Sports in Pittsburgh 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, in both football and basketball. Local
Logos and uniforms of the Pittsburgh Steelers The uniforms have drawn major media attention. "USA Today" said that the Steelers looked like "bumblebee[s] in a Depression-era chain gang." 65% of respondents to an ESPN poll said they hated the throwback uniforms. NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk blog said the 2012 throwback uniform "ranks among the worst ever fashioned for any NFL team." The throwbacks were officially retired after the 2016 season. For the 2018 season, the Steelers will wear throwback black uniforms based on the design worn by the Steel Curtain teams of the 1970s. It is similar to their current uniforms but without the Steelers logo