Pittsburgh Athletic Club

In 1895, Pittsburgh officials, constructed the Schenley Park Casino which featured the first artificial ice-making plant in North America.

On December 30, 1895, the Pittsburgh Press made mention of a “great international hockey and polo tournament” opening game at the Casino.

No score or records were reportedly kept but the paper did note that the team from Queen's University outplayed the Pittsburghers, who had never played the game before.

To fill the team, the Pittsburgh Athletic Club recruited players from Canada with promises of high-paid employment and small cash incentives of roughly $30 per week.

[11] In 1904, the Pittsburgh Athletic Club was captained by Alf Smith, a future Hall of Famer, who won four straight Stanley Cup titles as a player and coach with the Ottawa Silver Seven from 1903 to 1906.

In 1904–05, a re-formed PAC team played a handful of exhibition games, including a series against the Dawson City Nuggets.

[14] The Pittsburgh Post described this version of the team as made up of "interscholastic players, skate boys from the Garden and has-beens of former years".