Hamilton Tigers

Last updated
Hamilton Tigers
Hamilton Tigers Logo.svg
Founded1878
History Quebec Bulldogs
1878–1920
Hamilton Tigers
19201925
Home arena Barton Street Arena
City Hamilton, Ontario
Team coloursBlack, gold, white
   

The Hamilton Tigers were a professional ice hockey team based in Hamilton, Ontario that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1920 to 1925. The Tigers were formed by the sale of the Quebec Bulldogs NHL franchise to Hamilton interests. After years of struggling, the franchise finished first in the league in the 1924–25 NHL season, but a players' strike before the playoffs resulted in the franchise's dissolution. The players' contracts were sold to New York City interests to stock the expansion New York Americans. A namesake amateur team existed prior to and during the NHL team's existence, and a minor league professional team named the Hamilton Tigers existed from 1926 to 1930.

Contents

Franchise history

The origins of the team go back to the old Quebec Hockey Club team that started play in 1878. Originally an amateur team, it turned professional in 1909. Quebec was a charter member of the NHL in 1917, however, due to financial difficulties, and the NHA-NHL dispute, the franchise was dormant until the 1919–20 season, when it was operated by the Quebec Athletic Club. That season proved to be a dismal one; despite the presence of Joe Malone the club finished with only four wins in 24 games. [1]

After the 1919–20 season, the NHL took back the Quebec franchise and sold the team to the Abso Pure Ice Company of Hamilton, Ontario. [2] The club was moved to Hamilton for the 1920–21 season and renamed the Hamilton Tigers. This was done to prevent the startup of a rival league that was trying to land a club in Hamilton. [3] Hamilton was the fifth-largest city in the country and third-largest in Central Canada with a population of 114,200, and therefore was considered a vital market. Percy Thompson, a part-owner and manager of the Barton Street Arena, became manager of the team. [4] The team became known as the Tigers, a nickname used by a multitude of sports teams in the city. [5] Contemporary newspaper coverage often referred to the senior team of the same name in the OHA as the "Tigers", while the NHL team would either be nameless or simply referred to as "professionals". [6]

The move to Hamilton did not improve the team's record. Despite earning a shutout in their first game, the first team ever to do so, with a 5–0 win over the Montreal Canadiens on December 22, 1920, the Tigers were as noncompetitive as the Bulldogs. As a result, the NHL ordered the other three teams to supply players to the Tigers. [7] Receiving quality players from the other teams was not enough to keep Hamilton out of the league cellar with 6 wins, 18 losses, and no ties in 24 games. [8] Malone, kept out of the first four games for business reasons, scored 30 goals in 20 games.

The next three seasons were just as dreadful as the first. The Tigers finished dead last every year, making a total of 5 straight last place finishes (counting the one season as the Bulldogs). During these years, the Tigers attempted a rebuilding phase to bring the team up to par. After the 1921–22 NHL season, they hired Art Ross as their new coach and made several player changes, even trading superstar Malone to the Montreal Canadiens for Bert Corbeau and Edmond Bouchard. The fans were outraged at seeing Malone leave, but were vindicated when he scored a single goal in his lone season with the Canadiens.

Prior to the 1922–23 season, the NHL held its governors meeting at the Royal Connaught Hotel on King Street, the same location where visiting teams routinely stayed when playing the Tigers.

After four years of futility, things started to come together in the 1923–24 NHL season, with Percy LeSueur as the new head coach. Four players were acquired from the Sudbury Wolves of the NOHA: brothers Red and Shorty Green, Alex McKinnon, and Charlie Langlois, who all contributed to a team high of nine wins in 24 games.

Players revolt

The Globe reporting the players' strike on its edition of March 13, 1925 Hamilton-pros-on-strike.jpg
The Globe reporting the players' strike on its edition of March 13, 1925

With yet another new head coach (Jimmy Gardner), the Hamilton Tigers roared off to an impressive 10–4–1 start in the 1924–25 NHL season. Only halfway through the season, they had more wins than any other season in their NHL history. The team slumped somewhat in the second half of the season but still managed to finish first overall with a record of 19 wins, 10 losses, and 1 tie, just ahead of the Toronto St. Patricks. It looked like the franchise would have a chance at winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since winning it as the Bulldogs over a decade prior in 1913.

But it was not to be. During the rail travel back to Hamilton after the season's final game, the Tigers' players went to their general manager, Percy Thompson, and demanded $200 pay for the six extra games they played that season or they would not play in the playoffs. [9] The NHL had increased the number of games played that year from 24 to 30, but the players didn't receive an increase in pay. The Tigers management, stating that the players' contracts stated that the players were under contract from December 1 to March 30, regardless of the number of games, refused to pay the money and passed the issue to the NHL. [9] Thus began the first players' strike in NHL history. [10]

NHL President Frank Calder warned the players that if they sat out the final, they would be suspended and replaced in the final by fourth-place Ottawa. [11] At the same time, Calder ordered that the players' back-pay be held. [12] The impasse continued while second-place Toronto and third-place Montreal played their semi-final, ending with Montreal winning on March 13. On March 14, after consulting with Tigers management, Calder declared the Canadiens league champions and fined the Tigers' players $200. [13] The Canadiens then went on to play the Victoria Cougars for the Stanley Cup but lost. That marked the last time that an NHL team had lost the Stanley Cup to a rival league.

Takeover by New York

Thomas Duggan of Montreal, owner of the Mount Royal Arena, held two options for expansion teams in the United States. He sold the first of the two to Boston grocery magnate Charles Adams, who used it to start the Boston Bruins. He sold the second to a New York bootlegger named "Big Bill" Dwyer for a team to play in New York. At the NHL league meeting of April 17, 1925, Dwyer was granted an expansion franchise for New York. [14]

Although Dwyer wished to purchase the Hamilton players, for a little while it seemed that Hamilton might remain in the NHL as Abso-Pure talked about building a new arena. The arena was not built and Dwyer bought the rights to the Tigers' players from Thompson for $75,000. [15] Although Dwyer was ostensibly the owner of the Americans, due to his underworld ties he was not publicly named by the NHL at the meeting announcing the team. Instead, Colonel Hammond of Madison Square Garden, Duggan, and former Ottawa manager Tommy Gorman were announced as the officers. [16] The new team was for a time known as the "New York Hamilton Tigers" by the time it reached training camp, but this was changed to the New York Americans. [17] A Hamilton franchise was still considered to play in the NHL for the 1925–26 season, with a preliminary schedule including such a team, but nothing came of it. [18]

The last active Tigers player was Billy Burch, who retired in 1933.

Other Hamilton Tigers ice hockey teams

The OHA Tigers

At the time, the city had another Tigers hockey club, fielding teams in the Ontario Hockey Association, the senior team playing in the OHA Senior A League. The senior Tigers wore the same black and gold colours as the NHL Tigers, and were just as popular. When the newspapers reported about "the Tigers" it was usually in reference to the amateurs, while the NHL team was called "the Professionals." [6] The senior Tigers continued into the 1950s, winning the OHA championship in 1919, 1931, 1934, 1942 and 1944–1948. The team won the Allan Cup in 1919 and lost in the 1931 and 1946 finals.

Hamilton Tigers (CPHL)

In 1926–27, a new Tigers team was formed as an expansion franchise in the minor-pro Canadian Professional Hockey League. This Tigers team, along with the larger teams in the CPHL, broke away in 1929 to form the International Hockey League. In 1930, the Tigers moved to Syracuse, New York to become the Syracuse Stars. This franchise, along with three other IHL teams, merged with the Canadian-American Hockey League to form the International-American Hockey League, forerunner of today's American Hockey League. In 1940, the Stars were sold and transferred to Buffalo, New York to become the Buffalo Bisons, who survived until being displaced by the NHL's Buffalo Sabres in 1970.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

SeasonGPWLTPtsGFGAPIMFinishPlayoffs
Relocated from Quebec
1920–21 24618012921321544th in NHLDid not qualify
1921–22 2471701488105764th in NHLDid not qualify
1922–23 24618012811101824th in NHLDid not qualify
1923–24 249150186368834th in NHLDid not qualify
1924–25 30191013990603321st in NHLTeam suspended
Totals1264778195414475827

Hall of Famer players

Source [19]

Team coaches

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quebec Bulldogs</span> Ice hockey team from 1878 to 1920

The Quebec Bulldogs were a men's senior-level ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The team was officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club, and later as the Quebec Athletic Club. One of the first organized ice hockey clubs, the club debuted in 1878 with the opening of the Quebec Skating Rink. The club continued as an amateur team through various leagues, eventually becoming professional in 1908. The club would play in the National Hockey Association and the National Hockey League. In 1920, the team moved to Hamilton, Ontario and became the Hamilton Tigers.

The National Hockey Association (NHA), initially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey League (NHL), and much of the business processes of the NHL today are based on the NHA. Founded in 1909 by Ambrose O'Brien, the NHA introduced 'six-man hockey' by removing the 'rover' position in 1911. During its lifetime, the league coped with competition for players with the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the enlistment of players for World War I and disagreements between owners. The disagreements between owners came to a head in 1917, when the NHA suspended operations in order to get rid of an unwanted owner, Eddie Livingstone.

The 1917–18 NHL season was the first season of the National Hockey League (NHL) professional ice hockey league. The league was formed after the suspension of the National Hockey Association (NHA). Play was held in two halves, December 19 to February 4, and February 6 to March 6. The Canadiens won the first half, and Toronto the second half. The season was contested by four teams, down from six in the previous season, finishing with only three, in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. The Montreal Wanderers withdrew early in January 1918 after their rink, the Westmount Arena, burned down. Toronto won the NHL playoff and then won the Stanley Cup, by defeating the PCHA's Vancouver Millionaires three games to two in a best-of-five series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Malone</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Maurice Joseph Malone was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre. He played in the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey League (NHL) for the Quebec Bulldogs, Montreal Canadiens, and Hamilton Tigers from 1910 to 1924. Known for his scoring feats and clean play, Malone led the NHL in goals and points in 1918 and 1920, and the NHA in goals twice, in 1913 and 1917. He won the Stanley Cup with Quebec in 1912 and 1913. He is the only player in the history of the NHL to score seven goals in a single game, accomplishing the feat in 1920. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto Blueshirts</span> Ice hockey team

The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts, was a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They were a member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The club was founded in 1911 and began operations in 1912. The club won its sole Stanley Cup championship in 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sprague Cleghorn</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Henry William Sprague "Peg" Cleghorn, also known as "The Big Train", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player from Westmount, Quebec who played 17 professional seasons between 1911 and 1929 for the Renfrew Creamery Kings and Montreal Wanderers in the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams, winning with the Senators in 1920 and 1921 as well as with the Canadiens in 1924. His brother Odie was also a professional player and the two played several seasons together.

The 1920–21 NHL season was the fourth season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Four teams each played 24 games in a split season. The Quebec franchise was transferred to Hamilton, Ontario, to become the Hamilton Tigers. The Ottawa Senators won the league championship in a playoff with the Toronto St. Patricks. The Senators went on to win the Stanley Cup by defeating the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association three games to two in a best-of-five series. This would be the last split season before the NHL changed its regular season and playoff formats.

The 1924–25 NHL season was the eighth season of the National Hockey League. The NHL added two teams this season, a second team in Montreal, the Montreal Maroons and the first U.S. team, the Boston Bruins. Six teams each played 30 games.

The 1925–26 NHL season was the ninth season of the National Hockey League (NHL). The NHL dropped the Hamilton, Ontario, team and added two new teams in the United States (US), the New York Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates, to bring the total number of teams to seven. The Ottawa Senators were the regular-season champion, but lost in the NHL playoff final to the Montreal Maroons. The Maroons then defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Victoria Cougars of the newly renamed Western Hockey League three games to one in a best-of-five series to win their first Stanley Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percy LeSueur</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Percivale St-Helier LeSueur, known as "Peerless Percy", was a Canadian senior and professional ice hockey goaltender and later involved in the game as referee, coach, manager and owner. He was a member of the Smiths Falls Seniors for three years, with whom his performance in a 1906 Stanley Cup challenge series attracted the attention of his opponents, the Ottawa Silver Seven. Although his team lost the series, LeSueur excelled in goal, keeping the games close. Nine days after the defeat, he joined the Silver Seven and played in a challenge match against the Montreal Wanderers. He remained with Ottawa through the 1913–14 season where he served as team captain for three seasons, and assumed coaching duties in his final season with the team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottawa Senators (original)</span> Canadian ice hockey club from 1883 to 1954

The Ottawa Senators were an ice hockey team based in Ottawa, which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League (NHL) and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934. The club, which was officially the Ottawa Hockey Club, was known by several nicknames, including the Generals in the 1890s, the Silver Seven from 1903 to 1907 and the Senators dating from 1908.

The 1910–11 NHA season was the second season of the now defunct National Hockey Association. The Ottawa Hockey Club won the league championship. Ottawa took over the Stanley Cup from the Montreal Wanderers and defended it against teams from Galt, Ontario, and Port Arthur, Ontario.

In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I and Tier II. In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate independently of the OHA. Finally in 1980, the OMJHL became the Ontario Hockey League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1917–18 Toronto Hockey Club season</span> NHL hockey team season (1st in NHL, won Stanley Cup)

The 1917–18 Toronto Hockey Club season was the first season of the new Toronto franchise in the newly-organized National Hockey League (NHL). The team was intended as a 'temporary' franchise, operating without an official club nickname and without a formal organization separate from the Toronto Arena Company that managed the Arena Gardens. Despite this, the team came together to win the first NHL Championship, competing against existing teams that had transferred directly from the National Hockey Association (NHA). Toronto would go on to win the Stanley Cup by defeating the Pacific Coast Hockey Association champion Vancouver Millionaires – the first Stanley Cup for an NHL team and the second Cup for a Toronto team after the Toronto Blueshirts' victory in the 1913–14 season of the NHA. To this day, the Toronto Arenas are the only team in the four major North American sports to win the title in their first season as a franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the National Hockey League (1917–1942)</span> History of the Canadian league

The National Hockey League (NHL) was founded in 1917 following the demise of its predecessor league, the National Hockey Association (NHA). In an effort to remove Eddie Livingstone as owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, a majority of the NHA franchises suspended the NHA and formed the new NHL. The Quebec Bulldogs, while a member, did not operate in the NHL for the first two years. Instead the owners of the Toronto Arena Gardens operated a new Toronto franchise. While the NHL was intended as a temporary measure, the continuing dispute with Livingstone led to the four NHA owners meeting and making the suspension of the NHA permanent one year later.

The 1917–18 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's ninth season and first as a member of the new National Hockey League (NHL). The Canadiens sided with other members of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and voted to suspend the NHA and start the NHL to expel the Toronto Blueshirts ownership. The Canadiens qualified for the playoffs by winning the first half of the season, but lost the playoff to the temporary Toronto franchise, made up of Blueshirts players.

The 1917–18 Montreal Wanderers season was the 15th and final season of play of the Montreal Wanderers ice hockey club. Along with the Canadiens, Ottawa and Quebec, the club voted to suspend the National Hockey Association (NHA) and form the National Hockey League (NHL) to freeze out the Toronto NHA franchise owner. On the ice club still had difficulties fielding a competitive club, and when the Montreal Arena burned down, owner Sam Lichtenhein elected to suspend the club. The team is officially credited with having played six games, though they only actually played the first four; the other two were declared forfeit.

The 1920–21 Hamilton Tigers season was the first season of play for the new Hamilton Tigers team in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Tigers finished in last place in both halves of the season and did not qualify for the playoffs. The team previously had played in Quebec City, where they were known as the Quebec Bulldogs, but had been sold to Hamilton interests in 1920. Joe Malone led the team in scoring, with 28 goals in 20 games.

The 1925–26 New York Americans season was the first season of the New York Americans ice hockey team of the National Hockey League. Despite having the roster of the previous season's top club, the Hamilton Tigers, the club finished in last place.

References

Citations

  1. Coleman 1964 , pp. 368–369
  2. Wesley & Wesley 2005 , p. 30
  3. Holzman & Nieforth 2002 , pp. 214–224
  4. Wesley & Wesley 2005 , p. 32
  5. Wesley & Wesley 2005 , p. 25
  6. 1 2 Wesley & Wesley 2005 , p. 40
  7. Coleman 1964 , p. 378
  8. Wesley & Wesley 2005 , p. 43
  9. 1 2 Wesley & Wesley 2005 , p. 80
  10. Duplacey, James (February 2008). Hockey's Book of Firsts. JG Press. p. 40. ISBN   978-1-57215-037-9.
  11. "Hamilton "Pro" Team Demands More Money". The Globe. March 13, 1925. p. 8.
  12. Wesley & Wesley 2005 , p. 81
  13. "Canadiens Declared Champions of N.H.L". The Globe. March 16, 1925. p. 8.
  14. Holzman & Nieforth 2002 , pp. 262–263
  15. Holzman & Nieforth 2002 , p. 264
  16. Coleman 1964 , p. 487
  17. Wesley & Wesley 2005 , p. 87
  18. Holzman & Nieforth 2002 , p. 265
  19. 1 2 Wesley & Wesley 2005 , p. 93

Sources

  • Coleman, Charles L. (1964), The Trail of the Stanley Cup, Volume 1: 1893–1926 inc., Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing, OCLC   957132
  • Fischler, Stan; Shirley Fischler; Morgan Hughes; Joseph Romain; James Duplacey (1999). 20th Century Hockey Chronicle. Publications International Ltd.
  • Holzman, Morey; Nieforth, Joseph (2002), Deceptions and Doublecross: How the NHL Conquered Hockey, Toronto: Dundurn Press, ISBN   1-55002-413-2
  • Ross, J. Andrew (2015), Joining the Clubs: The Business of the National Hockey League to 1945, Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, ISBN   978-0-8156-3383-9
  • Wesley, Sam; Wesley, David (2005), Hamilton's Hockey Tigers, Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, ISBN   978-1-55028-887-2
  • Wong, John Chi-Kit (2004), Lords of the Rinks: The Emergence of the National Hockey League, University of Toronto Press, ISBN   0-8020-3725-9
  • Hamilton Herald Newspaper articles, (1920–1925)