National Hockey Association
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The National Hockey Association (December 2, 1909 - December 11, 1918) was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League.
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[edit] History
In November 1909, the Eastern Canada Hockey Association(ECHA) which dated from 1906 and was itself the successor of the first recognized major hockey league, the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada, was in the midst of a dispute. The Montreal Wanderers team of the ECHA had been bought by the owners of the Jubilee Rink and intended to move the team's games there. The Jubilee was smaller than the Wanderers' current rink, the Montreal Arena. This meant that visiting teams would earn less on their trips to play the Wanderers. The remaining teams in the league disbanded the ECHA and formed a new league called the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA).
At the same time, prosperous silver mine owner Ambrose O'Brien of Renfrew, Ontario, owner of the Renfrew Creamery Kings ice hockey team was seeking admission to the ECHA to be able to contest the Stanley Cup, as their challenges had been rejected. After the ECHA disbanded, O'Brien would apply to the CHA, and they would reject his application as well. While in Montreal for the CHA meeting, O'Brien would meet Jimmy Gardner of the Wanderers, the other team without a league. Together, they decided to form their own league, the National Hockey Association (NHA). At the same time, to create more interest in Montreal, they conceived of creating a team of francophone players for Montreal, and entitled the team 'Les Canadiens.' O'Brien and his father, Michael John O'Brien, financed four teams in the league: the Renfrew Creamery Kings which became known as the Renfrew Millionaires, Cobalt, Haileybury and Les Canadiens. Along with the Wanderers the league had five teams.
The O'Briens were determined to win the Stanley Cup and a bidding war for players immediately started, and Frank Patrick and Lester Patrick were each signed by the Renfrew Millionaires for $3,000 apiece, the highest salaries recorded to that time. It became readily apparent that two leagues could not be sustained -- there were five teams in Montreal alone -- and after eight games the CHA folded, with two teams, the defending Stanley Cup champion Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Shamrocks being admitted to the NHA.
Labour unrest was a hallmark of the league, the 1910-1911 season almost foundering because of widespread dissatisfaction amongst the players at the salaries on offer, and players' unions were rumored to be on the verge of creation at several points. The players at first intended to form their own league, but the arenas were under the NHA control and surrendered for that season. The following season, the Patrick brothers would move to British Columbia and form the Pacific Coast Hockey Association(PCHA). The PCHA would 'raid' the NHA teams for players, leading to the demise of the Toronto Shamrocks NHA team at one point, having lost all of its players. In an effort at stability, the NHA and PCHA attempted to control players' movement with a 'draft' of NHA players by the PCHA, although in practice the NHA and PCHA had numerous disputes over player selections.
The NHA was innovative for its time. The league put forth several innovations, among them the abolition of the rover position in 1912, (a labor-saving measure), the inclusion of numbers on jerseys, the institution of match penalties and allowing line changes on the fly.
The championship trophy of the NHA was the O'Brien Trophy, made of solid silver, donated by the O'Brien family and which survived to become the championship trophy of the NHL. However, as the Ottawa Senators joined the league as the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the first five seasons of the league had the Cup awarded to the league champions, which then defended it against outside challenges.
Starting in the 1914-1915 season, the Stanley Cup was awarded exclusively to the winner of a playoff between the NHA and the PCHA regular season winners. The league championship was decided by a two-game total goal playoff between the Wanderers and the Senators. Ottawa won the championship, and the right to defend the Cup against Vancouver in a three game series in which Vancouver won in dominating fashion. The notion of a league champion being awarded the Cup to defend ceased with that season, as the Portland Rosebuds were the PCHA champions in 1915-1916 but were not automatically accorded the Cup. Instead, they played the Montreal Canadiens for the trophy (and became the first American team to do so), which the Canadiens won in a five game series.
[edit] The end of the NHA
The start of World War I meant that players started enlisting for the military to fight overseas. By 1915, World War I and PCHA raiding left the NHA without enough quality players. At first, the NHA and PCHA would make peace with an agreement limiting PCHA signings of NHA players to those on teams designated by a 'draft'. However the peace would not last and disputes within the NHA and with the PCHA which would lead to the end of the NHA. Two factions would develop, Toronto and Quebec City, and the Montreal teams and Ottawa.
Prior to the 1915–16 season, Toronto Shamrocks team owner Eddie Livingstone made two moves that infuriated the NHA and the PCHA. At that time Quebec was to be one of the designated NHA teams which the PCHA would draft players from. Livingstone arranged a trade with Quebec to hide some players from the draft, infuriating the PCHA. He bought the Toronto Blueshirts without league permission for its players, and ended up with no players for the Shamrocks team as the PCHA in retaliation raided the Blueshirts for players. The league ordered Livingstone to sell his Shamrocks franchise, but he was unable to do so as he had only enough players for one team. The 1915-16 season was played with only five teams, a situation whereby one team each week would not play, a situation limiting team owner revenues and infuriating the other owners.[1] Instead of two games in Toronto to cover travel expenses from the other cities, there was only one per trip.
In 1916, the league stripped Livingstone of the Shamrocks franchise and fielded a second team in Toronto for the 1916–17 season. The team was composed of hockey players who had enlisted for wartime duty. The team, known as the 228th Battalion, and Northern Fusiliers, played wearing khaki military uniforms and was the league's most popular and highest scoring club until the regiment was ordered overseas in February 1917 and the team was forced to withdraw. A scandal ensued when several stars were subsequently discharged and alleged they had been promised commissions solely to play hockey for the military team. The Battalion dropping out left the league at five teams again. Instead of continuing with five teams, the league suspended the Blueshirts also and dispersed its players to the other clubs and continued with four teams. Livingstone threatened to sue the league over the suspension, infuriating the other owners. The league next made a demand that Livingstone sell the Toronto franchise between April and June 1917.[2] Instead of selling, Livingstone instead followed through with his threat to sue the NHA.
The season would prove the NHA's last. The Montreal-Ottawa faction of owners met in November of 1917 to form the National Hockey League, using the exact constitution and playing rules of the NHA. The Montreal Wanderers' owner was quoted as saying, "We didn't throw Livingstone out; he's still got his franchise in the old National Hockey Association. He has his team, and we wish him well. The only problem is he's playing in a one-team league." The NHA did not suspend immediately. They had launched a lawsuit against the Battalion to have it pay $3000 for leaving the league and this had yet to be heard in court. The NHL could operate in the meantime, without Livingstone. The NHL would operate without Quebec City as well.
The NHA's officials met nearly a year later, on September 20, 1918, when a vote was taken to permanently suspend operations over Livingstone's objections. In a final meeting on December 11 arranged by Livingstone and Emmet Quinn, the Quebec owner, Livingstone tried unsuccessfully to get some of the league's minority shareholders to vote his way and resume operations. The NHA organization itself was not formally dissolved for several years afterwards and Frank Calder held the presidency in both organizations.
[edit] Teams
[edit] Season by Season record
| Season | Teams | Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 1910 | Cobalt Silver Kings, Haileybury Hockey Club, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators†, Renfrew Creamery Kings | Montreal Wanderers† |
| 1910–11 | Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Renfrew Creamery Kings | Ottawa Senators† |
| 1911–12 | Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs | Quebec Bulldogs† |
| 1912–13 | Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto, Toronto Tecumsehs | Quebec Bulldogs† |
| 1913–14 | Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto, Toronto Ontarios | Toronto† (won playoff over Canadiens) |
| 1914–15 | Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto, Toronto Shamrocks | Ottawa Senators (won playoff over Wanderers) |
| 1915–16 | Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto | Montreal Canadiens† |
| 1916–17 | Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto*, Toronto 228th Battalion* | Montreal Canadiens† (won playoff over Ottawa) |
† Stanley Cup Champions. In 1910, both the Wanderers and Senators are considered champions.
*228th Battalion dropped out after first half of season. Toronto was suspended by league after first half.
[edit] Team History
| Team | Years | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Cobalt Silver Kings | 1909–10 | new, players taken over by Quebec Bulldogs in 1911 |
| Haileybury Hockey Club | 1909–10 | new, franchise taken over by Montreal Canadiens in 1911 |
| Les Canadiens | 1909–10 | new, franchise taken over by Toronto Blueshirts in 1912, players taken over by Montreal Canadiens in 1911 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 1910-17 | bought Haileybury NHA franchise(no players), signed Les Canadiens players |
| Montreal Shamrocks | 1910 | from ECHA, joined January 1910 |
| Montreal Wanderers | 1909–17 | from ECHA, joined December 1909 |
| Ottawa Senators | 1910–17 | from ECHA, joined January 1910 |
| Quebec Bulldogs | 1910–17 | from ECHA, joined December 1910 |
| Renfrew Creamery Kings | 1909–11 | from Federal League, joined December 1909 |
| Toronto, aka Toronto Blueshirts | 1912–17 | new, former O'Brien franchise |
| Toronto Tecumsehs renamed Toronto Ontarios, 1913–1914 renamed Toronto Shamrocks, 1915 |
1912–16 | new, former O'Brien franchise |
| Toronto 228th Battalion | 1916–17 | new, took place of Tecumsehs/Ontarios/Shamrocks for 1916–17 season, composed of professional hockey players in military |
[edit] References
- Coleman, Charles (1966). Trail of the Stanley Cup, vol.1, 1893-1926 inc. NHL.
- Issacs, Neil (1977). Checking Back. W.W. Norton & Co.
[edit] See also
- Stanley Cup
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- O'Brien Trophy
- List of pre-NHL seasons
- List of ice hockey leagues
