The Trail Smoke Eaters (previously named as the Trail Hockey Club) were a senior level 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...

 team from Trail, British Columbia

Trail, British Columbia

Trail is a city in the West Kootenay region of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada.-Geography:Trail has an area of . The city is located on both banks of the Columbia River, approximately 10 km north of the United States border. This section of the Columbia River valley is located between the...

 that played from 1926 to 1987. They are recognized as being one of the best senior hockey teams in Canadian history. The Smoke Eaters won their first Allan Cup

Allan Cup

The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...

 in 1938

1938 Allan Cup

The 1938 Allan Cup was the Canadian national senior ice hockey championship for the 1937-38 Senior season.-Final:Best of 5*Trail 6 Cornwall 4*Trail 8 Cornwall 2*Cornwall 2 Trail 1*Trail 5 Cornwall 1Trail Smoke Eaters beat Cornwall Flyers 3-1 on series....

; they won the 1939 World Ice Hockey Championships

1939 World Ice Hockey Championships

The 1939 Ice Hockey World Championships were held between February 3 and February 12, 1939 in Zürich and Basel, Switzerland. The fourteen teams participating in the 1939 World Championship were initially divided into four preliminary groups: two groups of four and two groups of three. The top two...

 and the 1961 World Ice Hockey Championships

1961 World Ice Hockey Championships

The 1961 World Ice Hockey Championships was the 28th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland from March 1 to March 12, 1961. Canada, represented by the Trail Smoke Eaters, won their nineteenth international title...

; and they won another Allan Cup in 1962

1962 Allan Cup

The 1962 Allan Cup was the Canadian national senior ice hockey championship for the 1961-62 Senior "A" season. The event was hosted by the Trail Smoke Eaters and Trail, British Columbia...

.
The Trail Smoke Eaters played out of the small mining town of Trail in southeastern British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 and were subsidised by the mining company to provide recreation and entertainment for the isolated community.