PHL: 1952-53

Season Summary:

The 1952-53 season was interesting for a variety of reasons ranging from the revival of a once dormant franchise to a very bizzare case of insubordination from another franchise. It all began when the league, in an attempt to improve it's television product, instituted a rule that all teams must wear white sweaters for road games. This of course meant that the league's lone one-sweater holdout, the Chicago Shamrocks, would need to introduce a new uniform. Team owner Fredrick Garfield refused at first, insisting "we wear green. period. If the league wants to fine us, we'll pay the fine." Garfield finally gave in when the TV network threatened to pull all Shamrocks games from it's broadcast schedule if they didn't comply, but he did so by introducing a plain white sweater with only the players' number on the back and the name "Chicago" on the front. In Philadelphia, after years of losing and uncertainty, the fans' patience finally paid off as their beloved Redshirts climbed to the top of the American Division standings on the strong play of sophomore Richie Moore, who scored 36 goals.

In the playoffs, The Redshirts faced the Shamrocks in a tough, 7-game series, where they had to come back from a 3-1 deficit. David Zimmer made a heroic 51-save performance in game 7, giving Philadelphia their first playoff series victory since joining the PHL thirteen years earlier. In the American Division final, the Redshirts shocked the defending champion Boston Bulldogs in 4 straight before facing the Hamilton Kings in the Lewis Cup finals. Hamilton had run away with first place in the Canadian Division before winning two 7-game series against Buffalo and Montreal en route to the final. The two teams traded victories through the first 6 games, setting up a game 7 for the ages. Philly winger Bobby Kelly opened the scoring in the first period before Ted Forbes tied it late in the third, sending it to overtime. The game remained scoreless through two extra periods as both David Zimmer and Fred Lukas stood on their heads in net before Hamilton's Frankie Jenkins finally scored late in the second OT, giving Hamilton it's second Lewis Cup and breaking the hearts of the Redshirts fans who thought for sure that this was their year.

Logo & Uniform Changes:

Hamilton makes some slight changes to their uniforms
The Chicago Shamrocks are forced to introduce new white sweaters as part of a league-wide rule that road teams must wear white uniforms.

Standings:

Canadian Division