Penguins co-founder Block dead
PITTSBURGH – The founder and former co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Peter Block, died of cancer at his home in Santa Monica, Calif.
Block’s stepson, Gregg Silberman, said Block was “passionate about it and proud of” founding the Penguins, which joined the National Hockey League in 1967.
Block and a former law school classmate, Jack McGregor – who was then a state senator – developed the idea for the team in 1965 after learning the NHL planned to expand from six to 12 teams.
Block owned part of the team for just its first season, 1967-68, before re-investing in 1971 and remained a member of the ownership group until the team filed for its first bankruptcy in 1975.