1910 NHA season
Encyclopedia
The 1910 NHA season was the first season of the National Hockey Association
National Hockey Association
The National Hockey Association 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...

 men's ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 league. The season started on January 5, but was suspended immediately and the league then absorbed the Ottawa and Shamrocks teams of the Canadian Hockey Association and the season continued from January 15 to March 15. Seven teams played 12 games each. The Ottawa Hockey Club
Ottawa Senators (original)
The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...

 played two Cup challenges during the season, but lost the Cup to their rivals the Montreal Wanderers
Montreal Wanderers
The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers are...

 who won the league championship and played a Cup challenge afterwards.

League business

After the CHA turned down the Wanderers' application to join, Wanderers' manager Jimmy Gardner, along with Renfrew's Ambrose O'Brien worked to put together enough teams to form a league. Gardner approached the Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators (FHL)
The Ottawa Senators were a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which played one season in the Federal Hockey League in 1909 before the formation of the National Hockey Association. The club was formed to help boost the rivalry between the Federal League and the Eastern Canada...

 of the Federal League to have an Ottawa entry, but the players decided to fold the team, rather than compete with the Ottawa Hockey Club. Gardner also approached the Mutual Street Rink
Mutual Street Rink
The Mutual Street Rink also known as the Caledonian Rink was a curling and skating rink located on Mutual Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the primary site of the sport of ice hockey in Toronto from the 1880s until 1912 when it was replaced by the Arena Gardens...

 of Toronto to form a professional team, but was turned down as the rink was fully booked.

The league was founded on December 2, 1909 at a private meeting at 300 St. James Street, the headquarters of the Dominion Office and Store Fitting Limited in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. At this meeting four franchises were approved:
  • Wanderers (represented by P. J. Doran, R. R. Boon, Jimmy Gardner)
  • Renfrew (represented by Ambrose O'Brien, George E. Martel, Jim Barnett)
  • Cobalt (Thomas C. Hare)
  • Haileybury (Noah Timmins
    Noah Timmins
    Noah Anthony Timmins was a Canadian mining developer and executive who is considered a founding father of Canada's mining industry.-Background and mining achievements:...

    )


Eddie McCafferty acted as secretary, and he also was representative of interests in Toronto. A franchise would be held for a future Toronto team. The NHA discussed organizing a team in Ottawa with the Ottawa Lacrosse Club and getting Montreal Le National to join the NHA. The Wanderers and Renfrew signed a pact not to merge with the CHA unless Cobalt and Haileybury were also admitted. The teams pledged a $1,000 bond to stay together.

Two days later on December 4, the NHA held an organizing meeting at the Windsor Hotel
Windsor Hotel
Windsor Hotel may refer to:in Australia*Hotel Windsor , Australiain Canada*Windsor Hotel , Canada*Windsor Arms Hotel, Toronto, Canadain Japan*The Windsor Hotel Toya Resort & Spa, Hokkaidō, Japanin the United States...

 in Montreal. The CHA was meeting at the hotel also, and a message was sent to the Ottawa, Shamrocks and Le National teams to seek a merged seven-team league. This was turned down by the CHA, which would not accept Cobalt and Haileybury. The CHA proposed that Renfrew and Wanderers join the CHA, but the NHA teams turned that proposal down.

An executive was elected:
  • President - M. Doheney, Renfrew
  • Vice-President - Thomas C. Hare, Cobalt
  • Sec.-Treasurer - E. John McCafferty
  • Executive - J. Ambrose O'Brien, Slaght, Boon, Jack Laviolette and Thomas C. Hare


At the meeting, a franchise for 'Les Canadiens' was granted, to be organized by Jack Laviolette
Jack Laviolette
Jean-Baptiste "Jack" Laviolette was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played nine seasons for the Montreal Canadiens hockey club and was their first Captain, Coach, and General Manager....

. Mr. Hare of Cobalt put up a security deposit for the franchise on the understanding that it would be transferred to Montreal French sportsmen as soon as possible.

The NHA decided to run the league in a more business-like manner. The league decided to write a standard player's contract. McCafferty, who was also secretary of the Montreal Baseball Club
Montreal Royals
The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec, that existed from 1897–1917 and from 1928–60 as a member of the International League and its progenitor, the original Eastern League...

, was to draw up the contract. The NHA also decided to have professional referees. Both of these were innovations in the world of ice hockey.

Regular season

The first Canadiens game ever took place on January 5 under a cloud. Didier Pitre
Didier Pitre
Joseph George Didier "Cannonball" Pitre was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He was nicked named "Cannonball". One of the first players to join the Montreal Canadiens, Pitre's French-Canadian heritage helped give his line-mates the nickname the Flying Frenchmen, brought upon by his...

 had signed a contract with both the Canadiens and the Nationals. Pitre was risking a $2,000 fine and 60 days's jail time. The Nationals had a legal injunction against Pitre playing for the Canadiens. This contributed to an over-capacity crowd at the Jubilee Rink of about 5,000. Pitre did play (he was guaranteed any fines by Canadiens' management) and court action commenced. Pitre was found to not to have a binding contract with the Nationals by the courts. By this time, the CHA had folded, and no contract was enforceable. Pitre would have a long career with the Canadiens, playing into the 1920s.

On January 15, a meeting was held by the league executive and Ottawa and Montreal Shamrocks were admitted to the NHA. The games played before that date were thrown out, and games from that date forwards counted towards the final standings.

On January 22, at a game between Renfrew and Shamrocks, Shamrock's Joe Hall
Joe Hall
Joseph Henry Hall , nicknamed Bad Joe Hall, was a professional ice hockey defenceman who played professionally from 1904 until 1919 when he died as a result of the influenza epidemic...

 was ejected for striking the judge-of-play Rod Kennedy. After regulation time, the game was tied. Referee Tom Hodge proposed that Hall return for the overtime, but Renfrew objected and did not play the overtime. Hall was later fined $100 for the incident and suspended until January 30. The game was ordered replayed but wasn't due to ice conditions and the game results were accepted as a tie.

On Cyclone Taylor
Cyclone Taylor
Frederick Wellington "Cyclone" Taylor, OBE, was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and civil servant. Taylor was one of the earliest professional players. He played professionally for the Portage Lakes Hockey Club, the Ottawa Hockey Club and the Vancouver Millionaires from 1905 to 1923...

's first return to Ottawa as a member of the Renfrew team, he made his famous promise to score a goal backwards against Ottawa. This led to incredible interest, with over 7000 in attendance. A bet of $100 was placed at the King Edward Hotel against him scoring at all. The Senators would win 8–5 (3 goals in overtime) and more importantly keep Taylor off the scoresheet. Later in the season at the return match in Renfrew, Taylor made good on his boast with a goal scored backwards. This was the final game of the season, and the Senators had no chance at the league title, and don't appear to have put in an effort, losing 17–2.

Final standings

The Wanderers as champions of the league, took over the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...

 from Ottawa, and were awarded the O'Brien Cup
O'Brien Trophy
The O'Brien Trophy, or O'Brien Cup, as labelled on the trophy itself, is a retired trophy that was awarded in the National Hockey Association and the National Hockey League ice hockey leagues of North America from 1910 to 1950. It was originally donated to the NHA by Canadian Senator M.J....

 as league champions.

Stanley Cup challenges

During the season Ottawa as Cup champion played a challenge against Edmonton in addition to their regular schedule. They had played a challenge during the CHA season against Galt.

Ottawa vs. Edmonton

Edmonton was champion of the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association.
January 18
Edmonton 4 at Ottawa 8
Jack Winchester G Percy LeSueur
William Field P Fred Lake
Hugh Ross CP Hamby Shore
Fred Whitcroft 2 F Bruce Stuart 2
Harold Deeton 1 F Marty Walsh 1
Hay Millar 1 F Gordon Roberts 4
Boulton F Bruce Ridpath 1
Referees - Bowie & Campbell

January 20
Edmonton 7 at Ottawa 13
Jack Winchester G Percy LeSueur
William Field P Fred Lake
Hugh Ross CP Hamby Shore 1
Fred Whitcroft 3 F Bruce Stuart 5
Harold Deeton 2 F Marty Walsh 1
Hay Millar F Gordon Roberts 3
Bert Boulton 2 F Bruce Ridpath 3
Referees - Bowie & Campbell

NHA League Champions Take Over Cup

Since Ottawa won the challenges, the winner of the regular season of the NHA would take over the Stanley Cup championship. The Wanderers having won the championship of the NHA, took possession of the Cup from Ottawa. They had a challenge from Berlin
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...

, champions of the Ontario Professional Hockey League
Ontario Professional Hockey League
-External links:*...

 and easily defeated them. For 1910, there would be two Stanley Cup holders, Ottawa until March, and Montreal for the rest of the year.

Wanderers vs. Berlin

March 12
Berlin 3 at Wanderers 7
Hugh Lehman G Riley Hern
Earl Seibert 1 P Jack Marshall
Harvey Corbeau 1 CP Ernie Johnson
E. "Toad" Edmunds F Frank Glass
Ezra Dumart F Ernie Russell 4
Ray Anderson F Harry Hyland 3
Oren Frood 1 F Jimmy Gardner
Referees - Bowie & Kirby

NHA Exhibitions at New York

After the season, the NHA arranged an 'international championship' at New York's St. Nicholas Rink. Like the previous spring, Ottawa and Wanderers played a two-game series in New York for a purse of $1,500. Wanderers won both games 4–3. Renfrew next travelled to New York and defeated the Wanderers in a single game for $1,000.
Date Winning Team Score Losing Team
March 15, 1910 Montreal Wanderers 4–3 Ottawa HC
March 16, 1910 Montreal Wanderers 4–3 Ottawa HC
March 19, 1910 Renfrew Millionaires 9–4 Montreal Wanderers


Source:

Schedule and results

Month Day Visitor Score Home Score
Jan. 5 Cobalt 6 Canadiens 7 (5'35" over.)†
8 Cobalt 6 Wanderers 10 †
12 Cobalt 11 Renfrew 9 †
15 Renfrew 2 Wanderers 7
15 Shamrocks 3 Ottawa 15
18 Cobalt 7 Haileybury 6 (4'30" over.)
19 Canadiens 4 Renfrew 9
22 Canadiens 4 Ottawa 6
22‡ Renfrew 1 Shamrocks 1
22 Wanderers 2 Haileybury 4
25 Wanderers 11 Cobalt 6
25 Haileybury 2 Shamrocks 3 (30" over.)
26 Ottawa 8 Canadiens 4
28 Shamrocks 2 Renfrew 10
29 Haileybury 4 Ottawa 11
Feb. 1 Haileybury 3 Wanderers 8
2 Canadiens 3 Shamrocks 8
4 Haileybury 3 Renfrew 6
5 Shamrocks 1 Wanderers 10
5 Ottawa 5 Cobalt 4
7 Haileybury 5 Canadiens 9
9 Wanderers 11 Shamrocks 6
9 Ottawa 8 Haileybury 4
12 Shamrocks 6 Haileybury 12
12 Renfrew 5 Ottawa 8 (10' over.)
12 Wanderers 9 Canadiens 4
15 Shamrocks 4 Cobalt 11
15 Renfrew 8 Canadiens 6
19 Ottawa 5 Wanderers 7
19 Renfrew 12 Cobalt 7
22 Renfrew 11 Haileybury 5
23 Ottawa 9 Shamrocks 6
24 Canadiens 7 Cobalt 11
25 Wanderers 5 Renfrew 0
26 Cobalt 5 Ottawa 11
26 Canadiens 3 Haileybury 15
Mar. 2 Cobalt 3 Wanderers 7
5 Wanderers 3 Ottawa 1
5 Cobalt 6 Canadiens 4
8 Cobalt 6 Shamrocks 8
8 Ottawa 2 Renfrew 17
9 Canadiens 6 Wanderers 11
11 Shamrocks 4 Canadiens 5 (12' over.)
11 Cobalt 4 Renfrew 15
15 Haileybury 14 Cobalt 9


† Games played before January 15, which were played before the CHA teams joined
were not counted against the final standings.

‡ The January 22 game was abandoned due to an on-ice incident. It was ordered replayed on March 2 in Ottawa, but wasn't played due to soft ice in Ottawa.

Goalkeeper Averages

Name Club GP GA SO Avg.
Nicholson, Billy
Billy Nicholson (ice hockey)
Billy C. Nicholson was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and executive. He played goaltender and was a Stanley Cup champion with the Montreal Hockey Club in 1902 as an amateur...

Haileybury 1 3 3.0
Hern, Riley Wanderers 12 41 1 3.4
Lindsay, Bert
Bert Lindsay
Leslie Bertrand Lindsay was a professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey Association , Pacific Coast Hockey Association and National Hockey League...

Renfrew 12 54 4.5
Winchester, Jack Shamrocks 5 26 5.2
LeSueur, Percy
Percy LeSueur
Sergeant Percy St. Helier LeSueur was a Canadian senior and professional ice hockey goaltender. He was a member of the Smiths Falls Seniors for three years, with whom his performance in a 1906 Stanley Cup challenge series attracted the attention of his opponents, the Ottawa Silver Seven...

Ottawa 12 66 1 5.5
Moran, Paddy Haileybury 11 80 7.3
Broughton, George Shamrocks 5 43 8.6
Cattarinich, Joe
Joseph Cattarinich
Joseph "Joe" Cattarinich , was a professional hockey player, and co-owner of horse racing tracks in Canada and the United States as well as a co-owner of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League....

Canadiens 3 23 7.7
Groulx, Teddy Canadiens 9 77 8.6
Jones, Chief Cobalt 12 104 8.7
Baker, Shamrocks 2 26 13.0

Scoring leaders

Name Club GP G
Lalonde, Newsy
Newsy Lalonde
Édouard Cyrille "Newsy" Lalonde was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League and a professional lacrosse player, regarded as one of hockey's and lacrosse's greatest players of the first half of the 20th century and one of sport's most colourful characters...

Canadiens & Renfrew 11 38
Russell, Ernie
Ernie Russell
Ernest Russell was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played for the Montreal HC and Montreal Wanderers....

Wanderers 12 31
Smith, Tom Cobalt 10 24
Walsh, Marty
Marty Walsh
Martin J. Walsh was a Canadian amateur, later professional, ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators, winning three Stanley Cups in 1909, 1910 and 1911 and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame...

Ottawa 11 23
Patrick, Lester
Lester Patrick
Curtis Lester "The Silver Fox" Patrick born in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, was a professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association , and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League...

Renfrew 11 22
Clarke, Herb
Herb Clarke
Herb Clarke, sometimes known as Herb Clark, was a professional ice hockey player who played in various professional and amateur leagues, including the National Hockey Association. Amongst the teams he for played with were the Cobalt Silver Kings. He would finish tied for fifth in scoring during...

Cobalt 11 22
Gaul, Horace
Horace Gaul
Horace Joseph Gaul was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played from 1904 until 1913 most notably with the Pittsburgh Professionals, Haileybury Comets, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Tecumsehs.-Playing career:...

Haileybury 12 22
Hyland, Harry
Harry Hyland
Harold Macarius Hyland was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Montreal Wanderers and Ottawa Senators...

Wanderers 11 20
Vair, Steve
Steve Vair
Steve Vair was a professional ice hockey player who played in various professional and amateur leagues, including the National Hockey Association. Amongst the teams he for played with were the Cobalt Silver Kings, Toronto Tecumsehs, and Renfrew Creamery Kings....

Cobalt 12 19
Ridpath, Bruce
Bruce Ridpath
David Bruce Ridpath was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and general manager. He was a member of the 1911 Stanley Cup champion Ottawa Senators before an automobile accident ended his playing career....

Ottawa 12 15

Montreal Wanderers March 1910 Stanley Cup Champions

See also

  • Canadian Hockey Association
  • List of pre-NHL seasons
  • 1909 in sports
    1909 in sports
    1909 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:College championship* College football national championship – Yale Bulldogs-Association football:England...

  • 1910 in sports
    1910 in sports
    1910 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:College championship* College football national championship –Auburn Tigers, Harvard Crimson and Pittsburgh Panthers -Association football:England...

  • List of Stanley Cup champions

External links

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