Jack McGregor, a former Pennsylvania state senator who founded the Pittsburgh Penguins, died on Tuesday. He was 91.
The Penguins announced his death Thursday before a game against the New Jersey Devils at PPG Paints Arena. No further details were provided.
A native of Kittanning, McGregor, a Republican, served the state senate between 1963 and 1970, representing the 44th district in Allegheny County.
On January 6th, the original founder of the Penguins franchise, Jack McGregor, passed away at the age of 91.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 9, 2026
The team extends our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and teammates during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/rPgg5HZN9s
The Penguins came into existence in 1967 due to the efforts of McGregor along with friend Peter Block, who rounded up several investors, including prominent Western Pennsylvanian figures such as H.J. Heinz II, Art Rooney and Richard Mellon Scaife. When the NHL doubled its number of teams from six to 12 in 1967, McGregor’s bid was approved, resulting in the Penguins.
“The wealthy Pittsburgh families that were very much behind the intitial efforts of rebuilding Pittsburgh had been political supporters of mine, and I was able to convince them Pittsburgh would never be considered a big-league city without a big-league hockey team,” McGregor said in “Pittsburgh is Home,” a 2016 documentary celebrating the team’s 50th anniversary.
McGregor served as the franchise’s first president and chief executive officer. He also represented the Penguins on the league’s board of governors.
McGregor and his wife, Carol, dubbed the team “Penguins” following a contest to select the name. That selection was thought to be fitting of the teams home, the Civic Arena, colloquially referred to as “The Igloo.”
“The excitement took your breath away,” McGregor said, recalling the team’s first home opener. “It was close to a sellout. The fans were standing on their feet, screaming, for the first five or 10 minutes into that game. An experience I’ll never forget. It took many a year before that many people showed up again.”
By 1970, the Penguins were sold to the Donald Parsons Group.
