where did the pittsburgh pirates get their name
History of the Pittsburgh Pirates
The new owners also signed highly regarded second baseman Lou Bierbauer , who had previously played with the AA 's Philadelphia Athletics . The Athletics failed to include him on their reserve list , and the Alleghenys picked him up . Nonetheless , this led to loud protests by the Athletics , and in an official complaint , an AA official claimed the Alleghenys ' actions were `` piratical '' . This incident ( which is discussed at some length in The Beer and Whisky League , by David Nemec , 1994 ) quickly accelerated into a schism between the leagues that contributed to the demise of the A.A. Although the Alleghenys were never found guilty of wrongdoing , they made sport of being denounced for being `` piratical '' by renaming themselves `` the Pirates '' for the 1891 season . The nickname was first acknowledged on the team 's uniforms in 1912 . 
The new owners also signed highly regarded second baseman Lou Bierbauer , who had previously played with the AA 's Philadelphia Athletics . The Athletics failed to include him on their reserve list , and the Alleghenys picked him up . Nonetheless , this led to loud protests by the Athletics , and in an official complaint , an AA official claimed the Alleghenys ' actions were `` piratical '' . This incident ( which is discussed at some length in The Beer and Whisky League , by David Nemec , 1994 ) quickly accelerated into a schism between the leagues that contributed to the demise of the A.A. Although the Alleghenys were never found guilty of wrongdoing , they made sport of being denounced for being `` piratical '' by renaming themselves `` the Pirates '' for the 1891 season . The nickname was first acknowledged on the team 's uniforms in 1912 .
The  Alleghenys picked up second baseman Lou Bierbauer from the AA's Philadelphia Athletics, whom they had failed to include on their reserve list.
The Athletics  claimed that this action was `` piratical '' . The Alleghenys subsequently renamed themselves the Pirates for the 1891 season.
The new owners also signed highly regarded second baseman Lou Bierbauer , who had previously played with the AA 's Philadelphia Athletics . The Athletics failed to include him on their reserve list , and the Alleghenys picked him up . Nonetheless , this led to loud protests by the Athletics , and in an official complaint , an AA official claimed the Alleghenys ' actions were `` piratical '' . Although the Alleghenys were never found guilty of wrongdoing , they made sport of being denounced for being `` piratical '' by renaming themselves `` the Pirates '' for the 1891 season .