Pittsburgh Hornets - History

History

The team started as the Detroit Olympics in 1927 playing home games at the Detroit Olympia. The Olympics played nine seasons in the Canadian Professional Hockey League which later became the International-American Hockey League.

In 1936 John Harris, a Pittsburgh theatre chain owner, purchased the Olympics in October 1936 and renamed the team the Pittsburgh Hornets. The Hornets were in originally in the Canadian Professional Hockey League, which was renamed the International American Hockey League in 1929.

The Hornets were led by former Olympics coach Don Hughes. the Hornets won their first two franchise games against the Cleveland Falcons on November 7, 1936, at the Duquesne Gardens. During the 1938–39 season, Larry Aurie replaced Don Hughes as the second coach in team history. That year Don Deacon led the IAHL with 41 assists and 65 points. In 1940, the Hornets won 25 and made the playoffs and advance to the Calder Cup finals. The Hornets were originally the minor-league affiliate of the Red Wings who won the Stanley Cup in 1936. Larry Aurie, a member of that team, was a player-coach and led them to their first appearance in the Calder Cup Finals in 1940 where they were swept in three games by the Providence Reds.

At the start of the 1940–41 season, the International-American Hockey League (IAHL) became the American Hockey League (AHL). During the early 1940s the Hornets has mediocre finishes. However during this time frame, the team still continued to set league records. In 1942, Red Heron set an AHL record by scoring six goals in one game, which is a double hat trick. Also in 1944, Bob Gracie and Bob Walton were the AHL's top scorers with each recording 95 points in the season. Two AHL records were set on March 17, 1945: Pittsburgh the Cleveland Barons set the mark for most goals scored in one period by netting a combined 12 goals in the third period (Pittsburgh 7, Cleveland 5). The total goals scored in the game - 22 - is also a one-game record. However not all records set by the Hornets were positive. During the 1943–44 season the Hornets did not win one game away from the Duqesne Gardens. The winless record on the road was the first occurrence of such a feat in the history of the AHL. Following the season Larry Aurie ended his stint as coach to finish with a record of 129-162-39 in 330 games, a .450 winning percentage.

Following Aurie's departure, Max Kaminsky became the third coach of the Hornets in 1944. A year later, the Hornets became a minor-league club for the Toronto Maple Leafs ending their affiliation with the Red Wings. For the 1946–47 season the Hornets returned to the AHL Finals for the second time in team history, losing Game 7 to the mid-state Hershey Bears. The Maple Leafs' success with four Stanley Cup championships between 1947 and 1951 helped to solidify the position of the minor league Hornets. The Hornets played the Maple Leafs' style of hockey that involved hard, close checking that produced low scoring games. In 1948, the Hornets lost only 18 games, for their best record since 1938. Max Kaminsky would end his coaching career in 1947 with the Hornets. He had a .562 winning percentage. Kaminsky won 91 games, lost 68 and tied 27 in his 186 games behind the bench.

In 1948 the Hornets set the team all-time best record for goals scored in one season with 301 goals. Sid Smith became the first and only Hornets' player to score 50 goals in one season, finishing with 55 goals and 57 assists, the highest in the AHL, to earn the John B. Sollenberger Trophy for leading scorer. His 112-point total was also the highest in the league and the highest in Hornets' history.

However in 1949 tragedy struck the team when Hornets star goaltender Baz Bastien lost his right eye after being hit by a puck in preseason. He would later become the coach and general manager. The next year Bastien's replacement, Gil Mayer, went on to win the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award. The Hornets again made it to the Calder Cup Finals in 1951 but lost in Game 7 to the Cleveland Barons. Despite the loss, forward Bob Solinger was named MVP of playoffs with ten goals and six assists.