Pittsburgh Hornets

Pittsburgh Hornets
founding	1936
resolution	1967
history	Detroit Olympics 1927–1936 Pittsburgh Hornets 1936–1956 Rochester Americans since 1956 Pittsburgh Hornets 1961–1967
Stadion	Duquesne Gardens (1936–1956) Pittsburgh Civic Arena (1961–1967)
Location	Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania
league	American Hockey League
Cooperations	Detroit Red Wings Toronto Maple Leafs
Calder cups	1951/52 , 1954/55 , 1966/67

The Pittsburgh Hornets were an American ice hockey franchise of the American Hockey League based in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . The Hornets' venues were Duquesne Gardens and the Pittsburgh Civic Arena .

history

When the International Hockey League and the Canadian-American Hockey League merged to form the International -American Hockey League in 1936 , the two-time playoff winner of the IHL, the Detroit Olympics , was relocated to Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania and renamed the Pittsburgh Hornets. As a cooperation partner, the Hornets selected the Detroit Red Wings from the National Hockey League , which had already worked with the Olympics during their IHL time. In the 1939/40 season, the franchise reached the final of the Calder Cup for the first time in its history , but was defeated by the Providence Reds in a sweep in the best-of-five series. In 1945, the franchise became a farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs from the NHL after previously worked for 18 years with the Detroit Red Wings. After two more final defeats in the 1946/47 season against the Hershey Bears and 1950/51 against the Cleveland Barons , the Pittsburgh Hornets won the Calder Cup for the first time in the 1951/52 season. In the final, Pittsburgh won 4-2 against the Providence Reds and was able to take revenge for the defeat in their first final. In the following season, the Hornets, who had reached the playoff final for the third time in a row, failed again at the Cleveland Barons.

After a first round off in the 1953/54 season, the team won the Calder Cup for the second time a year later. Due to the demolition of the old Duquesne Gardens in 1956, Pittsburgh had to temporarily stop gaming. Thereupon those responsible relocated the franchise to Rochester , New York , where it has since been active in the AHL under the name Rochester Americans .

After the Pittsburgh Civic Arena was completed in 1961, the Pittsburgh Hornets received permission from the AHL to continue the franchise after a five-year break. Initially, the Hornets did not manage to build on their past successes and missed the playoffs in the first two seasons after the resumption of play. There followed three years in which the Hornets were eliminated in the first round before they reached the finals in the 1966/67 season, where they beat the Rochester Americans in a sweep in the best-of-seven series and their third and won the last Calder Cup. After the season, the franchise was dissolved, as the Pittsburgh Penguins , a franchise from the National Hockey League was founded in the city for the first time .

Team records

Career records

Games: 534 Pete Backor

Goals: 130 Bob Solinger , John O'Flaherty

Assists: 253 Frank Mathers

Points: 319 John O'Flaherty

Penalty minutes: 442 Pete Backor

Well-known former players

Members of the Hockey Hall of Fame

• Sid Abel
• Chief Armstrong
• Marty Barry
• Andy Bathgate
• Leo Boivin
• Gerry Cheevers
• Fernie Flaman
• Doug Harvey
• Tim Horton
• Jack Stewart
• Frank Mathers (trainer)
• Bill Torrey (General Manager)
• Howie Meeker (Commentator)

Web links

• The Internet Hockey Database Statistics Pittsburgh Hornets
• The Internet Hockey Database - Player List Pittsburgh Hornets