Pittsburgh Allegheny (International Association)

Pittsburgh Allegheny was the name of the first professional baseball club to represent Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team was an unrelated forerunner to the American Association's Pittsburgh Alleghenies that were established in 1882, which continue today as the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Following the American Civil War, the leading baseball clubs in Pittsburgh were the "Enterprise", "Olympic", and "Xantha" teams. They played at Union Park, was located in the city of Allegheny, before it became annexed into Pittsburgh in 1907. On February 2, 1876, Pittsburgh lost its bid for a franchise in the newly established National League. Twenty days later, several local organizers formed the Allegheny Base Ball Club. Allegheny played their first game, defeating the Xanthas 7-3 at Union Park on April 15, 1876.

On February 20, 1877 the International Association was founded in Pittsburgh, and consisted of seven teams that played within Canada and the United States. It is probably the first minor league in baseball history. On February 22, 1877, after a year of playing as an independent club, Allegheny officially joined the new league. The club paid a $25 ($562.00 in 2016 dollars) entry fee and joined the new league.

The Allegheny would finish the season with a 13-6 record, the second best winning percentage in the league. The club consisted of twelve players in 1877, all of which later made it the majors. No other team in the league used so few players or had a total progression rate to the majors. The manager of the team was Denny McKnight, a lifelong Pittsburgh native who later went on to manage the major league Alleghenies 1884 season for 110 games. McKnight also served as the International Association's president after Candy Cummings resigned.

Allegheny did make two historic firsts in their brief history. On June 2, 1877 Allegheny played in the very first professional game to be decided in 19-innings. That day the club was defeated by a club representing Memphis, Tennessee in the League Alliance. Later that month on June 20, 1877 Allegheny tied a club representing Indianapolis and the League Alliance, 2-2, in the first game to be decided in 17-innings.