Professional baseball in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, dates back to an era of independent teams that began in 1876. Six years later, the team that would later become the Pittsburgh Pirates joined the now-defunct American Association, playing for five years as the Alleghenies. Once 1887 rolled around, the team switched affiliation to MLB's National League, where they have stayed ever since. Under the name Pittsburgh Alleghenies, the franchise struggled to put a cohesive roster together, acquiring players from various defunct clubs and American Association teams. One acquisition in particular, in which Pittsburgh signed Louis Bierbauer away from the Philadelphia Athletics after they neglected to place him on their reserve list, led to the accusation of the team being “piratical,” and that is where the franchise got its name. Making History The Pittsburgh Pirates’ first taste of victory came in 1901 when they won their first National League Pennant—and they followed that first win up with two more in the following two years. After winning their third consecutive pennant in 1903, the Pirates had the honor of playing in the MLB’s inaugural modern World Series. Although they lost that series to the Boston Americans (now the Boston Red Sox), they went on to win their first MLM Championship in 1909 and have won four more since then, the most recent being in 1979. Save on Pittsburgh Pirates Tickets The Pirates have played their home games at PNC Park since 2001. The stadium has a capacity of 38,362, the majority of the seats are on the first level, and the sections were designed to give every fan the best possible view. Purchase discounted Pittsburgh Pirates tickets using ScoreBig.com and spend a day at PNC Park cheering the Pirates to victory.