The Pittsburgh Rens were an American basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

 that was a member of the American Basketball League

American Basketball League (1961-1963)

The American Basketball League played one full season, 1961-1962, and part of 1962-1963. The league actually folded on December 31, 1962. The ABL was the first basketball league to have a three point shot for baskets scored far away from the goal.-Formation:...

. The founder of the ABL, Abe Saperstein

Abe Saperstein

Abraham M. Saperstein was an owner and coach of the Savoy Big Five, which later became the Harlem Globetrotters...

, was the owner of the Harlem Globetrotters

Harlem Globetrotters

The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...

 who had competed for many decades against the New York Rens and eventually bought the rights to the Rens' name. Because of the Pittsburgh Renaissance urban renewal project, it was convenient to coin the "Rens" as an instantly-recognizable name for this new version of a basketball team.

The team existed from 1961 until 1963. The Rens were owned by Lenny Litman, a prominent Pittsburgh businessman.

All of the team's home games were played in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena.

Year-by-year

Year	League	Reg. Season	Playoffs
1961/62	ABL	2nd, Eastern	Preliminary Round
1962/63	ABL	3rd	No playoff

External Links

Lenny Litman Obit