The Pittsburgh Lyceum Club, or Pittsburgh Lyceum, was a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team based in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. It was a member of the

Western Pennsylvania Hockey League The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL) was an originally amateur and later professional ice hockey league founded in 1896 and existing through 1909. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the league became the pre-eminent ice hockey league in ...

from 1907 to 1908 and played all of its games at

Duquesne Garden The Duquesne Gardens (officially Duquesne Garden until 1940 and The Gardens afterward) was the main sports arena located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the first half of the 20th century. Built in 1890, the building ...

History

After the WPHL was revived for the 1907–08 season, it was determined that two new teams would be needed so that the league could return to its four-team format. That season, the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

and the Lyceum entered the league. During its brief time in the WPHL, the Lyceum team included several notable players such as Jack Marks, Tommy Smith and Garnet Sixsmith. Marks, however, only played in three games for the Lyceum before he jumped to the

Ontario Professional Hockey League The Ontario Professional Hockey League (OPHL), sometimes referred to as the Trolley League, and also known as the Canadian Hockey League in its time, was a professional ice hockey league in Canada. It was a fully professional league and consisted ...

(OPHL), eventually playing in the Toronto Professional Hockey Club's

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

challenge. Meanwhile, Sixsmith reportedly scored eleven goals in a game in Pittsburgh, which was considered to be a record for Duquesne Garden. Lyceum player Tommy Smith was later inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

. In its first year of play, the Lyceum posted an 11–5–1 record, earning second place in the standings. Unable to rely on a stable line-up, due to the number of league players changing contracts, the Lyceum was forced to fold on December 23, 1908. The WPHL then discontinued after the 1908–09 season. The broader Lyceum organization, which continued to exist as a

multi-sport club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

, formed another hockey team for the winter of 1920–21 and placed it in the Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League. The team tied for third in the six-team league with a 4–5 record.

Prominent players

Members of the

who played for the Lyceum: * Tommy Smith

References

{{Pittsburgh sports

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

Defunct ice hockey teams in Pennsylvania

1907 establishments in Pennsylvania 1908 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Ice hockey clubs established in 1907 Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1908