When six became 12.
Sixty years ago Wednesday, the National Hockey League planted the seeds for what would become its first major expansion, hoping to create six new teams, ballooning from the Original Six to 12 teams in total.
In declaring its intention to expand into new markets, this date is indirectly where hockey in Pittsburgh would change forever.
By spring 1965, state Sen. Jack McGregor had already begun lobbying to bring an NHL team back to Pittsburgh after the Pittsburgh Pirates folded in 1930. Sen. McGregor rallied a group of local investors that included prominent businessmen like H. J. Heinz III, Pittsburgh Steelers’ owner Art Rooney, and Richard Mellon Scaife to show the league that Pittsburgh had the deep pockets necessary to own a franchise.
After receiving enough votes from NHL owners, Pittsburgh was awarded one of the new NHL teams on Feb. 8, 1966, which was to begin play during the 1967-68 season.
No sting left for the Hornets
With the yet-to-be-named Penguins getting ready to play in a newly-renovated Civic Arena, the Pittsburgh Hornets, then the American Hockey League affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, were going to cease operations.
The Hornets proved to be something of a mainstay in the Pittsburgh sports scene, having operated from 1936 to 1967 (with a five-year hiatus from 1956 to 1961).
By the time the Hornets were shut down, they had won three Calder Cup titles, including in the 1966-67 season, their final in operation, by sweeping the Rochester Americans in the championship series.
Throughout its history, the Hornets featured teams with several Hall of Famers, including Sid Abel, Andy Bathgate, and Tim Horton. Horton and Bathgate also played for the Penguins at various points in their careers.