The Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League (PAHL) began as an idea by a small group of men headed by Walter Brown, an Avalon businessman, and Judge John Brosky. Others credited with helping to get the league started included Jack Powell, Bill Siegried, Bob Klemz, Tony Magnelli, Mike Sutyak, Len Barcalow, and Joe Craig.

The core group met with Allegheny County political leaders at the North Park skating rink in December of 1960 to discuss the formation of youth hockey league. The County agreed to allow both the North and South Park skating rinks to be used on Saturday mornings before skating sessions. Since the cost of the ice time was covered by the County, the cost for each player to register was $5 to cover insurance costs.  The first season had a grand total of just 30 players.

Neither rink was ideal for hockey, as they were both outdoors. The North Park rink, in particular, presented several challenges. First, the rink was much larger than a regulation-sized hockey rink. Second, the rink had no markings for the red line or blue lines, so they had to be designated by cones. The rink also had no boards, only a metal handrail with cyclone fencing. Given the primitive setup, there were strict rules against checking. Eventually, the County installed real boards and painted lines, but those first teams to play there were truly trailblazers.

In March of 1961, one of the first games was played among the original 30 players.  That contest saw North Park defeat South Park, 3-2. The game was played prior to the Dapper Dan game that pitted the Pittsburgh Hornets against the Detroit Red Wings at the brand-new Civic Arena in downtown Pittsburgh.

The 1961-62 season was the first to see the formation of real teams: two at North Park and two at South Park. The teams were comprised of boys aged 10-14. The following season, the Midget age group -- then ages 14-16 -- was formed, and for the 1963-64 season the “Juvenile” division was formed of ages 16-18. 1964 also saw the North Park group change its name to North Hills Amateur Hockey Association, or “NHAHA” as most knew it.

At the start of the 1965-66 season, Mon Valley joined the PAHL, playing out of the brand new Rostraver Ice Garden. The PAHL continued its growth in 1968 with the addition of three associations: Cambria County, Eastern Pittsburgh, and Westmoreland. Cambria County played out of the new War Memorial in Johnstown, Eastern Pittsburgh played out of the Alpine in the Edgewood/Swissvale area of town, and Westmoreland played out of the Kirk S. Nevin Ice Arena in Greensburg. Four more organizations joined the PAHL in the 1970s: Morgantown entered in 1973, Beaver County was accepted in 1975, and Mt Lebanon and Wheeling both joined in 1977. Morgantown played out of the new Morgantown Municipal Ice Arena, and Beaver County played out of the new Brady's Run Ice Rink after playing one unsanctioned season at the Sewickley Ice Arena. Mt Lebanon also christened its new rink in 1977.

From 1978-1990, there were no new associations added to the PAHL. But with the Penguins’ back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships in 1991 and 1992, big changes took place in Pittsburgh’s youth hockey landscape. Between 1990 and 2000, a total of 17 new associations joined the PAHL, with 16 new rinks opening in the region during that time. The organizations that joined during this time were Central Pittsburgh (1990), Indiana County (1991), Allegheny (1992), Butler Valley (1993), North Pittsburgh (1994), Southpointe (1995), State College (1995), Lawrence County (1995), Somerset (1995), Erie (1995), South Hills (1997), Crawford County (1997), Airport (1997), Altoona (2000), Greater Pittsburgh (2000), and Pittsburgh Predators (2000).

Growth slowed but changes continued into the early 2000s in the PAHL. Eastern Hockey Association merged with the Pittsburgh Amateur Penguins in 2001. In that same year Central Pittsburgh disbanded when their rink on the South Side was padlocked. Airport Area Hockey rebranded itself in 2001 as the Arctic Foxes and moved to the new RMU Island Sports Center. A new organization moved into the vacated Airport Ice Arena in 2005 and called themselves the Aviators. As the decade rolled on, two organizations from outside of Pennsylvania joined the PAHL: Youngstown, OH (2006) and Cumberland, MD (2008). Fayette County was the last new organization to join the PAHL, entering in 2011.

Over its 60+ years, the PAHL has grown from its humble beginnings of two rinks and 30 players to more than 30 rinks, over 25 member associations, and greater than 5,600 players in Western Pennsylvania, Northern West Virginia, and Eastern Ohio.

Research Associate, Vince Comunale
          Alumnus of Allegheny Hockey - 1992-1995
          Alumnus of Eastern Hockey - 1995-1998

PAHL history will continue to be updated as new information is received.  If you have info or documents, in particular from the 1960s to the 1990s, please email to pahlconnect@pahockey.com.

Accuracy of posted data was difficult to confirm in some cases so any corrections to existing data can be emailed to pahlconnect@pahockey.com.