Founded more than a century ago in 1888, Pirates Club Greenside is the oldest sports club in Gauteng and one of the three oldest in the country. In 1952, after relocating several times in the central Johannesburg area, we found a permanent home in Sir Lionel Phillips Park on the Greenside/Parkhurst border. This park was donated to the city by the Sir Lionel Phillips Trust, with the proviso that it may never be developed for any purposes other than civic sport.

Pirates currently supports and provides facilities for eight (8) sporting codes – baseball, bowls, cricket, hockey, road running, rugby, squash and tennis.

As the leading public sports club in mid-Johannesburg, Pirates serves the suburbs of Greenside, Parkhurst, Parkview, Emmarentia, Linden, Northcliff, Craighall Park, Parktown and Blairgowrie.
These previously white middle/upper class suburbs have transformed recently because of the excellent location between the city CBD and Sandton CBD and are transforming into vibrant New South African urban communities. Further, Pirates has become an integral part of the surrounding communities by allowing primary and high schools in the region access to facilities that they would ordinarily not be able to provide to their learners.
Over the years Pirates has established an illustrious sporting record and is South Africa’s only non-university club to win both the national rugby and cricket championships.