Funny story about how the Pirates got their nickname. In the 1870s team nicknames were just the plural of their location. You had the Bostons, the New Yorks, and the Pirates were the Alleghenys, but when the National League was established, teams joined with nicknames and Pittsburgh retained the Alleghenys nickname.

The rules for teams to retain players were in their infancy, and when the A's neglected to protect a talented infielder, the Pirates scooped him and others up quickly, causing one of the teams in 1891 to complain, "That's what a pirate would do." The Pittsburgh team embraced the name as their own though it didn't appear on jerseys for another 20 years. [/quote]

That's lame way to get a team name. Couldn't you make up a story like Black Beard the pirate sailed up the Mississippi and then the Ohio River and then plundered the outpost known as Spitz Boig, which later became Armpitsburgh and then finally Pittsburgh because the other name stunk. [/quote]

I think New York's sports failures and unpromising future are making you bitter. [/quote]

I think you are a soothsayer. The Philadelphia and New York teams combined - in all sports - could come up with a winner. We've fallen on hard times. But in the words of Peter Clemenza, these things happen every 5, 10 years.