The team's origins can be traced to the Pittsburgh Filipinos a short-lived minor league club in the independent United States Baseball League in 1912.[1] The team was known as the Pittsburgh Filipinos in honor of their manager, Deacon Phillippe, a former pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Filipinos finished in first place during the league's inaugural season, which lasted only one month, with a 19-7 record.[3]
Federal League
The team joined the Federal League, which launched as an independent minor league in 1913, and were renamed the Stogies. They finished the season in last place with a 49–71 record in a 120-game season.
In early 1914, the Federal League president James A. Gilmore discussed with Robert B. Ward, owner of the Brooklyn Tip Tops, that he was concerned about the financial backing of the Stogies' franchise. Ward then found Edward Gwinner, a railroad contractor with deep pockets. Gwinner was then partnered with architect C. B. Comstock as the new backers of the Pittsburgh Stogies. Doc Gessler was named the Stogies' manager. However, he was fired after only one month. Gessler was replaced by player-manager, Rebel Oakes. The team then took on the nickname of the Rebels, after Oakes took over as the team's manager. With some strong financial backing, the team did not fare so well on the field. They ended up in seventh place (next to last) that season, with a 64-86 record.[4]
During the 1915 season, the team finished in third position with an 86-67 mark, 0.5 games behind the first place Chicago Whales, who would go on to win the league pennant. That season Frank Allen pitched the first no hitter of the season, after the Rebels defeated the St. Louis Terriers 2-0 on April 24, 1915.
Pietrusza, David (1991). The Formation, Sometimes Absorption and Mostly Inevitable Demise of 18 Professional Baseball Organizations, 1871 to Present. Jefferson (NC): McFarland & Company. ISBN0-89950-590-2.
Wiggins, Robert Peyton (2008). The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs: The History of an Outlaw Major League. McFarland. ISBN978-0-7864-3835-8.