The Port Arthur Bearcats (Bear Cats) were a senior amateur

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

team based in

Port Arthur, Ontario Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Superior. In January 1970, it amalgamated with Fort William, Ontario, Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay. Port Arthur had been ...

, Canada – now part of the city of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its populatio ...

– from the early 1900s until 1970. Before settling on the nickname of Bearcats, the Port Arthur team played several seasons with unofficial generic names applied by fans and sportswriters, such as the Port Arthur Ports, Port Arthur Hockey Club, and the Port Arthur Seniors.

History

Canadian Ice Hockey Team, 1936 Winter Olympics

Port Arthur played the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...

for the Stanley Cup in a 1911 challenge, losing 13–4 in a one-game showdown on March 16, 1911. By 1915 the Port Arthur was playing in the Thunder Bay Senior A Hockey League (TBSHL). Port Arthur is located in

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

portion of Ontario, the Bearcats found it convenient to play in the

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

Senior A Hockey League (MSHL, MTBSHL) at various times during its history. The Bearcats have also played seasons in the Port Arthur Senior Hockey League (PSHL) and the International Amateur Hockey League (IAHL). The Bearcats were amongst the best Senior-A teams in Canada, playing in the national

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are th ...

championship finals seven times from 1925 through 1942, winning the

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the It ...

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos (general), Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Kingdom of Hejaz, Hejaz. ** Bảo Đại, Crown Prince Nguyễn P ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholi ...

and

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidde ...

Allan Cup championships. During years that the Allan Cup was an East versus West competition, the Bearcats played as the representative from

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

. After the

1935 Allan Cup The 1935 Allan Cup was the senior ice hockey championship of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) for the 1934–35 season. In the best-of-three final, the Halifax Wolverines defeated the Port Arthur Bearcats two games to none. Final ...

champion

Halifax Wolverines The Halifax Wolverines (sometimes; Halifax Wolves) were an amateur men's senior ice hockey team based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The team won the 1935 Allan Cup, and were nominated to represent Canada in ice hockey at the 1936 Winter Olympics b ...

disbanded, the

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; french: Association canadienne de hockey amateur) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction included ...

(CAHA) chose the runnerup Bearcats to be Canada's representative at the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (german: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 ( bar, Garmasch-Partakurch 1936), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 ...

in Garmisch-Partenkirchen,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. The Bearcats won the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, e ...

for Canada. The team remained on an exhibition tour in Europe after the Olympics and returned late to Canada. CAHA president

E. A. Gilroy Edward Albert Gilroy (October 10, 1879August 8, 1942) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator. He served as president of the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) from 1927 to 1934, and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) from ...

upheld the ruling by

W. G. Hardy William George Hardy (February 3, 1895 – August 28, 1979) was a Canadian professor, writer, and ice hockey administrator. He lectured on the Classics at the University of Alberta from 1922 to 1964, and served as president of the Canadian Au ...

to exclude the team from the

1936 Allan Cup The 1936 Allan Cup the Canadian senior ice hockey championship for the 1935–36 sason. The 1936 championship was the 29th time the Allan Cup had been awarded. Playdowns In 1936 the Kimberley Dynamiters won the Allan Cup, defeating the Sudbur ...

playoffs. The Bearcats were chosen to represent Canada at the

1940 Winter Olympics The 1940 Winter Olympics, which would have been officially known as the and as Sapporo 1940 (札幌1940), were to have been celebrated from 3 to 12 February 1940 in Sapporo, Japan, but the games were eventually cancelled due to the onset of Wo ...

, and CAHA vice-president Frank Sargent was placed in charge of the upcoming tour of Europe. The CAHA approved C$5,000 towards travel expenses, and the team would receive any profits from exhibition games played while in Europe. The Bearcats requested a guarantee from the CAHA against financial loss, and Sargent expected a meeting to decide on the travel demands. The 1940 Winter Olympics were ultimately cancelled after the German

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...

in September 1939. The team suspended operation in 1943 and 1944, due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The Bearcats returned in the 1945–46 season, continuing operation until the

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

of the cities of Port Arthur and Fort William, with the Fort William Beavers joining the Bearcats to form the

Thunder Bay Twins The Thunder Bay Twins were an Amateur Senior and Professional ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The Twins won five Allan Cups as National Senior Champions from 1970 until 1991. Origin On 1 January 1970, the City of Thunder B ...

for the 1970–71 season. This new iteration would appear in six more Allan Cup finals, including five Allan Cup wins. This team folded after finishing as runnerup in the

1991 Allan Cup The 1991 Allan Cup was the Canadian national senior ice hockey championship for the 1990-91 Senior "AAA" season. The event was hosted by the Thunder Bay Twins in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The 1991 tournament marked the 83rd time that the Allan Cup has ...

. The Bearcats and the successor Twins combined for 13 Allan Cup competitions, winning a combined 9 championships. The 1936 Olympic silver medalist Bearcats team was inducted into the

Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame The Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, established in 1978 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, is dedicated to the people of Northwestern Ontario who have achieved greatness in sport. It is located on 219 South May Street in Downtown Fort W ...

in 1987. In the winter of 1961–62, the Bearcats represented Canada in a European exhibition game tour, facilitated by

Fred Page Frederick Page (September 29, 1915 – December 23, 1997) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator and ice hockey referee. He originated from Port Arthur, Ontario, where he played junior ice hockey, refereed locally and later at the Memorial C ...

Notable players

1936 Olympic team roster

Gus Saxberg Gus is a masculine name, often a diminutive for Angus, August, Augustine, or Augustus, and other names (e.g. Aengus, Argus, Fergus, Ghassan, Gustav, Gustave, Gustafson, Gustavo, Gussie). It can also be used as the adaptation into English ...

* Maxwell Deacon * Hugh Farguharson *

Kenneth Farmer-Horn Kenneth Pentin Farmer, (July 26, 1912 – January 12, 2005) was a Canadian ice hockey player and businessman. He won a Winter Olympics silver medal winner in ice hockey, served as president of the Canadian Olympic Association, and worked as ...

* James Haggarty *

Walter Kitchen Walter Lawrence "Pud" Kitchen (December 18, 1912 – July 18, 1988) was a Canadian ice hockey player who competed in the 1936 Winter Olympics. As owner of the horse Hail To Patsy, he won the 1969 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. Kitchen wa ...

Raymond Milton Raymond Bernard Milton (August 27, 1912 Stouffville, Ontario – September 17, 2003) was a Canadian ice hockey player who competed in the 1936 Winter Olympics. Milton was a member of the 1936 Port Arthur Bearcats, which won the silver medal for ...

* Francis Moore * Herman Murray * Arthur Nash * David Neville *

Alexander Sinclair Alexander George Sinclair (June 28, 1911 – October 2, 2002) was a Canadian ice hockey player who competed in the 1936 Winter Olympics. Sinclair was a member of the 1936 Port Arthur Bearcats, which won the silver medal for Canada in ice hoc ...

* Ralph St. Germain * Bill Thomson

NHL alumni

Thirty-one alumni from the Port Arthur Bearcats/Ports/Hockey Club/Seniors/Bear Cats played in the

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

:Port Arthur Bearcats (revival) alumni search
/ref> * Cliff Barton, Bart Bradley, Bill Brydge,

Marty Burke Martin Alfonses Burke (January 28, 1905 in Toronto, Ontario – March 7, 1968) was a defenceman in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Black Hawks. He was on two Stanley Cup championship teams i ...

Harry Cameron Harold Hugh Cameron (February 6, 1890 – October 20, 1953) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played professionally for the Toronto Blueshirts, Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators, Toronto St. Pats, and Montreal Canadiens. Cameron won three St ...

Eddie Carpenter Everard Lorne Carpenter (June 15, 1890 – April 30, 1963) was a Canadian ice hockey player. He played in the Maritime Professional Hockey League (MPHL), National Hockey Association (NHA), National Hockey League (NHL), and Pacific Coast Hoc ...

Lorne Chabot Laurent Edward Chabot (October 5, 1900 – October 10, 1946) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Chabot played in the National Hockey League from 1926 to 1937. He was a member of two Stanley Cup championship teams, the New York Rangers ...

Art Chapman John Arthur Chapman (May 29, 1905 – December 31, 1962) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Chapman started his National Hockey League career with the Boston Bruins in 1930. He would also play for the New Yor ...

Bob Connors Robert Allan Connors (October 19, 1902 — July 27, 1931) was a Scottish-born Canadian professional ice hockey left winger and defenceman who played 78 games in the National Hockey League between 1926 and 1930. He played with the Detroit Coug ...

, Danny Cox,

Jimmy Creighton James Albert Creighton (November 18, 1905 – May 29, 1990) was an ice hockey player and politician from Brandon, Manitoba. Creighton played eleven games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Falcons in 1931, scoring one goal and receiv ...

Gus Forslund Gustaf Oliver Forslund (April 25, 1908 – August 4, 1962) was a Swedish-born Canadian professional ice hockey right wing player. In the 1932–33 season, he became the first Swedish-born player in the National Hockey League, and played 48 games ...

Gord Fraser Gordon Fraser may refer to: *Gord Fraser (cyclist) (born 1968), Canadian road bicycle racer *Gord Fraser (ice hockey) (1902–1966), Canadian professional hockey player *Gordon Fraser (publisher) (1911–1981), British publisher *Gordon Fraser (act ...

, Alex Gray,

Jim Haggarty James Timothy Haggarty (April 14, 1914 – March 8, 1998) was a Canadian ice hockey player who competed in the 1936 Winter Olympics. He later played five games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens. He was born in Port Art ...

Steve Hrymnak Stefan "Steve" Hrymnak (March 3, 1926 – November 23, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 18 regular season games in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks and 2 playoff games for the Detroit Red Wing ...

, James Jarvis,

Dick Kotanen Eino Richard Erwin Kotanen (November 18, 1925 – September 9, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played in one National Hockey League game for the New York Rangers during the 1950–51 NHL season The 1950–51 NHL s ...

Edgar Laprade Edgar Louis "Beaver" Laprade (October 10, 1919 – April 28, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League. The son of Thomas and Edith Laprade, he was born in the New On ...

, Norm Larson, Jim McLeod, Rudy Migay,

Frank Nighbor Julius Francis Joseph "Pembroke Peach" Nighbor (January 26, 1893 – April 13, 1966) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played primarily for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey Le ...

Bud Poile Norman Robert "Bud" Poile (February 10, 1924 – January 4, 2005) was a professional ice hockey player, coach, general manager, and league executive. Bud is the brother of Don Poile, and the father of David Poile. Overview Poile was born in For ...

Albert Pudas Juho Albert Pudas (originally Putaansuu) (February 17, 1899 – October 28, 1976) was a Finnish-Canadian ice hockey player and coach. He was the first Finnish-born hockey player in the National Hockey League and possibly in North America. Foll ...

, Charlie Sands,

Red Spooner Andrew George "Red" Spooner (August 24, 1910 — May 7, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played in one National Hockey League game for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1929–30 NHL season The 1929–30 NHL season was ...

, Butch Stahan, Bill Thomson,

Jack Walker Jack Walker (19 May 1929 – 17 August 2000) was a British industrialist and businessman. Walker built his fortune in the steel industry, amassing a personal fortune of £600 million. He then went on to become the owner and benefactor of Black ...

Alex Wellington Alexander Robertson "Duke" Wellington (August 4, 1891 – September 20, 1967) was a Canadian ice hockey player. Wellington played senior ice hockey and one game in the National Hockey League for the Quebec Bulldogs during the 1919–20 NHL season. ...

Gord Wilson Gordon Allan Wilson (born August 13, 1932) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played two playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins during the 1954–55 season. The rest of his career, which lasted fr ...

Steve Wojciechowski Steven Michael Wojciechowski (born August 11, 1976), also known as Wojo, is an American basketball coach and former player who was the head coach at Marquette University for seven seasons. He previously played and coached under head coach Mike K ...

, Benny Woit

Season-by-season standings

References

Notes

{{end Hockey Northwestern Ontario Senior ice hockey teams Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada Olympic silver medalists for Canada Ice hockey teams representing Canada internationally