Why Pittsburgh's Teams All Sport The Same Black And Gold Color Scheme

May 2024 ยท 2 minute read

According to The Maryland State House, Pitt died in 1778. WESA notes that John Forbes, a general in the British Army, decided to name what would eventually be the city of Pittsburgh after him in 1761. Many years later, the aforementioned "Mr. Jones" took Pitt's family crest, which features a black shield, gold coins, and a blue and white checkerboard pattern, to create the Pittsburgh city seal (per the Pittsburgh City Paper). Louise Sturgess, from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, told WESA that the symbols and colors from the crest are significant.

She said, "The black shield is the idea of constancy or grief, think about it in terms of endurance, perseverance. He has three gold coins, those are called Bezants, and it comes from the idea of a gold coin from Byzantium which became Constantinople and is now Istanbul. And they were symbols of trust and honesty." As for blue and white, they represent peace.

However, the Pittsburgh City Paper notes that Jones designed the city seal to be a little different from the Pitt Family Crest. Instead of gold coins, eagles, which represent power, were added to the design. Despite this small change, the colors from the Pitt family crest and later the city seal have remained timeless. Sturgess explained, "They've been used by all of our sports teams and so they are colors that mean Pittsburgh, definitely a source of pride."

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