half at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. The Nets also played some "home" matches in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

and

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is no ...

Coaching

The Australian tennis star Ken Rosewall coached the original Pittsburgh Triangles team in 1974. Rosewall's top players were Evonne Goolagong, who had already captured her first Wimbledon singles title in 1971, and young phenom Vitas Gerulaitis. Vitas, nicknamed the Lithuanian Lion, had recently won the West Penn Open in Mt. Lebanon and would go on to win the 1975 Wimbledon men's doubles crown (with Sandy Mayer) and the 1977 Australian Open men's singles title.

Players

Squad 1974

Evonne Goolagong was not allowed to participate in the

1974 French Open The 1974 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 3 June until 16 June. It was the 78th staging of the French Open, and the second Grand ...

due to her association with WTT and the Triangles. *

Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 Majors in singles, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a reco ...

, head coach *

Vitas Gerulaitis Vytautas Kevin Gerulaitis (July 26, 1954 – September 17, 1994) was an American professional tennis player, known as Vitas Gerulaitis. In 1975, he won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon, partnering with Sandy Mayer. He won the men's singles ...

Evonne Goolagong Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley (née Goolagong; born 31 July 1951) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. Goolagong was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s. At the age of 19, she won the French Open sing ...

Peggy Michel Margaret "Peggy" Michel (born February 2, 1949) is a former professional tennis player from the U.S. She was a doubles specialist who won three Grand Slam titles, all with Evonne Goolagong. She was born in Santa Monica, California. Grand Slam ...

Harold Solomon Harold Solomon (born September 17, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player who played during the 1970s and 1980s. He achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 5 in singles in 1980, and of No. 4 in doubles in 1976. Over the cours ...

Laura duPont Laura duPont (May 4, 1949 – February 20, 2002) was a female American tennis player. She was the first woman to win a national title in any sport for the University of North Carolina,

* Mona Schallau * Jeff Borowiak *

Kathy Blake Kathleen Blake (born December 18, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. Blake, a California native, won the USTA Under-16s national hardcourt championships in 1962. Before the introduction of tiebreaks, she held the record for ...

* Patrick DuPre * Jane Stratton * Tom Edlefsen *

Gerald Battrick Gerald Battrick (27 May 1947 – 26 November 1998) was a Welsh tennis player who reached as high as No. 3 in Britain (and world No. 53), winning at least 6 titles. Personal life Gerald Battrick was born on 27 May 1947 in Bridgend, Glamorgan, w ...

* Linda Lewis * Jill Cooper *

Brian Teacher Brian David Teacher (born December 23, 1954) is a former American professional male tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking World No. 7 in 1981. Teacher is best remembered for his singles championship at the Australian Open in 1980. Hi ...

* Isabel Fernández *

Anand Amritraj Anand Amritraj (Tamil: ஆனந்த் அம்ரித்ராஜ்; born 20 March 1951) is a former Indian tennis player and businessman. He along with brother Vijay Amritraj led India into the 1974 Davis Cup finals against South Afric ...

( ta, ஆனந்த் அம்ரித்ராஜ்) * Paul Osbourn headball boy *

Paolo Bertolucci Paolo Bertolucci (born 3 August 1951) is an Italian former professional tennis player. He is currently working as sport commentator for Italian Sky TV. Bertolucci won the Davis Cup with Italy in 1976. His greatest success on ATP Tour was the v ...

* Mary O'Keef * Bob Chappell

Squad 1975

Two days after winning the WTT championship Fuhrer traded

Kim Warwick Kim Warwick (born 8 April 1952) is an Australian former professional male tennis player who competed on the ATP Tour from 1970–1987, reaching the singles final of the Australian Open in 1980. He defeated over 35 players ranked in the top ten ...

and

Rayni Fox Rayni Fox (born May 24, 1956) is an American former tennis player who was active from the mid-1970s until the early 1980s. As a junior player Fox was a singles runner-up to Mima Jaušovec at the 1973 Orange Bowl. In 1974 she won the U.S. Girls' ...

to the

for

Sue Stap Susan Stap Kust (born June 3, 1954) is an American former professional tennis player. A native of Deerfield, Illinois, Stap was ranked as high as 34 in the world while competing on the professional tour during the 1970s. She and her sister Sandy ...

. * Vic Edwards, Head Coach * Mark Cox *

* Evonne Goolagong-Cawley *

* Kim Warwick

Squad 1976

With Goolagong-Cawley signed for the 1976 season, Mark Cox was elevated to the Triangles' player-coach. The Triangles also recruited college star

JoAnne Russell JoAnne Russell (born October 30, 1954) is an American former professional tennis player. With playing partner Helen Gourlay Cawley, she won the Wimbledon ladies' doubles title in 1977. They beat the team of Chris Evert and Rosie Casals in th ...

and

Bernard Mitton Bernard Mitton (9 November 1954 – 5 May 2017) was a professional tennis player from South Africa. Mitton reached his highest singles ranking of world No. 51 on 15 December 1975, and his highest doubles ranking of 20 on 25 June 1984. His car ...

. Midway through the 1976 season the recently acquired

was traded for

Nancy Gunter Nancy Richey (born August 23, 1942) is an American former tennis player. Richey won two major singles titles (the 1967 Australian Championships and 1968 French Open) and four major women's doubles titles (the 1965 US Championships, 1966 Austra ...

. * Mark Cox * Dan McGibben, Head Coach (2nd half) *

* Evonne Goolagong-Cawley * Nancy Gunter (mid-season) * Bernard Mitton –

1976 Davis Cup The 1976 Davis Cup was the 65th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 58 teams would enter the competition, 32 in the Europe Zone, 14 in the Americas Zone, and 12 in the Eastern Zone. This ...

* JoAnne Russell * Sue Stap

Results

*1974: 30-14 Second in Central Section of Eastern Division—defeated Detroit 63-27 First Round—lost to Philadelphia 52-45 Eastern Division Final *1975: 36-8 First in Eastern Division—Bye in First Round—defeated Boston 2 games to 0 Eastern Division Final—defeated Golden Gaters (San Francisco) 2 games to 1 for WTT Championship *1976: 24-20 Second in Eastern Division—lost to New York 2 games to 1 Eastern Division Final *1977: Become Pennsylvania Keystones during off-season, intending to play home games in both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia; fold before season begins primarily due to financial reasons.

References

External links

World TeamTennis, official website

Love Triangles: Pittsburgh Adored its World Team Tennis Franchise by Rick Shrum (Post Gazette)

by Steve Dimitry {{Pennsylvania_Sports

Triangles A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non-collinear ...

Defunct World TeamTennis teams Sports teams in Pennsylvania Tennis in Pennsylvania 1973 establishments in Pennsylvania 1976 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Sports clubs established in 1973 Sports clubs disestablished in 1976