Duquesne Athletic Club
CityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
LeagueWestern Pennsylvania Hockey League
Founded1908; 116 years ago (1908)
Operated1908–1909
Home arenaDuquesne Garden
Championships
Regular season titles1 (1908–09)
Alf Smith

The Duquesne Athletic Club was a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that played for only one season in 1908–1909. It won the final championship of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL).

History

In 1908, the newly organized[1][2] Duquesne Athletic Club (DAC) entered a hockey team in the WPHL for what turned out to be the league's final season of 1908–09. The club secured future Hall of Famer Alf Smith to captain the team and choose its players.[3][4] Though unable to retain Smith for more than a small part of the season,[5] the DAC finished with a 10–4–1 record to win the league title.[6] The championship came down to the last game of the season in which Duquesne beat the Pittsburgh Bankers 4–2.[7]

Three of the team's players, Harry McRobie, Tom Westwick and Joe Dennison, jumped their contracts in mid-season to play in Canada but soon changed their minds and returned to the DAC. For this reason, the team was nicknamed the "Prodigals".[8][9]

References to uniform color are in reports of a game played December 19, 1908; the team was referred to in one newspaper as the "brown and white artists"[10] and in another as the "maroon jersey wearers".[11]

References

  1. ^ "Pittsburgh to Be Represented by Another Fast Hockey League". The Pittsburgh Post. September 11, 1908. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "New Athletic Club Meets with Success". The Pittsburgh Post. October 28, 1908. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Western Pennsylvania Hockey League Season Opens Nov. 12". The Pittsburg Press. October 25, 1908. p. 19 – via Google News Archive.
  4. ^ "Canadian Hockeyists Are in Great Demand". The Winnipeg Tribune. October 16, 1908. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Alf Smith Goes to His Canadian Home". The Pittsburg Press. December 15, 1908. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Fitzsimmons, Ernie (2000). "Early Professional, Early Senior WHA and Modern Minor Professional League Standings". In Diamond, Dan (ed.). Total Hockey. Total Sport Publishing. pp. 414–432. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
  7. ^ "D.A.C. Defeats Bankers, 4 to 2, Capturing Hockey Championship". The Pittsburgh Sunday Post. February 7, 1909. Sec. 3, p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Prodigals Devour Calf P.A.C. the Victim". The Gazette Times. Pittsburgh. January 13, 1909. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Indoor Skating Season to Close Saturday Night". The Pittsburg Press. January 31, 1909. Sporting sec., p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Bankers and D.A.C. Hockey Teams Victorious in Double-Header". The Pittsburgh Sunday Post. December 20, 1908. Sec. 3, p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Bargain Night at Duquesne Garden". The Pittsburg Press. December 20, 1908. Sporting Sec., p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
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