Pittsburgh Hornets (1936-1956)
April 11, 2020
The original Pittsburgh Hornets hockey team enjoyed a 20-year run at the old Duquesne Gardens sports arena and dance hall on North Craig Street between 1936 and 1956. The Hornets won the Calder Cup as champions of the American Hockey League in 1952 and 1955. The Hornets went out of business in 1956 when the Duquesne Gardens was demolished to make way for apartment buildings. Team owner John Harris launched a revival of the Hornets in 1961 after the construction of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. The later-era Hornets played in the AHL until the arrival of NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins expansion team displaced the minor league club in 1967.
