Los Angeles Monarchs
Encyclopedia
The Los Angeles Monarchs were a professional ice hockey
team, active from 1944–1950, in the Pacific Coast Hockey League
(PCHL). The Monarchs are the only professional ice hockey team to win a league championship for the city of Los Angeles
. They played in the southern division of the PCHL, alongside teams from the neighboring cities such as the Pasadena Panthers, the Hollywood Wolves, and the San Diego Skyhawks
. The southern division also included the San Francisco Shamrocks, Oakland Oaks
and, in 1947, the Fresno Falcons
(Woolman, pg.1).
The Monarchs played their home games in the Pan Pacific Auditorium, which was located on Beverly Boulevard, next to the Hollywood Stars baseball field and the nearby Gilmore Stadium where midget races were held. The Stadium was also the home field for the Loyola University football team and several professional football teams including, the Los Angeles Buldogs, Los Angeles Mustangs and the Hollywood Bears, in Los Angeles's Westside. As ice hockey was a new sport in Southern California, the team enjoyed a decent amount of popularity during its tenure in Los Angeles (ibid.).
(PHL) in the 1920s. The PHL was more of an amateur level league made up of young and old players from Canada
and the Northeastern United States
. The teams were formed by local athletic clubs and league games were more like weekend recreational games, rather than a competition of professional contenders. By 1929, at the dawn of the Great Depression
, most of the teams folded. Only a few schools, most notably the University of Southern California
, the University of California, Los Angeles
and Loyola Marymount University
still supported local hockey programs (Dunigan).
Beginning in 1930, after a large ice arena was built in Sacramento
, California, attempts were made to re-form the league, but poor economic conditions, and a shortage of ice arenas stymied attempts and forced hockey organizations to compete on an amateur local level. Most clubs still in existence were either from colleges or small athletic associations. Since ice arenas were in short supply, games were played late at night and fan support was small (Woolman).
It wasn’t until 1938, with the opening of the Pan Pacific Auditorium, when a new Los Angeles Monarchs team emerged. The Pan Pacific was capable of seating 6200 spectators for ice hockey games. The Monarchs shared the arena with the Hollywood Wolves and Pasadena Panthers. With three viable teams competing in Los Angeles, other teams in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Fresno
joined to recreate the PHL. But the league was short-lived and again folded after the 1941 season (Ibid).
forced it to shut down. The teams were all based in Western Canada
and the U.S. Pacific Northwest
(Woolman).
In 1944, as signs indicated the war would be ending soon, and citizens would be able to resume normal life again, league owners decided to start the PCHL back up again. The Monarchs joined the re-born PCHL in 1944. By this time there was a much larger number of people living in Southern California – in order to support the was industries and military bases – who had transplanted from the northeast U.S., where hockey was very popular. These transplants created a much larger demand for ice hockey entertainment. The league wanted to expand south and take advantage of the growing economic and hockey fan base in California. Combined with the availability of larger ice rinks like the Pan Pacific (in Los Angeles) and the Cow Palace (in South San Francisco), ice hockey games could be offered to spectators in larger numbers and at more convenient hours (Ibid).
The Monarch's championship title had some controversy, however, due to an illegal goaltender
substitution earlier in the playoffs. While facing the cross town rival Hollywood Wolves, in game four of the best-of-five Southern Division title series, the Monarchs lost their goaltender, [I question this since when I watched the Monarchs play Polich, a Loyola University graduate played forward. He was injured when kicked in the hand by an opposing player opening a large cut in the palm. [Vic Polich]], to injury. The Monarchs then borrowed San Diego Skyhawk goaltender Ron Pickell to face the Wolves in game four. Professional hockey etiquette of that period mandated a team to get their opponent's approval of borrowing a player from another team – especially from a team that was also in the playoffs. The Monarchs picked up Pickell without doing this (Ibid).
The goalie substitution incident was soon forgotten once the Monarchs eliminated the Wolves. They then went on to sweep the Portland Eagles, four games to none, in the PCHL final and won the President's Cup. After winning the PCHL championship they traveled east to face the minor league champion Boston Olympics
for the U.S. Amateur Cup. The Monarchs lost that series but gained great respect among fans and peers in the hockey world. They almost won the President's Cup (now called the Lester Patrick Cup
and awarded to the Western Hockey League
champion) again in 1950 before losing in the final to the New Westminster Royals
(Ibid).
However, when the U.S. economy took a down turn in 1949, fewer fans had extra cash to go watch live hockey. As a result, every team in the league suffered during the 1949–50 season. Things started to unravel when the Fresno Falcons decided to fold after the 1950 season, and the San Diego Skyhawks were considering the same. The Monarchs had already lost their cross town rivals in Pasadena (1945) and in Hollywood (1947). The Monarchs needed opponents based close to Los Angeles. The team was financially strong enough to continue in the league, in spite of the fact that they faced a more grueling road schedule playing teams in the Pacific Northwest (Ibid).
Jet
travel was not yet common and the team mostly traveled by bus. Facing the prospect of having to travel by bus to the San Francisco Bay Area
and the Northwest for all of their road games, Monarchs owners scrambled to find venture capital willing to land teams in San Bernardino
and Bakersfield. However, those towns were too small and lacked the necessary capital to support new teams, especially during an economic down turn. Therefore, the northern division team owners did not want to commit to the expense and trouble of traveling to Southern California to face one team several times in a season. So, the fate of the Monarchs – and hockey in L.A. – relied upon the PCHL board of governors (Ibid).
After meeting on August 30, 1950, the PCHL board decided to disband the Southern Division, and not keep the Monarchs in the league. After the 1951-52 season, the league changed its name to the Western Hockey League to reflect the addition of teams from the Canadian prairies. Hockey fans in Los Angeles had to wait until 1961 to get another hockey team. That was when the PCHL’s decedent, the Western Hockey League (WHL) expanded south and added the Los Angeles Blades
(Ibid).
So notable is the Monarchs' legacy that when the National Hockey League
decided to expand to include a team in Los Angeles in 1967, the Los Angeles franchise would become known as the Kings
(Ibid).
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...
team, active from 1944–1950, in the Pacific Coast Hockey League
Pacific Coast Hockey League
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.-PCHL 1928-1931:...
(PCHL). The Monarchs are the only professional ice hockey team to win a league championship for the city of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. They played in the southern division of the PCHL, alongside teams from the neighboring cities such as the Pasadena Panthers, the Hollywood Wolves, and the San Diego Skyhawks
San Diego Skyhawks
The San Diego Skyhawks were a professional ice hockey team in San Diego, California. They were a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League from 1948 to 1950. They played their home games in the Glacier Gardens....
. The southern division also included the San Francisco Shamrocks, Oakland Oaks
Oakland Oaks
Oakland Oaks may refer to:*Oakland Oaks , a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955*Oakland Oaks , a professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey League from 1948 to 1949...
and, in 1947, the Fresno Falcons
Fresno Falcons
The Fresno Falcons are a defunct minor league hockey team. They were once members of the ECHL . They were located in Fresno, California.-Early history:...
(Woolman, pg.1).
The Monarchs played their home games in the Pan Pacific Auditorium, which was located on Beverly Boulevard, next to the Hollywood Stars baseball field and the nearby Gilmore Stadium where midget races were held. The Stadium was also the home field for the Loyola University football team and several professional football teams including, the Los Angeles Buldogs, Los Angeles Mustangs and the Hollywood Bears, in Los Angeles's Westside. As ice hockey was a new sport in Southern California, the team enjoyed a decent amount of popularity during its tenure in Los Angeles (ibid.).
Early L.A. Monarchs hockey clubs
The first Los Angeles Monarchs team was part of the Pacific Hockey LeaguePacific Hockey League
The Pacific Hockey League was a low-level minor professional hockey league that existed for two seasons in 1977-78, and 1978-79. Its member teams from California, Arizona and Washington states, replaced the void left by defunct World Hockey Association franchises, with some teams sharing the names...
(PHL) in the 1920s. The PHL was more of an amateur level league made up of young and old players from 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...
and the Northeastern United States
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
. The teams were formed by local athletic clubs and league games were more like weekend recreational games, rather than a competition of professional contenders. By 1929, at the dawn of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, most of the teams folded. Only a few schools, most notably the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
and Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
still supported local hockey programs (Dunigan).
Beginning in 1930, after a large ice arena was built in Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
, California, attempts were made to re-form the league, but poor economic conditions, and a shortage of ice arenas stymied attempts and forced hockey organizations to compete on an amateur local level. Most clubs still in existence were either from colleges or small athletic associations. Since ice arenas were in short supply, games were played late at night and fan support was small (Woolman).
It wasn’t until 1938, with the opening of the Pan Pacific Auditorium, when a new Los Angeles Monarchs team emerged. The Pan Pacific was capable of seating 6200 spectators for ice hockey games. The Monarchs shared the arena with the Hollywood Wolves and Pasadena Panthers. With three viable teams competing in Los Angeles, other teams in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Fresno
Fresno
Fresno is the fifth largest city in California.Fresno may also refer to:-Places:Colombia* Fresno, TolimaSpain* Fresno, a ghost village in Nidáliga, Valle de Sedano, Burgos* Aldea del Fresno, Madrid* Fresno de la Vega, Ribera del Esla, León...
joined to recreate the PHL. But the league was short-lived and again folded after the 1941 season (Ibid).
Los Angeles joins the Pacific Coast Hockey League
The Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL) has existed twice before, from 1928–31, and from 1936–41. The league first folded due to the Great Depression. In 1941, U.S. and Canadian involvement in World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
forced it to shut down. The teams were all based in Western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
and the U.S. Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
(Woolman).
In 1944, as signs indicated the war would be ending soon, and citizens would be able to resume normal life again, league owners decided to start the PCHL back up again. The Monarchs joined the re-born PCHL in 1944. By this time there was a much larger number of people living in Southern California – in order to support the was industries and military bases – who had transplanted from the northeast U.S., where hockey was very popular. These transplants created a much larger demand for ice hockey entertainment. The league wanted to expand south and take advantage of the growing economic and hockey fan base in California. Combined with the availability of larger ice rinks like the Pan Pacific (in Los Angeles) and the Cow Palace (in South San Francisco), ice hockey games could be offered to spectators in larger numbers and at more convenient hours (Ibid).
Bringing Los Angeles its first and only hockey championship
The Monarchs were competitive during their years in the PCHL. Playing the majority of their games within their region reduced travel strains and helped keep the team better rested for play. Games results do reveal how travel affected the team, with most of its biggest losses coming on the road. The Monarchs won the President’s Cup for the league championship on April 5, 1947 (Woolman).The Monarch's championship title had some controversy, however, due to an illegal goaltender
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
substitution earlier in the playoffs. While facing the cross town rival Hollywood Wolves, in game four of the best-of-five Southern Division title series, the Monarchs lost their goaltender, [I question this since when I watched the Monarchs play Polich, a Loyola University graduate played forward. He was injured when kicked in the hand by an opposing player opening a large cut in the palm. [Vic Polich]], to injury. The Monarchs then borrowed San Diego Skyhawk goaltender Ron Pickell to face the Wolves in game four. Professional hockey etiquette of that period mandated a team to get their opponent's approval of borrowing a player from another team – especially from a team that was also in the playoffs. The Monarchs picked up Pickell without doing this (Ibid).
The goalie substitution incident was soon forgotten once the Monarchs eliminated the Wolves. They then went on to sweep the Portland Eagles, four games to none, in the PCHL final and won the President's Cup. After winning the PCHL championship they traveled east to face the minor league champion Boston Olympics
Boston Olympics
The Boston Olympics are a defunct farm team for the Boston Bruins. They began play during the 1940–41 Eastern Amateur Hockey League season. The Olympics were often referred to by the shortened name the ‘Pics and the franchise remained active until the 1951–52 season.- Franchise History :Founded by...
for the U.S. Amateur Cup. The Monarchs lost that series but gained great respect among fans and peers in the hockey world. They almost won the President's Cup (now called the Lester Patrick Cup
Lester Patrick Cup
The Lester Patrick Cup was the championship trophy of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Hockey League from 1949 to 1974. Originally known as the President's Cup, the trophy was renamed in 1960 to honor pacific coast hockey pioneer and legend Lester Patrick following his death on June...
and awarded to the Western Hockey League
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...
champion) again in 1950 before losing in the final to the New Westminster Royals
New Westminster Royals
The New Westminster Royals was the name of several professional and junior ice hockey teams based in New Westminster, British Columbia.The first team played from 1912-1914 in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association which was established in 1911....
(Ibid).
Professional hockey leaves L.A
As ice hockey was in its infancy in California during the 1940s, most of the teams had trouble breaking even financially. Monarchs owner Charlie Cord, however did well financially. When facing local rivals like the Hollywood Wolves, Pasadena Panthers, and San Diego Skyhawks, the Monarchs often filled the 6200 seats in the Pan Pacific arena. Gate receipts were the mainstay of paying players and keeping the team financially afloat (Woolman).However, when the U.S. economy took a down turn in 1949, fewer fans had extra cash to go watch live hockey. As a result, every team in the league suffered during the 1949–50 season. Things started to unravel when the Fresno Falcons decided to fold after the 1950 season, and the San Diego Skyhawks were considering the same. The Monarchs had already lost their cross town rivals in Pasadena (1945) and in Hollywood (1947). The Monarchs needed opponents based close to Los Angeles. The team was financially strong enough to continue in the league, in spite of the fact that they faced a more grueling road schedule playing teams in the Pacific Northwest (Ibid).
Jet
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
travel was not yet common and the team mostly traveled by bus. Facing the prospect of having to travel by bus to the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and the Northwest for all of their road games, Monarchs owners scrambled to find venture capital willing to land teams in San Bernardino
San Bernardino
San Bernardino, California is a large city in the Inland Empire Metropolitan Area of Southern California.San Bernardino may also refer to:-Landforms:*San Bernardino , a torrent that flows through the Italian province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola...
and Bakersfield. However, those towns were too small and lacked the necessary capital to support new teams, especially during an economic down turn. Therefore, the northern division team owners did not want to commit to the expense and trouble of traveling to Southern California to face one team several times in a season. So, the fate of the Monarchs – and hockey in L.A. – relied upon the PCHL board of governors (Ibid).
After meeting on August 30, 1950, the PCHL board decided to disband the Southern Division, and not keep the Monarchs in the league. After the 1951-52 season, the league changed its name to the Western Hockey League to reflect the addition of teams from the Canadian prairies. Hockey fans in Los Angeles had to wait until 1961 to get another hockey team. That was when the PCHL’s decedent, the Western Hockey League (WHL) expanded south and added the Los Angeles Blades
Los Angeles Blades
The Los Angeles Blades were a professional inline hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. The Blades played in Roller Hockey International from 1993-1997 and played their home games at the Great Western Forum....
(Ibid).
So notable is the Monarchs' legacy that when the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
decided to expand to include a team in Los Angeles in 1967, the Los Angeles franchise would become known as the Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
(Ibid).