The 1936 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

and 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 ...

. This was Detroit's second appearance in the Finals and Toronto's sixth. Detroit would win the series 3–1 to win their first

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 ...

Path to the Final

Detroit defeated the defending champion

Montreal Maroons The Montreal Maroons (officially the Montreal Professional Hockey Club) were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL). They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935. They were the la ...

in a best-of-five 3–0 to advance to the Finals. The Leafs had to play a total-goals series; 8–6 against

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, and win a best-of-three 2–1 against 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 ...

to advance to the Finals.

Game summaries

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1936 Stanley Cup was presented to Red Wings captain Doug Young by NHL President

Frank Calder Frank Sellick Calder (November 17, 1877 – February 4, 1943) was a British-born Canadian ice hockey executive, journalist, and athlete. Calder was the first president of the National Hockey League (NHL), from 1917 until his death in 1943. He ...

following the Red Wings 3–2 win over the Maple Leafs in game four. The following Red Wings players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup 1935–36 Detroit Red Wings

Detroit: "City of Champions"

When the Red Wings won the 1936 Stanley Cup, the City of Detroit was mired in the Great Depression, which had hit Detroit and its industries particularly hard. But with the success of the Red Wings and other Detroit teams and athletes in the 1935/36 sports season, Detroit's luck appeared to be changing, as the city was dubbed the " City of Champions". The

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

started the winning streak by winning the

1935 World Series The 1935 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1935 season. The 32nd edition of the World Series, it matched the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs. The Tigers won in six games for their first championship ...

, and the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

continued the process by capturing the

1935 NFL Championship Game The 1935 NFL Championship game was the third National Football League (NFL) title game, held December 15 at University of Detroit Stadium (Titan Stadium) in Detroit, Michigan. The 1935 champion of the Western Division was the Detroit Lions (7– ...

. When the Red Wings completed their own championship drive, the city had seen three major sporting league championships in less than a year.Detroit held all three titles for 178 days, from April 11 until October 6, 1936. The only other city to hold three major professional team titles at once was New York (Yankees, NFL Giants and Rangers) in 1927-28. Detroit's champions also included Detroit's "Brown Bomber",

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...

, the heavyweight boxing titlist; native Detroiter

Gar Wood Garfield Arthur "Gar" Wood (December 4, 1880 – June 19, 1971) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and championship motorboat builder and racer who held the world water speed record on several occasions. He was the first man to travel ...

, top unlimited powerboat racer and the first man to go 100 miles per hour on water; and Eddie "the Midnight Express" Tolan, a black Detroiter who won gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter races at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). ''Lord Stanley's Cup''. Bolton, Ont.: Fenn Pub. pp 12, 50. {{1935–36 NHL season by team

Stanley Cup Finals Detroit Red Wings games Toronto Maple Leafs games Sports competitions in Detroit April 1936 sports events

1936 in Detroit 1936 in Ontario 1930s in Toronto