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| Early Montreal Royale Uniforms |
There is much debate about the origins of hockey. While most agree that it began in Canada, the exact location and time is unknown. During the late 1800s, hockey was becoming increasingly popular and many colleges began adding hockey teams to their sports programs. One such team was Royale Club de Athletique which was founded by students at Montreal's McGill University in 1890. The team dominated other colleges throughout the 1890s and into the early 1900s until 1911, when the club became independent from McGill. That same year, the Montreal Amateur Hockey Association was founded and the Montreal Royale, as they were now called, were one of the founding members. The Royale, along with the Blainville Brasseurs, were one of the more dominant teams in the league, winning the league five times during their decade-long tenure in the league. Towards the end of the 1910s, the team began secretly paying players, which was against the rules in the MAHA. The league began investigating when Superstar forward Eugene Herbert signed on with the Royale in 1921, after a very successful college career. When it was discovered that the Royale had offered Herbert $5,000, the Royale were kicked out of the league. After being removed from the MAHA, the Royale teamed up with several other Quebec-based teams in a similar situation to form the first-ever professional hockey league in Quebec, the Quebec Hockey League, which began play in 1922.
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| Philadelphia Hockey Club, known by the fans as the "Redshirts" |
During this time, several amateur teams in the New England area and along the eastern seaboard began forming different leagues. One of the most famous clubs was the Philadelphia Hockey Club, founded in 1899. Nicknamed the "Redshirts" because of their bright red sweaters, the Redshirts soon became a dominant force on the US amateur hockey scene throughout the early 1900s. In 1919, the Eastern League and the New England League decided to hold a championship series between the best club from each circuit. In the three-game total goals series, the Redshirts soundly defeated the Boston Stars by a combined score of 26-5. By 1924, the leagues formed an agreement to merge into a single, professional league, called the American Professional Hockey Association. The league would include the top teams from across the eastern United States, including the Redshirts and Stars (who changed their name to the Bulldogs in 1925), the New York Civics, the Pittsburgh Miners, and the Long Island Sounders. The APHA would be fairly successful through the 1920s and featured 12 teams by decade's end. In 1928, New York Civics owner Frank Howard began to take a young Chicago businessman under his wing, Frederick Garfield. One night, when Howard was supposed to meet with Garfield, he proposed that the two attend the Civics game that night in the owners' box. Garfield immediately fell in love with the game and actually began talking about acquiring a franchise of his own. A year later, Garfield got his wish when he was awarded the league's 12th franchise, the Chicago Shamrocks, who he named in honour of his late mother, an Irish immigrant.
The first professional hockey league in Canada was formed in 1911, the Southern Ontario Hockey League. Most teams played in the Greater Toronto Area until 1919, when the Windsor Wings were added. Throughout the 1920s, three clubs dominated the SOHL, the Wings, the Toronto Capitals, and the Etobicoke Chiefs. These three teams were actually the only teams to win the league title between 1921 and 1932. In 1932, the Capitals were purchased by Henry Lewis, a wealthy local businessman who made most of his fortunes from the two racetracks that he owned. In an effort to promote his racing company, Lewis renamed his team the Racers. The new name seemed to be lucky for the club, as they won the league title in 1933 and '34.
As the 1930s wore on, the depression began to take it's toll on the three major professional hockey leagues. The Quebec league was forced to fold in 1938, while the US league found itself down to five teams from twelve in only ten years by 1939. In the Southern Ontario League, the once-dominant Etobicoke Chiefs had been forced to relocate to Hamilton in 1933 -where they would become the Kings- and by 1937, the franchise found itself back on top, but in a league that was now falling apart as well. During this time, Toronto owner Henry Lewis was in Chicago on business where he got to know Chicago Shamrocks owner Fred Garfield. The two struck up a friendship and before long, talks about how to save professional hockey were underway. In 1938, Lewis proposed that the Southern Ontario League and the US league merge, creating one major league for eastern North America. Garfield enthusiastically agreed, as did Boston Owner Herb Briggs.
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| Original PHL Logo |
The Early Years, 1939-1950
1939 was a tough year around the world as Adolf Hitler began
to take over Europe and World War II got underway. In the hockey community,
concerns were raised about the fledgling PHL and how the concept of a single
pro hockey circuit would survive in a tough economic climate and with war on
the horizon. Any concerns were put to bed, however, as the first season was a
huge success. Revenues reached an all-time high for most franchises and the
game became more popular than ever. Toronto defeated Montreal to claim the
first PHL title and in the off-season, the league added it’s first expansion
team, the Erie Penguins. The Windsor Wings, led by superstar George Allen, beat
the Hamilton Kings in the final to take the second PHL championship on April 5th,
1941. The following day, tragedy struck when league President Henry Lewis was
found dead in his hotel room in Windsor. Doctors later said that Lewis had
suffered a massive heart attack in his sleep. Lewis’ death hit everyone very
hard, especially his right hand man, Ed Norman. Norman was immediately named
the League’s second president on May 2 and as his first act as president, he
decided to name the League’s new championship trophy in his predecessor’s honor.
It seemed fitting that the team Henry Lewis once owned would compete for the
first ever Lewis Cup in 1942, however it was the Chicago Shamrocks who came out
on top, winning the series three games to one. With talent throughout their
lineup, the Shamrocks appeared to have a bright future. However, it was the
Boston Bulldogs who would go on to launch one of the greatest dynasties the PHL
would ever see. With stars like Herbert Johnson and Bobby McLean leading the
way, and Max Marchand backstopping them, the Bulldogs pulled off four Lewis Cup
victories in a row from 1943 to 1946.
Boston was not the only team enjoying
success in the PHL’s infancy. The Windsor Wings were determined to build on
their championship run in 1941. They would return to the final in 1943, but
would ultimately lose to Boston. Despite their in-ice success, the Wings were
struggling to stay afloat. The following season, with superstars Gil Matthews
and George Allen joining the war effort and the team continuing to lose money,
the Wings were forced to fold operations at season’s end, leaving the league at
eight teams (the Erie Penguins had folded in 1942). When George Allen returned from the war, he
joined the New York Civics and their young star, Skippy Cleveland. With Allen
and Cleveland the Civics, who had spent the first part of the decade close to
the league basement, quickly began to turn things around, reaching the
Lewis
Cup finals in 1946. That same season, the league had expanded to ten teams with
the addition of the Buffalo Bulls and the league’s first-ever western team, the
Vancouver Bighorns. The league took a big chance expanding to Vancouver, a 4-5
day train ride from the rest of the league. Immediately, the Bighorns felt the
effects of playing in such an isolated market. Their travel budget was enormous
compared to the rest of the league and the fans in Vancouver were simply out of
touch with the rest of the league. Interest in the Bighorns wavered as fans
often preferred to focus their attention on the local and more relatable western
league. But Vancouver was not the only team struggling to stay afloat. The
Philadelphia Redshirts had lost so much money during the war, eventually their
survival from one game to the next was in question. At one point, a deal was
actually reached to relocate the team to Quebec City. However, the owner, Jean
Poulette, could not come up with the down payment in time and the Redshirts
lived to play another season. Eventually, the team ran out of money and it
appeared they would be forced to fold until the players decided to play for free
for the final 14 games of the year before Bob Wells, a local businessman,
decided to purchase the team. The Redshirts were saved. Unfortunately, the same
could not be said for Vancouver, as the Bighorns were forced to suspend
operations at seasons’ end.
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| Skippy Cleveland |
Meanwhile, the Bighorns’ expansion cousins, the
Buffalo Bulls, finished the decade strong, taking the Lewis Cup in 1949, just
four years after entering the league thanks largely to the courageous play of
goaltender James Whyte, who played through severe abdominal pain throughout the
playoffs including a 64-save shutout to secure the Lewis Cup. Tragedy would
strike, however, less than two weeks after the finals when Whyte died of a
liver infection. In the courageous goalie’s honor, the League dedicated an
award for the top goaltender in the league, the Whyte Trophy. Despite the
tragedy, the future looked bright for Buffalo, who went on to defend their
title in 1950 thanks to inspired play from team captain Johnny Williams. With stars like Williams, Skippy Cleveland,
George Allen, the future looked bright for the PHL as well heading into its
second decade.
The "Railroad Era", 1950-1969
Named for the PHL's primary mode of transportation at the time, the Railroad Era saw the league grow from a struggling start-up to a full-fledged major league. After surviving a difficult first decade, the PHL entered the 1950s hoping for growth and parity. In 1951, the league added an ninth franchise, the Quebec Nationale. Jean Poulette, the man who had attempted to purchase and move the Philadelphia Redshirts to Quebec, was responsible for bringing the franchise to Quebec.
There were no clear-cut dynasties in the 1950s, though several teams enjoyed success. Boston continued their winning tradition with Lewis Cup victories in 1952 and 1959. Superstar goaltender Max Marchand retired shortly after the 1952 title, but was replaced by another future hall-of-famer, Glen Stevenson. The Bulldogs were also led by budding superstars Don Greer, Don St. Pierre, and Tommy Cooper, the first black player in PHL history.
Other teams enjoyed success too. Hamilton, led by stars Frankie Jenkins and Ted Forbes, won back-to-back Lewis Cups in 1953 and '54, while Chicago and Toronto also won championships, but perhaps the most interesting team of the decade was the New York Civics. boasting superstars George Allen and Sam "Skippy" Cleveland, the Civics had one of the best teams team on paper but never seemed able to finish the job. One fateful night, December 3, 1953, George Allen assaulted Civics' head coach Gilbert Wriggly behind the bench after a long, heated conversation between the two. Tension between Allen and his coach had been building all season. The team suspended Allen for the remainder of the season for the incident and eventually traded him to Detroit. By the late 50s, The Civics, led by Cleveland along with young stars Bernie Bassen and Dave Riley, managed to win two straight Lewis Cups.
The league continued to expand in 1959, adding the Ottawa Beavers and the Nova Scotia Claymores. But it was another relatively recent expansion team that began to get attention that same year. The Quebec Nationale debuted a young phenom named Gilbert Giroux. Giroux ignited the Nationale. who had already appeared in the Lewis Cup Finals in 1956, and led them to a second place finish before taking them all the way to a Lewis Cup victory. The 1960 playoffs were known for being particularly violent, especially in the Chicago-Philadelphia series, but skiled Quebec's victory was a sign of things to come. In the early 60s, Giroux turned the Nationale into the league's first true dynasty since the Bulldogs of the 1940s. Quebec won three consecutive Lewis Cups, then a fourth one in 1965, all with their homegrown superstar leading the way.
By the mid-60s, expansion talk began heating up again, this time with the focus on the west. former Vancouver Bighorns owner Gerald Smythe had been pushing the league to award the suspended franchise back to him, to no avail. League president Ed Norman remained hesitant to return to western North America, while his young vice president, Alan Garcia, believed the league was ready to become a truly international phenomenon and supported Smythe's bid. Norman and his protegee Garcia finally reached a compromise, the league would expand to the midwest with franchises added in Winnipeg and Minneapolis beginning in 1966. Although it was a step in the right direction for the PHL, Smythe was irate at being left out once again, as was St. Louis Millionaire Frank Wells, who had allegedly been promised a franchise in 1959, only to have Norman change his mind and award both teams to Canadian cities. Smythe and Wells organized other potential team owners who had been shunned by the league and began discussing the possibility of creating a league of their own. In May, 1965, the Western Hockey Organization was announced, along with the announcement that the league would hold a draft to steal players away from the PHL. By the time the league entered it's second season in 1966-67, PHL stars such as Tommy Cooper, David Zimmer, and Will Pratt had joined the rival league, even former legend Skippy Cleveland came out of retirement to play for Calgary. But the biggest loss for the PHL was superstar Gilbert Giroux, who signed a stunning $100,000 deal with the St. Louis Spirits.
Giroux's signing in St. Louis spelled the end of the Quebec dynasty, and big problems for the PHL. Against all odds, the newly renamed Global Hockey League had become almost equal with the PHL in terms of prestige and exposure and more and more players and fans became drawn to the renegade league, which had gotten off to such a quick start simply because a few team owners, such as Wells and Smythe, were among the wealthiest men in North America. The problem was an extreme lack of parity in the league, creating a very lopsided product. Some GHL teams looked as though they could compete with any PHL club, while others would have struggled even in the minor ranks. In 1968, the league added an expansion franchise in Los Angeles, a market new PHL president Alan Garcia had been eyeing since taking over the role. With the GHL quickly forming a monopoly in the west, Garcia and the PHL had to make a move. The caught a break in June, 1968, when GHL president Ben Griffith resigned as league president. When the league owners were unable to find a suitable replacement, or a new owner for the failing Toronto franchise, they finally agreed to a merger proposal from Garcia. Though Garcia was criticized by many for making such an agreement with a fledgling, "low rent" league, the young PHL president felt he had been backed into a corner. The GHL was doing nothing to promote success in all of it's markets, catering to the wealthiest teams such as St. Louis and Calgary. This was creating problems in other markets such as LA, San Diego, and Pittsburgh, who's teams had struggled as the fans slowly began to lose interest. The San Diego franchise was forced to fold when their attendance began to plummet sometimes below 1,000 people per game. Garcia knew that expansion to the west was the only way the PHL could ever compete with other major sports for attention, especially in the United States, and had become fearful that the GHL's legacy in those cities could be a hindrance to future PHL expansion.
Though there would be growing pains, Garcia felt that the boldest move ever made by a PHL president would ultimately be a successful one. Six former GHL clubs, the Calgary Wranglers, San Francisco Nuggets, St. Louis Spirits, Pittsburgh Stingers, LA Wizards, and finally, the resurrected Vancouver Bighorns, would all make their PHL debut in the fall of 1969, changing the game forever.
The "Railroad Era", 1950-1969
Named for the PHL's primary mode of transportation at the time, the Railroad Era saw the league grow from a struggling start-up to a full-fledged major league. After surviving a difficult first decade, the PHL entered the 1950s hoping for growth and parity. In 1951, the league added an ninth franchise, the Quebec Nationale. Jean Poulette, the man who had attempted to purchase and move the Philadelphia Redshirts to Quebec, was responsible for bringing the franchise to Quebec.
There were no clear-cut dynasties in the 1950s, though several teams enjoyed success. Boston continued their winning tradition with Lewis Cup victories in 1952 and 1959. Superstar goaltender Max Marchand retired shortly after the 1952 title, but was replaced by another future hall-of-famer, Glen Stevenson. The Bulldogs were also led by budding superstars Don Greer, Don St. Pierre, and Tommy Cooper, the first black player in PHL history.
Other teams enjoyed success too. Hamilton, led by stars Frankie Jenkins and Ted Forbes, won back-to-back Lewis Cups in 1953 and '54, while Chicago and Toronto also won championships, but perhaps the most interesting team of the decade was the New York Civics. boasting superstars George Allen and Sam "Skippy" Cleveland, the Civics had one of the best teams team on paper but never seemed able to finish the job. One fateful night, December 3, 1953, George Allen assaulted Civics' head coach Gilbert Wriggly behind the bench after a long, heated conversation between the two. Tension between Allen and his coach had been building all season. The team suspended Allen for the remainder of the season for the incident and eventually traded him to Detroit. By the late 50s, The Civics, led by Cleveland along with young stars Bernie Bassen and Dave Riley, managed to win two straight Lewis Cups.
The league continued to expand in 1959, adding the Ottawa Beavers and the Nova Scotia Claymores. But it was another relatively recent expansion team that began to get attention that same year. The Quebec Nationale debuted a young phenom named Gilbert Giroux. Giroux ignited the Nationale. who had already appeared in the Lewis Cup Finals in 1956, and led them to a second place finish before taking them all the way to a Lewis Cup victory. The 1960 playoffs were known for being particularly violent, especially in the Chicago-Philadelphia series, but skiled Quebec's victory was a sign of things to come. In the early 60s, Giroux turned the Nationale into the league's first true dynasty since the Bulldogs of the 1940s. Quebec won three consecutive Lewis Cups, then a fourth one in 1965, all with their homegrown superstar leading the way.
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| The GHL peaked at eight teams, six of which eventually joined the PHL |
By the mid-60s, expansion talk began heating up again, this time with the focus on the west. former Vancouver Bighorns owner Gerald Smythe had been pushing the league to award the suspended franchise back to him, to no avail. League president Ed Norman remained hesitant to return to western North America, while his young vice president, Alan Garcia, believed the league was ready to become a truly international phenomenon and supported Smythe's bid. Norman and his protegee Garcia finally reached a compromise, the league would expand to the midwest with franchises added in Winnipeg and Minneapolis beginning in 1966. Although it was a step in the right direction for the PHL, Smythe was irate at being left out once again, as was St. Louis Millionaire Frank Wells, who had allegedly been promised a franchise in 1959, only to have Norman change his mind and award both teams to Canadian cities. Smythe and Wells organized other potential team owners who had been shunned by the league and began discussing the possibility of creating a league of their own. In May, 1965, the Western Hockey Organization was announced, along with the announcement that the league would hold a draft to steal players away from the PHL. By the time the league entered it's second season in 1966-67, PHL stars such as Tommy Cooper, David Zimmer, and Will Pratt had joined the rival league, even former legend Skippy Cleveland came out of retirement to play for Calgary. But the biggest loss for the PHL was superstar Gilbert Giroux, who signed a stunning $100,000 deal with the St. Louis Spirits.
Giroux's signing in St. Louis spelled the end of the Quebec dynasty, and big problems for the PHL. Against all odds, the newly renamed Global Hockey League had become almost equal with the PHL in terms of prestige and exposure and more and more players and fans became drawn to the renegade league, which had gotten off to such a quick start simply because a few team owners, such as Wells and Smythe, were among the wealthiest men in North America. The problem was an extreme lack of parity in the league, creating a very lopsided product. Some GHL teams looked as though they could compete with any PHL club, while others would have struggled even in the minor ranks. In 1968, the league added an expansion franchise in Los Angeles, a market new PHL president Alan Garcia had been eyeing since taking over the role. With the GHL quickly forming a monopoly in the west, Garcia and the PHL had to make a move. The caught a break in June, 1968, when GHL president Ben Griffith resigned as league president. When the league owners were unable to find a suitable replacement, or a new owner for the failing Toronto franchise, they finally agreed to a merger proposal from Garcia. Though Garcia was criticized by many for making such an agreement with a fledgling, "low rent" league, the young PHL president felt he had been backed into a corner. The GHL was doing nothing to promote success in all of it's markets, catering to the wealthiest teams such as St. Louis and Calgary. This was creating problems in other markets such as LA, San Diego, and Pittsburgh, who's teams had struggled as the fans slowly began to lose interest. The San Diego franchise was forced to fold when their attendance began to plummet sometimes below 1,000 people per game. Garcia knew that expansion to the west was the only way the PHL could ever compete with other major sports for attention, especially in the United States, and had become fearful that the GHL's legacy in those cities could be a hindrance to future PHL expansion.
Though there would be growing pains, Garcia felt that the boldest move ever made by a PHL president would ultimately be a successful one. Six former GHL clubs, the Calgary Wranglers, San Francisco Nuggets, St. Louis Spirits, Pittsburgh Stingers, LA Wizards, and finally, the resurrected Vancouver Bighorns, would all make their PHL debut in the fall of 1969, changing the game forever.
The Dynasty Era (1969-1991)
Alan Garcia had been president of the PHL for only three
seasons in 1969 and had already made the biggest move any PHL president had
ever made, incorporating six surviving franchises from the defunct GHL to bring
the PHL to 20 teams. Fans and media alike questioned the young president’s
decision-making, wondering if the six new teams would even be able to compete
in the higher-quality PHL. It was a question that a few of those franchises
would answer emphatically over the following two decades.
Amidst the buzz surrounding the new clubs, it was an old
team that sat at the top of the hockey world heading into the 1970s. The
Detroit Mustangs had claimed the Lewis Cup in 1969 and then again in 1970 as
players such as Andy Reid, Don Banks and Kirk Saunders finally hit their full
potential while longtime goaltender Bobby Cole was at times unbeatable in net.
The Mustangs would win back-to-back cups again in 1973 and 1974, but their
dynasty was interrupted in 1972 by a young, recent expansion team on the rise.
The Minnesota Lumberjacks, in only their sixth year of existence, claimed the
Lewis Cup in a thrilling 7-game series with Montreal. Fittingly, leading the
way for Minnesota was Royale castoffs Guy Dupont and goaltender Bobby Sorel,
both of whom would go on to hall-of-fame careers. The Lumberjacks were
projected by many to be the league’s next great dynasty. Though they would be
successful, it was another team that would take on the role.
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| Stuart Holly captained the LA Wizards to three consecutive Lewis Cups in the 1970s. |
Alan Garcia had been hesitant about including LA in the
merger. Though he had wanted to expand to the city, he was unsure how the
Wizards’ poor product would go over in Hollywood, especially pitted against PHL
opponents. Garcia’s plan was to include a team in Saskatoon and expand to Los
Angeles later. Ultimately, Garcia was convinced to include the Wizards as he
became unsure of when the league could expand again. After a dismal first
season, the Wizards used the fifth pick in the PHL entry draft to select a
small forward from Saskatchewan named Stuart Holly, then selected American
forward Ray Fowler the following year. Together, Holly and Fowler became one of
the most deadly duos in PHL history, leading LA to the Lewis Cup Finals in
1975, where they lost to the New York Civics. The following year, the Wizards
became the first former GHL team to win the Cup in the first of what would
become three consecutive championships.
It was during that first 1975 final that one of the game’s
greatest legends, and arguably the all-time face of hockey, Sam “Skippy”
Cleveland was killed in a car accident. It was a tragic loss that happened to
take place just as hockey’s next big superstar had completed his first season.
David Appleby of the St. Louis Spirits took the hockey world by storm starting
with a 55-goal performance in his second season. By the early 1980s, Appleby
and the Spirits were true Lewis Cup contenders. Before St. Louis claimed their
first title, two other GHL teams, the California Nuggets and the Calgary
Wranglers, both took the cup while Chicago ended a 28-year drought on a
dramatic game seven overtime goal from rookie Graham Boswell that went on to
become one of the most famous goals in PHL history. In 1982, the Spirits finally
captured their first championship, defeating superstar Danny Stevenson and his
Pittsburgh Stingers in six games. What followed was one of the greatest
dynasties in league history, as Appleby and teammate Grant Millen led St. Louis
to five Lewis Cup titles between 1982 and 1991.
The 1970s and ‘80s saw huge changes to the PHL landscape.
The GHL merger proved to be a huge success. By 1985, all but one of the six
teams that had come over had won the Lewis Cup and the league had also added
expansion franchises in Seattle, Dallas, Edmonton, and a second New York
franchise on Long Island. But unfortunately, the league was changing too much,
too fast for some storied teams. Just a year after the merger, the struggling
Buffalo Bulls were relocated to Denver, while one of the league’s original
franchises, the Hamilton Kings, were forced to move to Washington, DC in 1974. Meanwhile
other teams such as Vancouver and Winnipeg struggled and were nearly forced to
move as well. In 1985, the Dallas Metros were forced to relocate to Milwaukee
after just eleven seasons in Texas. To add insult to injury for the few true
Metros fans in Dallas, the renamed Milwaukee Choppers won back-to-back Lewis
Cups in 1988 and ’89. Despite the failure in Dallas, Alan Garcia and new deputy
commissioner Darryl Byrd were determined to continue to grow the game in the
southern United States. In 1987, the league approved two new franchises to
begin play in 1989, the Kansas City Twisters and the Miami Stingrays. Craig
Tucker, having been the last remaining PHL player to play for the Hamilton
Kings, had witnessed the death of one franchise and the birth of another when
he played for the Stingrays in his final two seasons.
In 1990, Alan Garcia
announced his retirement as league commissioner, appointing Darryl Byrd as his
replacement. Garcia’s final task as commissioner was to present the Lewis Cup
to one last expansion team that he had awarded, the Long Island Concordes.
Overall, expansion had been a huge success. With the league welcoming its
first-ever American leader in the 1990-91 season, the final decade of the PHL’s
first century promised even more change.
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