Each of the five major American professional sports leagues has eight clubs in Pennsylvania. Football is Pennsylvania's most popular sport, particularly in the Lehigh Valley, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Central Pennsylvania, and Western Pennsylvania. Baseball is also widely played throughout the state. The NHL has two teams in the Philadelphia area: the Flyers and the Penguins.
There is only one NBA team in Pennsylvania: the 76ers. But there was a time when there were two NFL teams here: the Eagles and the Steelers. Both of these teams now play in California.
The first major league team to represent Pennsylvania was the National Association of Base Ball Players' Philadelphia Athletics in 1875. Two years later, the National League added another Philadelphia-based team: the Phillies. These are the only two major league teams from Pennsylvania. However, several other major league teams have branches located in other cities within their respective states: the New York Giants (National League), the Brooklyn Dodgers (NL), the Chicago Cubs (NL), the St. Louis Cardinals (MLB), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB).
So, there are currently six major league teams based in Pennsylvania: the Athletics, the Braves, the Phillies, the Pirates, the Ravens, and the Redskins.
Baseball Both teams have experienced periods of success and failure. Pittsburgh is the only state that has two clubs in the same league (National League), but in different divisions (Pittsburgh in the NL Central and Philadelphia in the NL East). The Pirates joined the National League in 1876 as the first American Association team.
The franchise was born when William H. Thompson, who owned the Buffalo Bisons of the AA, acquired the Chicago White Stockings from the NL in exchange for John Ward's Club. When the White Stockings moved to New York after one season, Thompson brought his team east, renaming them the Pittsburgh Alleghenys after the Allegheny River which runs through both cities. The team began playing in a new, $250,000 stadium called Forbes Field in 1920. It was here that Babe Ruth made his debut with the Yankees, going 0-for-1 in an eventual win over the Pirates.
For most of its history, baseball in Pittsburgh was very popular among all demographics. The team had six consecutive 100,000+ attendances seasons from 1972 to 1977. However, falling ticket prices and the emergence of other sports caused attendance to decline, and by 1992, less than 20,000 fans came out to see the Pirates lose 1-0 to the San Diego Padres in Game 7 of the Division Series.
Harrisburg is the professional sports capital of South Central Pennsylvania. The region is home to a variety of teams, including three professional baseball clubs, the Harrisburg Senators, the Lancaster Barnstormers, and the York Revolution. There are also two professional football teams based in the area: the York Empire and the Harrisburg Hawks.
The first sporting event held in what would become Harrisburg was a bare-knuckle boxing match on May 23, 1829. The location was reportedly near present-day Lincoln Park across from what is now State Capitol Building. Twenty-five people attended this initial bout which featured two Americans named John Jackson (boxing legend claims he is the first true boxer) and George Dixon. Jackson won by TKO in the ninth round.
There were no other major events until 1835 when the first game of what would become known as modern baseball was played between the "Washington Blue Legs" and a team of Philadelphia players. This is considered by many historians to be the first official game ever played in America. It was also the beginning of the end for traditional ball/cricket games that had been popular with both American and British citizens before then. Baseball's popularity soon spread throughout the country, helping to pave the way for future sports like tennis, golf, and auto racing.
Sports for professional teams. The city of Pittsburgh has had a number of professional sports franchises over the years, and it now has three teams competing at the highest professional level in their respective sports: the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL, the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL, and the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. Each of these teams has won multiple world championships during their history.
In addition to these three major professional sports teams, Pittsburgh has also had several other teams that have been either semi-pro or amateur in nature. Some of these teams include: the Pittsburgh Pirates (1882-1891), the Pittsburgh Stogies (1892-1893), the Pittsburgh Keystones (1895-1896), the Pittsburgh Burghers (1897-1898), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1901-1902).
The first four of these teams played in the American Association. The Keystones and Burghers both played in the National Football Association (now known as the NFL). And finally, the current version of the Pittsburgh Pirates plays in the MLB. This team was founded in 1887 and they have won five World Series titles (1946, 1972, 1979, 1992, and 2001).
There are two universities in Pittsburgh that have college sports programs of their own. They are the University of Pittsburgh in South Hills and Oakland University in Rochester Hills.
Copyright © 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc.
