Pittsburgh Associates

Pittsburgh Associates was a consortium of the City of Pittsburgh and local businesses which owned the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1985-1996. It was spearheaded during a dark year for the ball club with national media focused on the Pittsburgh drug trials where many former Pirates as well as other major leaguers were brought up on Federal drug charges for offenses through the early 1980's. The Pirates had gone from contention and World Series victories as recently as a few seasons ago, to a 100 loss team and just as the long time ownership of the Galbreath's were looking for a new buyer, cities such as New Orleans and Portland were making attractive bids.

The Associates were spearheaded by popular Pittsburgh Mayor Richard S. Caliguiri and some prominent corporate leaders of such companies as Westinghouse and PPG. It assured that the club would stay a Pittsburgh tradition while a new long-term buyer could be found to keep the club in the city.