The team was coached by Sprague Cleghorn, who won two Stanley Cups with the Ottawa Senators in 1920 and 1921 and another with the Montreal Canadiens in 1924. However, he was also regarded as one of the dirtiest players in the National Hockey League, since he led the league in penalty minutes for nine of its first ten years. Prior to the formation of the Shamrocks, the Cleghorn family was already known to Pittsburgh's hockey fans. Sprague's brother, Odie, was the head coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates when they became the city's first NHL team for the 1924-25 season.