The Pittsburgh Press (formerly The Pittsburg Press and originally The Evening Penny Press) was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1992. At one time, the Press was the second largest newspaper in Pennsylvania, behind only The Philadelphia Inquirer. For four years starting in 2011, the brand was revived and applied to an afternoon online edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Early history The history of the Press traces back to an effort by Thomas J. Keenan Jr. to buy The Pittsburg Times newspaper, at which he was employed as city editor. Joining Keenan in his endeavor were reporter John S. Ritenour of the Pittsburgh Post, Charles W. Houston of the city clerk's office, and U.S. Representative Thomas M. Bayne. After examining the Times and finding it in a poor state, the group changed course and decided to start a new penny paper in hopes that it would flourish in a local market full of two- and three-cent dailies. The first issue appeared on June 23, 1884. A corporation was formed, with Bayne as the largest shareholder. Originally The Evening Penny Press, the title changed to The Pittsburg Press on October 19, 1887. The paper referred to the city as "Pittsburg" until August 1921, when the letter 'h' was added. In 1901, Keenan, who had by then gained financial and editorial control of the paper, sold out to a syndicate led by Oliver S. Hershman. Hershman remained the controlling owner until selling to the Scripps-Howard chain in 1923. Joint operating agreement In 1961, the Press entered into a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) with the competing Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Post-Gazette had previously purchased and merged with the Hearst Corporation's Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph leaving just itself and the much larger Pittsburgh Press. The JOA was to be managed by the Pittsburgh Press owners (E. W. Scripps Company) as the Press had the more extensive circulation and was the stronger of the two papers. Under the JOA, the Post-Gazette became a 6-day morning paper, and the Pittsburgh Press became a 6-day afternoon paper in addition to publishing the sole Sunday paper. 1992 strike, sale to the Post-Gazette On October 22, 1991, Press management announced significant changes, designed to modernize its distribution system, at the initial bargaining with the Teamsters Local 211 union, as well as eight other unions. The unions' contracts with the Press expired on December 31. Negotiations continued