Chapter 1 (1883 to 1905)

Welcome to Chapter 1 of IceHockeyLeagues.com. This series of blog posts covers the first era of organized, elite hockey.

Here is a list of the future chapters:

Chapter 1:  Carnivals, Challenges, and Cups
1883-1905 (23 years)

Chapter 2: Competition, Rivals, and Dominance
1906-1926 (21 years)

Chapter 3: Expansion, Contraction, and Stagnation
1927-1966 (40 years)

Chapter 4: Competition, Dynasties, and Gluttony
1967-1994 (28 years)

Chapter 5: Big Business, Growth, and Agony
1995-now (22 years)

The focus will initially be on North American hockey leagues but will eventually expand to include Europe and world competitions.

Entries

Nov 26

Montreal Winter Carnival, 1886 (Cancelled)

by Al Young in Early Hockey, Montreal Winter Carnival 0 comments tags: 1st Hockey League, 1st International Tournament, History of Hockey, MWC
In 1886, the first ever hockey tournament that debuted at the 1883 Montreal Winter Carnival had to be cancelled. A smallpox epidemic was affecting Montreal particularly hard. An invitation to participate in a tournament played out of Montreal allowed some of the teams to fashion some kind of championship beside the Carnival Cup. 1886 saw no Carnival Cup winner, but did see The Montreal Hockey Club win a smaller tournament held in Burlington, Vermont. Championships to 1886 Burlington Winter Carnival Tournament Team # of Premier Championships Premier Championship Points Montreal Hockey Club 2 (1885-86) 5 (+1) Montreal Victorias 1 (1884) 4 McGill University 1 (1883) 2 The MWC Tournament had to be cancelled but three of the four teams from 1885 were invited to participate in a first-ever international tournament in Burlington, Vermont. The Montreal Hockey Club and Montreal Crystals accepted while Ottawa Hockey Club could not attend. The Burlington Winter Carnival Tournament was played on February 26 on Lake Champlain. The two Canadian teams and an American team made up of local hospitality staff (Van Ness House) who had never played hockey held a round-robin tournament that resulted in the Montreal Hockey Club winning. Starting in 1883 with only three […]
Nov 24

Montreal Winter Carnival, 1885

by Al Young in Early Hockey, Montreal Winter Carnival 0 comments tags: 1st Hockey League, History of Hockey, MWC
In 1885, the first ever hockey tournament that debuted at the 1883 Montreal Winter Carnival returned for a third year. MAAA iced a hockey team that was the class of the tournament. In addition to MAAA’s Montreal Hockey Club, other teams that competed was McGill University, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Football Club, and Ottawa Hockey Club. The five-team tournament took place at the Crystals hockey rink. The 1885 tournament (played from January 27 to January 31) saw The Montreal Hockey Club win the challenge Tournament. Championships to 1885 Montreal Winter Carnival Tournament Team # of Premier Championships Premier Championship Points Montreal Hockey Club 1 (1885) 4 (+4) Montreal Victorias 1 (1884) 4 McGill University 1 (1883) 2 Starting in 1883 with only three teams playing three games over two days, the humble beginnings of the MWC Hockey Tournament lead to the creation of the first persistent league. Four Montreal-based teams plus one team from Ottawa played in the MWC and also formed the AHAC in 1887. It is because of this direct linkage the MWC Hockey Tournament is considered to be the direct predecessor to the AHAC for historical and statistical purposes.
Oct 30

Montreal Winter Carnival, 1884

by Al Young in Early Hockey, Montreal Winter Carnival 0 comments tags: 1st Hockey League, History of Hockey, MWC
In 1884, the first ever hockey tournament that debuted at the 1883 Montreal Winter Carnival returned for a second year. MAAA again did not field a team, but McGill University, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa Hockey Club, Montreal Crystals, and Montreal Wanderers were invited to play in a five-team tournament at the McGill University hockey rink. The 1884 tournament (played from February 4 to February 11) saw several games lost due to rain. The outdoor rink was unplayable on February 6 and the Crystals and Wanderers had issues with forfeiting their games. The Montreal Victorias was the winner of the challenge Tournament.   Cumulative Championships to 1884 Montreal Winter Carnival Tournament Team # of Premier Championships Premier Championship Points Montreal Victorias 1 (1884) 4 (+4) McGill University 1 (1883) 2   Starting in 1883 with only three teams playing three games over two days, the humble beginnings of the MWC Hockey Tournament lead to the creation of the first persistent league. Four Montreal-based teams plus one team from Ottawa played in the MWC and also formed the AHAC in 1887. It is because of this direct linkage the MWC Hockey Tournament is considered to be the direct predecessor to the AHAC for historical and […]
Oct 29

Montreal Winter Carnival, 1883

by Al Young in Early Hockey, Montreal Winter Carnival 0 comments tags: 1st Hockey League, History of Hockey, MWC
In 1883, the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA) and McGill University were both asked to participate in the Carnival by organizing for the first time ever an ice hockey tournament. MAAA did not field a team, but McGill University fielded its own team, and two more teams were invited to play in a three-team tournament.  They played partly outdoors on the Saint Lawrence River. The first carnival tournament was held from January 26 to January 27. The Montreal Victorias, McGill University, and Quebec Hockey Club contested for a Tournament trophy called the Carnival Cup. McGill University was the winner of the challenge Tournament.   Cumulative Championships to 1883 Montreal Winter Carnival Tournament Team # of Premier Championships Premier Championship Points McGill University 1 (1883) 2 (+2)   The first MWC Tournament was a very modest affair, lasting only two days with each of the three teams playing one single game, but it became the beginning of the hockey league lineage that stretches to the modern day! Starting in 1883 with only three teams playing three games over two days, the humble beginnings of the MWC Hockey Tournament lead to the creation of the first persistent league. Four Montreal-based teams plus […]
Oct 29

Carnivals, Challenges, and Cups – Beginnings of Ice Hockey League Play

by Al Young in Early Hockey, Montreal Winter Carnival 0 comments tags: 1st Hockey League, History of Hockey
Ice Hockey’s origins is up for wide debate. As a raw concept, playing a game where an object is being knocked around with sticks are known to date back to pre-Christian times and in non-Christian lands. The indigenous people of North America played lacrosse while in Europe, these games included the Irish game of hurling, the Scottish game of shinty , the Welsh game of bando, the English game of bandie, and other versions of field hockey. In Russia, they took the concept and translated it to winter play in what is known in English as bandy. In England, evidence of games of “hockey on ice” (the name replaced “bandie ball”), played with a “bung” (a plug of cork or oak used as a stopper on a barrel) date back to the 1700s. The first organized game of ice field hockey was played in 1875 in London. Hockey as a term has been used for about 500 years. In 1573, the town of Galway in Ireland banned a sport called “‘hokie’—the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves”. Yet, Ice Hockey is a distinct creation that comes from the New World. British soldiers and immigrants to Canada and […]
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