The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed in several incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952.
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The first incarnation of the PCHL had four teams and lasted three seasons (The Victoria franchise was replaced by Tacoma in its final year).
From 1931 to 1936, no league called the PCHL existed, although teams from the first PCHL joined the Western Canada Hockey League or the North West Hockey League. In 1936, the Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver franchises of the North West Hockey League joined with an Oakland team to re-form the Pacific Coast Hockey League. The Oakland team relocated to Spokane in its first year. The Spokane team disbanded for the 1939-40 season, but reappeared the next year as the Spokane Bombers.
The league disbanded after the 1941 season, primarily as a result of World War II.
1937: Portland Buckaroos
1938: Seattle Seahawks
1939: Portland Buckaroos
1940: Vancouver Lions
1941: Vancouver Lions
The final incarnation of the league was managed by Hockey Hall of Fame member Al Leader, and grew out of combining teams from the Southern California Hockey League and the Northwest International Hockey League. The PCHL was founded as an amateur loop, partly because the National Hockey League recognized Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) founder Lester Patrick as the territorial rights holder for professional hockey in Vancouver, Portland and Seattle. In 1948, however, the ten team league voted to turn pro, and was recognized as such by the NHL.
In 1951, having dwindled to a six team league, the PCHL merged with the Western Canada Senior Hockey League, adding three new franchises on the Canadian prairies. One year later, the league became the Western Hockey League.
The PCHL championship trophy was the President's Cup.
1945: Seattle Ironmen
1946: Vancouver Canucks
1947: Los Angeles Monarchs
1948: Vancouver Canucks
1949: San Diego Skyhawks
1950: New Westminster Royals
1951: Victoria Cougars
1952: Saskatoon Quakers