Sports
The Pittsburgh area served as a launchpad for the professionalization of both American football and ice hockey in the 1890s and 1900s. The first professional player (William Heffelfinger) played for a Pittsburgh football team in 1892, which was followed by the first open professional (John Brallier), the first all-professional team (the Latrobe Athletic Association), and a participant in the first all-professional league (the Pittsburgh Stars of the first National Football League). In the case of ice hockey, the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League was the first hockey league to pay its players in 1901, eventually merging into the first fully pro league, the International Professional Hockey League, in 1904. Professional hockey in Pennsylvania predated the professionalization of the game in Canada (where it eventually came to dominate in the early 20th century) by four years.
As of 2013, the region is home to three "major league" franchises:
- Pittsburgh Pirates in Major League Baseball (founded 1882)
- Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (founded 1933)
- Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League (founded 1967)
It also has several minor league teams including:
- Washington Wildthings farm team Baseball.
- Pittsburgh Power Arena Football
- Pittsburgh Riverhounds, a professional soccer team in the USL Pro League
Read more about this topic: Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area
Famous quotes containing the word sports:
“It is usual for a Man who loves Country Sports to preserve the Game in his own Grounds, and divert himself upon those that belong to his Neighbour.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)
“In the end, I think you really only get as far as you’re allowed to get.”
—Gayle Gardner, U.S. sports reporter. As quoted in Sports Illustrated, p. 87 (June 17, 1991)
“Falling in love is the right adventure for those who dislike sports and travel.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)