Ice hockey team in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The
Pittsburgh Keystones
were a
semi-professional
ice hockey
club, located in
Pittsburgh
,
Pennsylvania
and was a member of the
Western Pennsylvania Hockey League
, the first league to openly hire hockey players, from 1900?1904. The team played all of its games at the
Duquesne Garden
, and was involved in allowing
Harry Peel
become the first admitted professional hockey player in 1902.
History
[
edit
]
The Keystones' history can be traced to the
Keystone Bicycle Club
,
[2]
which was organized in 1879.
[3]
The bicycle club attempted to branch into hockey in 1899 when it applied to be the new member of the
Western Pennsylvania Hockey League
, which was expanding from three to four teams.
[4]
Although the
Pittsburgh Bankers
were admitted instead,
[5]
the Keystone club had only to wait another year before the
Western University of Pennsylvania
withdrew from the league, allowing the Keystones to fill the vacancy.
[2]
In forming its team the Keystones heavily recruited from
Canada
, a practice that was soon copied by the other teams in the WPHL.
[2]
The Keystone club made an auspicious debut by beating the two-time defending champion
Pittsburgh Athletic Club
in the opening game of the WPHL's
1900?01 season
. Keystone continually strengthened its team during the season but finished second to the PAC, which did not lose another league game on its way to a third consecutive title.
[2]
[6]
Aside from league play, the WPHL teams also played exhibition games against some of the best amateur teams from North America.
[7]
During the
1901?02 season
, goaltender
Riley Hern
, a future member of the
Hockey Hall of Fame
, began his professional career with the Keystones. In his first season, Hern led the league in victories, with nine in 14 games and was named to the WPHL All-Star Team.
[8]
Joining Hern on the team in 1901 was
Arthur Sixsmith
who moved to Pittsburgh and turned professional with the Keystones.
[9]
The Keystones went on to win the 1901?02 WPHL championship title, finally ending the reign of the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. However, the Keystones reversed their fortunes in
the following season
, with a last-place finish and with Hern this time leading the league in losses.
[10]
[8]
First admitted professional player
[
edit
]
In the summer of 1902 Harry Peel, a Keystones player in 1901?02, admitted that he was paid $35 a week to play in the so-called amateur league and so no amateur teams would play against these teams again without being suspended by either Canadian or U.S. officials. According to Peel "[The Keystones] make no bones whatever about paying men. If they do not pay them, they give them fake positions." Peel was later suspended by the
Ontario Hockey Association
and his appeal was rejected on December 10, 1903 and again on November 30, 1904. However, by the
1902?03 season
the WPHL was known as a fully professional league.
[7]
Decline
[
edit
]
The next season, the
Portage Lakes Hockey Club
of
Houghton, Michigan
began a professional league which continued to play professional exhibition game against the WPHL's
Pittsburgh Bankers
. However the exposure given by playing Portage Lakes raised the profiles of some of the Pittsburgh players, who were lured away after the season for the promise of better pay in
Michigan
. The team soon raided Pittsburgh’s teams for top players like Riley Hern and
Bruce Stuart
. This led the Keystones to withdraw from the league on January 17, 1904. Their players were then redistributed among the three other WPHL teams.
[11]
Prominent Players
[
edit
]
Keystones players inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame
:
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Keystones to Take a Trip"
.
The Pittsburg Press
. January 10, 1904. p. 20.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Miller, Charles S. (November 24, 1901).
"Speed is Hockey's Chief Charm"
.
The Pittsburg Press
. p. 35 – via Google News Archive.
- ^
"[untitled]"
.
Bassett's Scrap Book
. Vol. 6, no. 12. February 1909. p. 191.
- ^
"Cycling and Athletics"
.
The Pittsburg Press
. October 15, 1899. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"The Bankers' Team"
.
Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette
. October 18, 1899. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Western Pennsylvania HL 1900?1901"
.
Society for International Hockey Research
. Retrieved
May 12,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Fitzsimmons, Ernie.
"Pittsburgh can lay claim to at least a portion of the birth of professional hockey"
. Pittsburgh Hockey.net
. Retrieved
April 20,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"Player Inductees ? Riley Hern"
.
Hockey Hall of Fame
. Retrieved
2012-06-05
.
- ^
Landucci, Fred (September 27, 1961).
"First 'Pros' Start League Play in 1902"
.
The Pittsburgh Press
. p. 21.
- ^
"Western Pennsylvania HL 1902?1903"
.
Society for International Hockey Research
. Retrieved
May 12,
2022
.
- ^
"Before the NHL: Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, International Professional Hockey League"
. Crashing the Net
. Retrieved
April 20,
2012
.
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