Amateur Hockey Association of Canada

Last updated
Amateur Hockey Association of Canada
Sport Ice hockey
FoundedDecember 8, 1886(136 years ago) (1886-12-08)
Inaugural season 1887
CeasedDecember 14, 1898(124 years ago) (1898-12-14)
CountryCanadian Red Ensign (1868-1921).svg  Canada
Last
champion(s)		 Montreal Victorias
Most titles Montreal Hockey Club (7)

The Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) was an amateur men's ice hockey league founded on 8 December 1886, in existence until 1898. It was the second ice hockey league organized in Canada, after one in Kingston, Ontario started in 1883. [1] It was organized to provide a longer season to determine the Canadian champion. Prior to its founding, the Canadian championship was determined in a tournament in Montreal. It is the first championship ice hockey league.

Contents

The 1893 champion of the league, Montreal Hockey Club was the first winner of the newly introduced Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup (later known as the Stanley Cup). Montreal was awarded the Cup as the champions of the AHAC since the AHAC was considered the top league of Canada.

History

Beginnings

A meeting was called, for those in favour of the formation of a Dominion hockey association, for the evening of 8 December 1886. Mr. J.G. Monk of the Victoria Hockey Club was asked to send a written invitation to Ottawa Hockey Club and the Quebec Hockey Club, asking each to send a representative to the meeting, Only Ottawa had responded. The meeting was held at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal and attended by the following delegates with Mr. Jack Arnton acting as Chairman and Mr. J. G. Monk as Secretary: [2]

Victoria Hockey Club

  • Messr J. G. Monk
  • Messer J. Arnton
  • Messer J. Muir

Ottawa Hockey Club

McGill College

  • C. H. Macnutt
  • Holden
  • Wylde

M.A.A.A.

Crystals Hockey Club

  • Robert Laing
  • McCaffrey

With all strongly in favour of forming the new association, the name given was the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada and a constitution similar to the one governing Lacrosse was adopted but modified to suit hockey. Afterwards, officers were elected for the upcoming inaugural season, who were: [2]

They agreed that the season should run from 1 January 1887 until 15 March 1887. [2]

The teams knew each other. They had competed at the Montreal Winter Carnival ice hockey tournaments from 1883–1885 and the 1886 Dominion Championship:

Thomas D. Green of Ottawa had played on the 1883 McGill hockey team.

The game

1884 Montreal Winter Carnival game at McGill rink. Unknown teams Ice hockey McGill University 1884.jpg
1884 Montreal Winter Carnival game at McGill rink. Unknown teams

In that age, ice hockey was a very different game compared to today: the AHAC rules stated that there were six skaters on each side. These were defined as:

The left-wing, centre and right-wing were the forwards, like today. The rover would line up behind the centre, with the point and cover-point following, in an 'I' formation towards the goaltender. The face-offs were at a right angle to today's practice, the centre men facing inwards from the sides of the rink. The goaltenders used no special equipment.

There were no goal nets. The goals were two posts, with no crossbar. An umpire would judge the legality of each score. There were no boards along the sides of the ice, and there were no standard dimensions for a rink, although dimensions were instituted for the positioning of the goal out from the ends of the rink.

A match was two halves of thirty minutes (also to note that in the day, game meant goal by modern definition). Sudden-death overtime was also in place, and a match would continue until a goal was scored in the event of a tie after regulation.

Players in all positions would normally play the entire 60 minutes.

The Senior Championship Trophy of the AHAC. Now on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Two player figures on each side of the base are lost. AHAC Trophy.jpg
The Senior Championship Trophy of the AHAC. Now on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Two player figures on each side of the base are lost.

Official Rules of the AHAC

  1. The captains of contesting teams shall agree upon two umpires (one to be stationed at each goal) and a referee.
  2. All questions as to games shall be settled by the umpires and their decision shall be final.
  3. All disputes on the ice shall be settled by the referee, and his decision shall be final.
  4. The game shall be commenced and renewed by a bully in the centre of the rink. Goals, six feet wide and four feet high, which shall be changed after each game, unless otherwise agreed.
  5. When a player hits a puck, any one of the same side who at such moment of hitting is nearer the opponent's goal line is out of play and may not touch the puck himself, or in any way prevent any other player from doing so until the puck has been played. A player must always be on his own side of the puck.
  6. The puck may be stopped, but not carried or knocked on, by any part of the body. No player shall raise his stick above his shoulder. Charging from behind, tripping, collaring, kicking or shinning, shall not be allowed, and any player after having been twice warned by the referee, it shall become his duty to rule the player off for that match.
  7. When the puck gets off the ice behind the goals it shall be taken by the referee to five yards at right angles from the goal line and there faced. When the puck goes off the ice at the sides it shall be taken by the referee at five yards at right angles from the boundary line and there faced.
  8. The goalkeeper must not, during play, lie, kneel or sit upon the ice, but must maintain a standing position.
  9. Hockey sticks shall not be more than three inches wide at any point.
  10. Goal shall be scored when the puck shall have passed between the goalposts and below the top and passed from in front below an imaginary line across the top of posts.
  11. The puck must be made of vulcanized rubber, one inch thick all through, and three inches in diameter.
  12. A team shall be composed of seven players who shall be bona fide members of the club they represent. No player shall be allowed to play on more than one team during a season except in a case of a bona fide change of residence.
  13. Two half hours with an intermission of ten minutes between will be time allowed for matches. A match will be decided by the team winning the greatest number of games during that time. In case of a tie after playing the specified two half hours, play will continue until one side secures a game unless otherwise agreed upon between the captains before the match.
  14. No change of players must be made after a match has commenced except for reasons of accidents or injury during the game.
  15. Should any player be injured during a match and compelled to leave the field his side shall have the option of putting on a spare man from the reserve to equalize the teams; in the event of any dispute between the captains as to the injured player's fitness to continue the game the matter shall at once be decided by the referee.
  16. Should a game be temporarily stopped, by the infringement of any of the rules the puck shall be brought back and a bully take place.

Source: Montreal Gazette [6]

Seasons format

The AHAC operated on two different systems in its lifetime: the challenge system, where a championship team would face a new challenger each week for the championship, and the series system, which corresponds to the regular season found in the NHL today. With the exception of 1888, the challenge system was exclusively used in the AHAC before the advent of the Stanley Cup, while the series system became the norm in 1893, the first year the Cup was contested.

The first championship team of the AHAC was the Montreal Crystals, having unofficially being declared the champions before the AHAC. The first title change occurred on January 14, 1887, when the Montreal Victorias defeated the champions 4–0. The Victorias would hold the title until the very last challenge game when the Crystals won 3–2 in their third successive challenge. Because of the Vics' long run as champions, it was decided to switch to the series system in 1888.

The series system was a success, although a tie atop the standings between the Vics and the Montreal Hockey Club (Montreal HC), and the subsequent scheduling of the tiebreaker game caused much trouble when the game was scheduled at a time when two Victorias players were injured, at the home venue of the Montreal HC. However, teams from outside Montreal incurred huge travelling expenses, which led the AHAC to revert to the challenge system.

1893 Hockey game Victoria-rink-1893.jpg
1893 Hockey game

First Stanley Cup

In 1893, the first year since 1888 where the AHAC played under a series system, the Montreal Hockey Club lost their first game against the Ottawa Hockey Club and proceeded to win their next seven en route to the championship. Lord Stanley announced that his challenge trophy (later known simply as the Stanley Cup) for the best amateur hockey team in Canada would be presented to the Montreal Hockey Club on May 15, 1893, as initial champion. At the time, the Montreal Hockey Club was in a dispute with its parent organization, the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA). The hockey club was adamant about refusing the trophy, while the directors of the MAAA decided to accept the trophy, considering it came from the Governor General of Canada. Thus, the trophy was accepted by the MAAA, but with none of the hockey officials of the hockey club present.

After accepting the trophy, the hockey club remained adamant about returning the trophy that was presented to them. In the end, the MAAA investigated into why its hockey club wanted to refuse and return the trophy, even though such an action would damage the reputation of the MAAA. It was believed that the people who were in charge of running their team were, in fact, not representative of the team itself, and when the hockey club asked for a loan of $175 in start-up expenses for the 1894 season, it was flatly refused (the first time the MAAA refused anything to the hockey club). Inexplicably, the hockey club reversed its position, and the next few months saw a gradual schism between the MAAA and the club. Indeed, the inscriptions on the Cup when it was successfully defended in 1894 only stated "Montreal HC". The MAAA, at one point, considered the hockey club to have seceded from the organization that bore them. The issue would be finally resolved in later years, after various attempts at reconciliation.

Dissolution

At the annual meeting in December 1897, the Ottawa Capitals applied to join the AHAC but were turned down by the AHAC executive. The Capitals applied again at the annual meeting held in Montreal on December 10, 1898, leading to "a cataclysm in the hockey world." [7] This time, the AHAC executive voted in favour of admitting the Capitals for league membership.

The Globe noted that the Capitals were "questionably amateur", referring to the paying of players. [8] This led to the representatives of the Quebec Bulldogs, Montreal Victorias and Ottawa Hockey Club opting to withdraw from the association. The representative of the Montreal Hockey Club asked the group to reconsider but was declined, after which point Montreal HC also withdrew. [7]

The withdrawing teams then met at the Windsor Hotel the same day. On December 14, the group met again and organized the Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL), adding the Montreal Shamrocks for a complete conversion of the AHAC into the CAHL. [9] The new league adopted the existing constitution of the AHAC, with the exception that new teams required unanimous approval of the CAHL executive in order to join the league.

Teams

Senior Division
SeasonTeamsFormatChampions
1887 McGill HC, Montreal HC, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC ChallengeMontreal Crystals (final challenge)
1888 McGill HC, Montreal HC, Montreal Crystals, Montreal VictoriasSeriesMontreal HC (playoff vs. Victorias)
1888–89 Halifax (Dartmouth) Chebuctos, McGill HC, Montreal HC, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Victorias, Quebec HC ChallengeMontreal HC (final challenge)
1890 Montreal HC, Montreal Dominions, Montreal Victorias, Quebec HCChallengeMontreal HC (final challenge)
1891 Montreal Crescents, Montreal HC, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC, Quebec HCChallengeMontreal HC (final challenge)
1892 Montreal Britannias, Montreal HC, Montreal Shamrocks, Ottawa HC, Quebec HCChallengeMontreal HC (final challenge)
1893 Montreal HC†, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HCSeriesMontreal HC (best record)
1894 Montreal HC†, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HCSeriesMontreal HC (playoff vs. Victorias and Ottawa)
1895 Montreal HC, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Victorias†, Ottawa HC and Quebec HCSeriesVictorias (best record)
1896 Montreal HC, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HCSeriesVictorias (best record)
1897 Montreal HC, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias† (December 1896), Ottawa HC and Quebec HCSeriesVictorias (best record)
1898 Montreal HC, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias†, Ottawa HC and Quebec HCSeriesVictorias (best record)

† Stanley Cup winner

Under the challenge system, the league championship would change hands until the end of the playing season. Under the series system, the league championship was only determined at the end of the season by best overall record or playoff.

Source Information

According to Arthur Farrell's book of 1899, "Hockey: Canada's Royal Winter Game", Montreal Crystals are recorded as champions in 1887, and the Montreal Hockey Club is recorded as the winner from 1888–1894. [10]

According to Ultimate Hockey, the play between 1887 and 1892 occurred in the challenge format and the title of champion could change after every series. The final champion at the end of the season's worth of challenges would be considered 'Dominion of Canada' champion.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley Cup</span> National Hockey League championship trophy

The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers it to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The trophy was commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and is named after Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada, who donated it as an award to Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club. The entire Stanley family supported the sport, the sons and daughters all playing and promoting the game. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to Montreal Hockey Club, and winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games and league play. Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. In 1915, the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the two main professional ice hockey organizations, reached a gentlemen's agreement in which their respective champions would face each other annually for the Stanley Cup. It was established as the de facto championship trophy of the NHL in 1926 and then the de jure NHL championship prize in 1947.

<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 Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL) was an early men's amateur hockey league founded in 1898, replacing the organization that was formerly the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) before the 1898–99 season. The league existed for seven seasons, folding in 1905 and was itself replaced by the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA). Formed because of a dispute between teams of the AHAC, it further developed the sport in its transition to professional, with a growing focus on revenues. The CAHL itself would fold over a dispute, leading to the new ECAHA league.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montreal AAA</span> Amateur athletic association

Montreal Amateur Athletic Association is Canada's oldest athletic association, located in Montreal, Quebec. It was renamed as the Club Sportif MAA or just MAA in 1999 after a brush with bankruptcy, but is still widely known as the MAAA. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the MAA was one of the most important sporting institutions in Canada, and North America, with affiliated teams winning ice hockey's Stanley Cup and Canadian football's Grey Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montreal Crystals</span> 19th-century ice hockey club

The Montreal Crystals were an ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that existed from 1884 to 1895. One of the first established ice hockey teams, the Crystals played various challenges against other clubs in the early days of ice hockey competition. They won the Canadian championship in 1886, defeating Quebec, which withdrew due to numerous injuries in the final game. Later that year the Crystals helped to found the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada where they played the first five seasons. The club won the championship in 1887, defeating the Montreal Victorias in the last challenge of the season. The team played further challenges for the championship from 1888 to 1891. For the 1890 season, the club became known as the Montreal Dominions. In 1891 they became known as the Montreal Crescents. The team sat out the 1892 season. In 1893 they returned to the league and returned to their original name of Montreal Crystals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montreal Victorias</span> 1870s–1939 ice hockey club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

The Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was an early men's amateur ice hockey club. Its date of origin is ascribed to either 1874, 1877 or 1881, making it either the first or second organized ice hockey club after McGill University. The club played at its own rink, the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal. The club was winners of the Stanley Cup in 1895 and held it until 1899, except for a period in 1896. The club remained amateur, splitting from the ranks of teams turned professional in 1908. The club was the first winner of the Allan Cup and continued to play until 1939, when it folded after its 65th season. The club often also fielded junior and intermediate teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Grant</span> Canadian ice hockey defenceman

Michael Grant was a Canadian ice hockey player. He played nine seasons of senior amateur hockey between 1894 and 1902 for the Montreal Victorias and Montreal Shamrocks. Grant was a member of the Victorias squad that won or retained possession of the Stanley Cup five times between 1895 and 1899 during the trophy's challenge era. Grant played cover-point and was known for his speed and skating ability. He is regarded as one of the first defenceman to rush forward and with the puck. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1950.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Skating Rink</span> Former indoor ice skating rink in Montreal

The Victoria Skating Rink was an indoor ice skating rink located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened in 1862, it was described at the start of the twentieth century to be "one of the finest covered rinks in the world". The building was used during winter seasons for pleasure skating, ice hockey and skating sports on a natural ice rink. In summer months, the building was used for various events, including musical performances and horticultural shows. It was the first building in Canada to be electrified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1893 AHAC season</span> Sports season

The 1893 Amateur Hockey Association of Canada season lasted from January 7 until March 17. The Montreal Hockey Club defeated the Crystals 2-1 to claim the league and Canadian champion for the sixth season in a row and was awarded the new Stanley Cup without any competition by virtue of their status as AHAC champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montreal Hockey Club</span> Canadian ice hockey club

The Montreal Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was a senior-level men's amateur ice hockey club, organized in 1884. They were affiliated with the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA) and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team was the first to win the Stanley Cup, in 1893, and subsequently refused the cup over a dispute with the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association. The club is variously known as 'Montreals', 'Montreal AAA' and 'Winged wheel' in literature.

The Ottawa City Hockey League (OCHL) was an amateur ice hockey league with junior, intermediate and senior level men's teams in Ottawa, Canada. Founded in 1890 by the local Ottawa Hockey Association, the OCHL was created to organize play within the city of Ottawa. It is considered the second ice hockey league to form in Canada.

The 1887 AHAC season was the inaugural season of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada. Play was in challenges. The Montreal Crystals defeated the Montreal Victorias to win the final challenge of the season to claim the Canadian championship and the first league championship.

Ottawa ice hockey clubs date back to the first decade of recorded organized ice hockey play. The men's senior-level Ottawa Hockey Club is known to have played in a Canadian championship in 1884. Today, Ottawa hockey clubs are represented in all age brackets, in both men's and women's, in amateur and professional.

The 1891–92 Ottawa Hockey Club season was the club's seventh season of play. The Club would play in the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada, the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and inter-city play. Ottawa would win their second straight OHA championship. Ottawa would also win the AHAC championship on January 10, and hold it until March 7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottawa Capitals</span> Athletic association

The Ottawa Capitals were the competing clubs of the Capital Amateur Athletic Association (CAAA) of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Association competed in ice hockey, lacrosse and other athletics.

The Stanley Cup, then named the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, was first awarded in 1893 to the Montreal Hockey Club of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) at the end of the 1893 AHAC season for having placed first in the standings with a 7–1–0 record. The season ended on March 17, but Montreal was officially presented with the trophy on May 15.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Stanley's Gift Monument</span>

The Lord Stanley's Gift Monument is a monument in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It commemorates the donation of the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship trophy by Canada's Governor-General the Lord Stanley of Preston in 1893. It is located on the eastern end of the Sparks Street Mall. It was constructed at the culmination of a public campaign to commemorate the donation of the trophy.

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Wong 2005, p. 14.
  2. 1 2 3 "Sports and Pastimes, hockey, Formation of a Dominion Hockey Association". Montreal Gazette . 9 December 1886. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  3. ↑ The trophy for this tournament is on display at the Musee McCord Museum in Montreal. A picture of this trophy can be seen here.
  4. ↑ The 1886 Montreal Winter Carnival was cancelled due to a smallpox epidemic in Montreal.
  5. ↑ According to azhockey.com, Crystals was awarded the trophy, when the Quebec team could not finish due to the Crystals' rough tactics.
  6. ↑ "The Dominion Association". Montreal Gazette. December 23, 1886. p. 8.
  7. 1 2 Coleman, Charles (1966). The Trail of the Stanley Cup, vol. 1, 1893–1926. p. 45.
  8. ↑ "A Brake-Up Down East". The Globe. December 12, 1898. p. 8.
  9. ↑ "Deserting Clubs Organize". The Globe. December 15, 1898. p. 10.
  10. ↑ Farrell 1899, p. 29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.