Hockey in the Pittsburgh area has a long and deep rooted history. Long before the Penguins entered the NHL in the first expansion in 1967-68, Pittsburgh was host to the NHL's Pittsburgh Pirates, named after the city's baseball team. The Pirates lasted for 5 seasons between 1925-26 to 1929-30 before they were moved to Philadelphia and became the Philadelphia Quakers. The Quakers' first season record was a dismal 4-36-4, and after that horrendous season the Quakers and the Ottawa Senators had their franchises cancelled.

Hockey later reappeared in Pittsburgh in the mid 1930's when John H. Harris purchased an AHL franchise and called it the Hornets. The Hornets left Pittsburgh when the Duquesne Gardens was torn down, and returned for the 1961-62 season after the new Civic Arena was built. By the time the 1967 season had finished, the Hornets were the AHL Calder Cup Champions and one of the city's loves. So it was with both elation and sadness that the Hornets left and the Penguins entered.

Part of the success of the Penguins over the years was due to Howard Baldwin who was the former president of the World Hockey Association and had transitioned into a successful club owner. When Craig Patrick took over as general manager in 1989 he built the club around superstars like Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr and turned the club into Stanley Cup champions.

The Penguins received their name not because of the tenacity or the ferocity of the species but because the new arena that had been build in the early 60's-the Civic Arena had a roof that resembled an igloo, and so the Penguins were christened. Their first uniforms did not even bear a penguin logo, but simply read "Pittsburgh" on a light blue jersey. Certainly not the type of uniform that would send fear running through an opponent!

Jack Riley was chosen as the first general manager and Red Sullivan the first coach. Because the Penguins had no bona fide farm team, they had to assemble their players through the draft process and by acquiring players from other teams and leagues. In the Expansion Draft they decided to go for experience and drafted players like Andy Bathgate, Earl Ingarfield and Ken Schinkel, all who were over 30. They later acquired other players like Al MacNeil, Val Fonteyne, Noel Price, Ab McDonald and Leo Boivin. In preparation for their entry into the league, the Penguins had purchased Ted Lanyon, Dick Mattiussi, Bill Speer and goalie Les Binkley from the Cleveland Barons.

The Penguins finished their first season with a 27-34-13 record, good for 5th place in the West Division. But perhaps more importantly the fans had been won over and the fear that they (the fans) would not support the Penguins early on was arrested. The majority interest in the team was also sold to a group of Michigan investors led by Donald H. Parsons, chairman of the Bank of the Commonwealth of Detroit. He quickly put to rest any rumours that may have started about a move out of Pittsburgh and committed that the team would remain put. There were even rumours that the Atlanta Braves baseball team was interested in the club along with Avon, the cosmetic company.

Red Kelly, former Toronto Maple Leaf and Detroit Red Wing star took over the coaching duties for the 1969-70 season and he quickly took the Penguins to their first post season game against the Oakland Seals. The Penguins took care of the Seals in 4 straight, but fell to the St Louis Blues in 6 games.

The following season the team was once again sold, this time to a Pittsburgh based group lead by "Tad" Potter. Jack Riley replaced Red Kelly as general manager and the Penguins acquired the services of "the Entertainer," Eddie Shack. All of these changes didn't help the Penguins in post season play. They only made the playoffs in 1970-71, but were quickly eliminated by Chicago. The one enduring mark they made in those years was the setting of the record (which still exists), for the fastest 5 goals by a single team in a game, 2 minutes, 7 seconds.

The 1974-75 season brought new hope with the likes of Jean Pronovost and All Star MVP, Syl Apps. The Penguins finished the season with a 37-28-15 record, good for 3rd in the newly formed Norris Division. They advanced to the playoffs facing the St Louis Blues in the first round and swept them. They then went to the quarterfinals against the New York Islanders. It was during this series that the Penguins became only the second team in NHL history to lose a best of 7 game series after leading 3-0 in games. Ed Westfall fired the winner for the Islanders while Garry Inness was in net for the Penguins.

In 1979 the Penguins adopted a new uniform. The pale blue was now replaced by black and gold, resembling the colours of the Pittsburgh Pirates ball team and the Steelers football team. The Bruins objected because they wore similar colours, but the Penguins pointed out to the league that the former Pittsburgh Pirates had worn similar colours. But the new colours didn't help the Penguins. They continued to fall in the standings and points nearly every year.

It wasn't until their last place finish in 1983-84 that good fortune would once again smile on Pittsburgh. With their lowly finish they garnered the 5th pick in the Entry Draft of 1984. That is when they selected Mario Lemieux of the Laval Titans in the Quebec Junior Hockey League. Mario wasted no time in establishing himself as perhaps the next Wayne Gretzky. He won the Calder Cup as rookie of the year in 1985, and the Hart and Art Ross Trophies in 1988. These weren't by any stretch of the imagination the only trophies that Mario won during his short career, but it demonstrates the power that he had in the league.

n 1989, Craig Patrick, grandson of hockey legend Lester Patrick, took over as general manager. One of his first moves was to trade for Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings. At the 1990 Entry Draft he also selected Czechoslovakian Jaromir Jagr, and later that year Bob "Badger" Johnson was named as head coach. It didn't take the Penguins long to make a statement as they won their first Division title in 1990-91, and followed that up with a Stanley Cup victory over the Minnesota North Stars.

Lemieux continued to improve and dominate the league. He was one of the only players who would interrupt Gretzky's domination of the Art Ross and Hart Trophies. In the following season, the Penguins won their second Stanley Cup with a four game sweep of the Chicago Black Hawks. In the off season, Bob Johnson was diagnosed with brain tumours and was replaced by Scotty Bowman. Later that fall, Johnson succumbed to his illness. Bowman took the Penguins to the Division Championships as well as winning the Presidents Trophy for the most points in the league.

Lemieux who was struggling with back injuries was also diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, and despite missing a month of the season, he returned in early March to capture another scoring title. The Penguins seemed to be headed for another Stanley Cup, but the New York Islanders got in the way, eliminating the Penguins in 7 games.

Just prior to the 1994-95 season, Lemieux announced he would take a years leave of absence to recover from his injuries and illnesses, leaving Jagr to pick up the slack. Jagr responded and won the Art Ross Trophy in the shortened 1994-95 season. Lemieux did as he said he would and returned a year later, and on October 28, 1995 he scored his 500th goal and went on to win the Art Ross Trophy one more time with 69 goals.

At the end of the 1996-97 season, amongst little fanfare, Lemieux retired. As of the 2000-01 season Lemieux still holds or shares 14 Penguin team records, and still remains in the top 10 all time scoring leaders. He is the ONLY NHL player to ever average more than 2.00 points per game average, and had he played as many regular season games as Gretzky and kept that average up, he would have surpassed Gretzky's amazing total of 2857 points.

Lemieux may have retired from the game but his love of Hockey couldn't keep him away and he became the owner of the Penguins in 1999. The Penguins were losing their luster and to counteract that Lemiuex announced late in 2000 that he would return to the Penguins lineup as a player. His first game is scheduled for December 27, 2000. It will be once again up to Lemiuex, Jagr and the newer players like Martin Straka to set the pace to once again bring the Penguins back to playoff contention.