Pittsburgh Professionals

The Pittsburgh Professionals also called the Pittsburgh Pros were a professional ice hockey team that participated in the International Professional Hockey League (IPHL) from 1904 until 1907. The team was based in the Duquesne Gardens and was the first inter-city professional hockey team in the city of Pittsburgh. The Pros' line-ups included several important early professional hockey players, the most notable being Hod Stuart, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Formation

The club was made up of players from the various teams of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL), which dissolved after the 1904 season. The Pros included the very players from the WPHL so that Pittsburgh could compete in the league. The team joined the Portage Lakes Hockey Club, Calumet Miners, Michigan Soo Indians and Canadian Soo as members of the five-team league. At a November 5, 1904 meeting, the representatives of the Canadian Soo suggested a revenue sharing plan that would divide gate receipts in a 60–40 home-visitor split. This revenue sharing plan would make the long journey to Pittsburgh possible, considering the Pros played at the 5,000 seat capacity Duquesne Gardens.

Season-by-season

The Pros did not fare well in its first season. However, during the 1905–06 season they were one of three teams vying with Portage Lakes and Michigan Soo Indians for first place. The Pros would finish the season in third place. A year later, Pittsburgh once again came in third place furing the 1906-07 season, with Tommy Smith, Jimmy Gardner, Horace Gaul and goalie Jack Winchester joining Lorne Campbell in the line-up. Campbell and Smith finished ahead of Hall-Of-Famers Didier Pitre, Newsy Lalonde and Bruce Stuart in scoring.

Demise

The team and the IPHL existed until after the 1906-07 season. By that time professional hockey leagues were now popping up all over Canada and most of the players returned there for a better paycheck, so the IHL folded. It was then decided to reconstitute the WPHL for the 1908 and 1909 seasons, since there were no artificial ice rinks in Canada until 1911.

Notable players

• Hod Stuart