The 1931–32

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

season was the team's sixth

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, and they were coming off of their first ever

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

finals appearance, as they lost to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in 5 games in the 1931 finals. The Hawks would not bring back

Dick Irvin James Dickinson "Dick" Irvin Jr. (or II) (July 19, 1892 – May 16, 1957) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played for professional teams in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, the Western Canada Hockey League, and th ...

as head coach though, as they rehired Bill Tobin, who coached the Hawks at the end of the 1929–30 season. Despite finishing with an under .500 record, as the Hawks would get 47 points in 48 games, the team finished in 2nd place in the American Division, and would qualify for the playoffs for the 3rd straight season. The Black Hawks would be led offensively by

Johnny Gottselig Johannes “Johnny” Gottselig (russian: Иван Гоцелиг) (June 24, 1905 – May 15, 1986) was a professional ice hockey left winger who played 16 seasons for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1928 and 19 ...

, who led the club with 13 goals and 28 points, while

Tom Cook Thomas John Cook (May 7, 1907 – October 2, 1961) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 348 games in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Black Hawks and Montreal Maroons between 1929 and 1938. He won the Stanley Cup ...

would finish just behind him with 12 goals and 25 points.

Mush March Harold Clarence "Mush" March (October 18, 1908 – January 9, 2002) was a Canadian ice hockey player in the National Hockey League. He is best remembered for scoring the game-winning goal in the second overtime of game four of the 1934 Stanley Cu ...

would have a big season, scoring 12 goals and earning 22 points, while leading the club with 59 penalty minutes. In goal, Chuck Gardiner would win the

Vezina Trophy The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two NHL general managers vote to determine the winner. It is named in ...

, as the Black Hawks would have the fewest goals against in the entire league. Gardiner would win 18 games, post a 1.85 GAA and have 4 shutouts. One seemingly routine regular season game was recalled 30 years later in a February 1, 1962, episode of ABC television's

The Untouchables Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to: American history * Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness * ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley * ''The Un ...

, titled "Silent Partner" in which one of the characters, agent Lee Hobson, goes to the Black Hawks game vs. the

New York Americans The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play ...

. The game was played on March 4, 1932, but narrator

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and co ...

's script put the date at March 5, possibly because researchers would have found stories about the night game in the next morning's newspapers. The show got the 6–1 Black Hawk victory correct, but it cannot be determined if Winchell's remark of attendance of 7,000 was also correct. Chicago would face the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

in the opening round of the playoffs for the 2nd straight year, however, unlike the previous season, the Black Hawks could not defeat Toronto in the 2 game total goal series, as the Leafs would eliminate the Hawks by a 6–2 score.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

Regular season

Playoffs

Toronto Maple Leafs 6, Chicago Black Hawks 2

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Goaltending

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Goaltending

References

SHRP SportsThe Internet Hockey Database
*National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:1931-32 Chicago Black Hawks season Chicago Blackhawks seasons

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...