Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets
Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets was the name of three separate ice hockey teams based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The original team was part of the United States Amateur Hockey Association (USAHA) from 1920 to 1925 and developed from predecessors dating back to 1915. After winning the USAHA Championship in 1924 and 1925, the ostensibly amateur Yellow Jackets turned fully professional and became the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National Hockey League. After the Pirates relocated in 1930 to play as the Philadelphia Quakers, a second Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets club played for two seasons in the International Hockey League, a minor professional circuit. A third Yellow Jackets team was organized at the amateur level in 1935 by John H. Harris and competed in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League before folding in 1937.
PAA team of 1916–17
The Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets won the USAHA title in 1923–24
The Yellow Jackets relied on several unknown amateur players, including Carl Lehto and Jack Tuten, in early 1935.
The Yellow Jackets in February 1935
United States Amateur Hockey Association
The United States Amateur Hockey Association (USAHA) was an ice hockey governing body in the United States from 1920 to 1925, which operated at an amateur level. The league was filled with predominantly Canadian-born players, but struggled to achieve consistent attendance figures in the days before large arenas with artificial ice. The association disbanded in 1925, with some teams eventually joining the American Hockey Association, and one team joining the National Hockey League.
USAHA president William S. Haddock
Boston Athletic Association team in 1920–21
Boston Pere Marquette team in 1921–22 (Top row left to right: E. Anderson, Jim Healy, Frank Storey, Billy Roach, Alec Campbell, Bernie Healy, J. Collins (trainer), Spike Doran. Bottom row left to right: Johnny Murphy, Frank Synott, Arthur Donahue, Farrell Conley, Eddie Enright)
Raymie Skilton with the Boston Shoe Trades (1920–21)