It was a long time coming - 23 years to
be exact - but when the Pittsburgh Penguins
finally won the Stanley Cup in 1991, they
went right out and did it again and became
only the fourth non-Original Six team
to accomplish that.
Back-to-back championships were the crown
jewels for a city rich in hockey history.
Pittsburgh's love affair actually began
with an NHL team, the Pirates, that played
in Steeltown from 1925 to 1930.
In the mid-1930s, the American Hockey
League came to town. The team was called
the Hornets, a beloved bunch that was
successful on the ice and at the box office.
The six-team expansion of the NHL in
1967 meant the end for the Hornets, but
the team went out with a flourish, winning
both the AHL regular-season title and
the Calder Cup playoff championship in
their final season.
Enter the Penguins, so-named by the winner
of a contest because the team was to play
its home games in the Pittsburgh Civic
Arena, which was nicknamed "The Igloo".
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