football in pittsburgh

Football in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh SportsPART II

Football• On November 12, 1892, William

Heffelfinger was paid $500 to participate in an American football game for the Allegheny Athletic Association. – With this transaction, he became the first

person to be paid to play football. • The first professional football game was

held at Recreation Park in Pittsburgh. • Heffelfinger scored the game's only points

as the Allegheny Athletic Association defeated the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, 4–0

• In 1933, as the oldest of nine children Art Rooney, who had been raised on the North Side of Pittsburgh, founded the Pittsburgh Steelers.– Originally nicknamed the Pirates, the team later

changed their name to the Steelers, to represent the city's heritage of producing steel.

– The Steelers' first season with a winning record came in 1942, however, they lost their first playoff game in 1947.

In 1969, the Steelers hired head coach Chuck Noll who utilized the draft in order to better the team.

• Three years later, in the first playoff game at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh's Franco Harris returned an errant pass for a game winning touchdown in a play that later became labeled the Immaculate Reception https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GMuUBZ_DAeM

• In 1974, the Steelers won their first Super Bowl in franchise history—a feat which they would repeat in 1975, 1978, and 1979 to become the first NFL franchise to win four Super Bowls.

• In 1992, Noll was succeeded by Bill Cowher who led the franchise to its fifth Super Bowl victory in 2006.

• Mike Tomlin succeeded Cower and led the Steelers to an NFL record sixth Super Bowl victory in 2009.

• As of 2009, the Steelers have 18 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

• In 2008, ESPN.com ranked Steelers' fans as the best in the NFL, citing their "unbelievable" sellout streak of 299 consecutive games.

Heinz Field • Home of Steelers and Pitt Panthers • Opened on 2001• Cost $281 million • 65,050 seats

– which the Steelers have been selling out for every home game since 1972.

Myron Sidney Kopelman (January 23, 1929 – February 27, 2008)

• In 1975, late Steelers radio broadcaster Myron Cope invented the Terrible Towel, which has become "arguably the best-known fan symbol of any major pro sports team."

The 6 Super Bowl wins for the Pitsburgh Steelers were.....

• Super Bowl IX - Jan 12th 1975 • Super Bowl X - Jan 18th 1976 • Super Bowl XIII - Jan 21st 1979 • Super Bowl XIV - Jan 20th 1980 • Super Bowl XL - Feb 5th, 2006 • Super Bowl XLIII - Feb 1, 2009

Pittsburgh Steelers

What events/people would you expect to see?

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmokKtmFV-QTop 5 Plays in Steelers’ History

Hockey in Pittsburgh

Penguins • First played in Pittsburgh in 1895, ice hockey grew in

popularity after the Duquesne Gardens opened in 1899.

• The Gardens housed the largest indoor rink in the world and was home to the city's first NHL franchise, the Pittsburgh Pirates, from 1925 to 1930.

• The Gardens also was home to the Pittsburgh Shamrocks and the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets of the International Hockey League as well as the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League.

In 1961, the Civic Arena was constructed for use by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. Founded as part of the 1967 NHL expansion the Pittsburgh Penguins have played home games at Mellon Arena until 2010.

1964 Mellon Arena

• The Penguins won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992. The teams included players Mark Recchi, Kevin Stevens, Jaromír Jágr, and Mario Lemieux.

• Lemieux holds multiple franchise records and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997.

• He suffered from multiple injuries, including Hodgkin's lymphoma, throughout his career.

• In 1999, Lemieux purchased the Penguins and saved the franchise from bankruptcy. He returned to play one year later as the first player/owner of the modern era.

• The Penguins returned to the Stanley Cup finals in 2008, led by top point scorers Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.

• As of 2008, the Penguins rank 113% above the national average for male television viewers aged 18 to 34.

• We have won 3 Stanley Cups: 1991, 1992, and 2009

Pittsburgh Penguins

What events/people would you expect to see?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csNiFY4SeKk (great moments in Penguins history – 9 min)