Sports in Pittsburgh a 50-mile radius of the city. Sports in Pittsburgh Sports in Pittsburgh have been played dating back to the American Civil War. Baseball, hockey, and the first professional American football game had been played in the city by 1892. Pittsburgh was first known as the "City of Champions" when the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Panthers, and Pittsburgh Steelers won multiple championships in the 1970s. Today, the city has three major professional sports franchises, the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins; while the University of Pittsburgh Panthers compete in a Division I BCS conference, the highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States,
1944 Camp Peary Pirates football team 1944 Camp Peary Pirates football team The 1944 Camp Peary Pirates football team represented Camp Peary during the 1944 college football season. The team compiled a 5–2 record. Red Strader, who was coach of the Saint Mary's Gaels football team before the war, was the head coach. The team garnered attention when, shortly before the season began, the Navy assigned eight former NFL players to Camp Peary. The eight included halfbacks Joe Vodicka, Andy Uram, Len Janiak, and Bob Morrow, fullback Joe Bokant, center Al Matuza, and tackle Bob Bjorklund. Other notable players on the team included ends Ralph Schilling