The 1960–61 WHL season was the ninth season of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

. The

Portland Buckaroos The Portland Buckaroos was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in Portland, Oregon. PCHL/NWHL era (1928–1941) The first incarnation of Portland Buckaroos played their home games at the Portland Ice Arena. The Buckaroos ini ...

were the

Lester Patrick Cup The Lester Patrick Cup was the championship trophy of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1949 to 1974. Originally known as the Phil Henderson Cup and then in 1952 it was renamed to the President's Cup. The t ...

champions as they beat the

Seattle Totems The Seattle Totems were a professional ice hockey franchise in Seattle, Washington. Under several names prior to 1958, the franchise was a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League (renamed the Western Hockey League in 1952) between 1944 and 19 ...

four games to two in the final series.

Lester Patrick Curtis Lester Patrick (December 31, 1883 – June 1, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (Western Hockey League after 1924), and t ...

died on June 1, 1960, and in honour of him the WHL voted to rename the championship trophy from the President's Cup to the

. The

joined the league, and the eight teams played in one division.

Lou Jankowski Louis Casimer Jankowski (June 27, 1931 – March 21, 2010) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and scout who played 131 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks between 1951 and 1955. The ...

of Calgary set a league record with 57 goals, and was named most valuable player. Art Jones of Portland won the scoring title with 100 points, one more than Jankowski.

Final standings

bold – qualified for playoffs

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

The final, between Portland and Seattle, was the first in league history to feature two American teams. The Portland Buckaroos defeated the Seattle Totems 4 games to 2 to win the Lester Patrick Cup.

References

Bibliography

* Western Hockey League (1952–1974) seasons 1960–61 in American ice hockey by league 1960–61 in Canadian ice hockey by league {{Icehockey-competition-stub