The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an

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

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

with teams in the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

and

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� ...

that existed in several incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952.

PCHL 1928–1931

The first incarnation of the PCHL had four teams and lasted three seasons. Brothers Frank Patrick and Lester Patrick, financed by their wealthy lumberman father

Joseph Patrick Joseph Patrick (August 4, 1857 – January 28, 1941) was a Canadian businessman who helped start the Pacific Coast Hockey Association with his sons Lester and Frank. Patrick came up with the idea to put numbers on ice hockey players' uniforms. ...

, founded it and operated franchises in Vancouver and Victoria, with Frank, one of the founders of the earlier

Pacific Coast Hockey Association The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The PCHA was co ...

(PCHA) as president. The Victoria Cubs' Arena was destroyed by fire in 1929, after which the club continued for the season and disbanded. A replacement team was formed in Tacoma, Washington.

Teams

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 ...

(1928–1931) *Seattle Eskimos (1928–1931) *Tacoma Tigers (1930–1931) *Vancouver Lions (1928–1931) *Victoria Cubs (1928–1930)

Champions

*1929: Vancouver Lions *1930: Vancouver Lions *1931: Vancouver Lions

PCHL 1936–1941

From 1931 to 1936, no league called the PCHL existed, although teams from the first PCHL joined the

Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. The WCHL's Victoria C ...

or the

North West Hockey League The North West Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed from 1933 to 1936. It was formed from the Calgary and Vancouver franchises of the Western Canada Hockey League (min ...

. In 1936, the Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver franchises of the

joined with an Oakland team to re-form the Pacific Coast Hockey League. The Oakland team relocated to Spokane in its first year. The Spokane team disbanded for the 1939–40 season, but reappeared the next year as the Spokane Bombers. The league disbanded after the 1941 season, primarily as a result of

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 ...

Teams

*Oakland Clippers/Spokane Clippers (1936–1938) *

(1936–1941) *

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

(1936–1940) *Vancouver Lions (1936–1941) *Spokane Bombers (1940–1941) *Seattle Olympics (1940–1941)

Champions

1937: Portland Buckaroos
1938: Seattle Seahawks
1939: Portland Buckaroos
1940: Vancouver Lions
1941: Vancouver Lions

PCHL 1944–1952

The final incarnation of the league was managed by

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame (french: Temple de la renommée du hockey) is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) rec ...

member

Al Leader George Alfred "Al" Leader (December 4, 1903, Barnsley, Manitoba – May 8, 1982) was a Canadian-American ice hockey player, referee, and administrator. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the "Builder" category. Leader settled in Seatt ...

, and grew out of combining teams from the Southern California Hockey League and the Northwest International Hockey League. The PCHL was founded as an amateur loop, partly because 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 ...

recognized

(PCHA) founder Lester Patrick as the territorial rights holder for professional hockey in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

, Portland, and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

. In 1948, however, the ten team league voted to turn pro, and was recognized as such by the NHL. Before the start of the 1951–1952 season, the PCHL had dwindled to a six team league. The neighbouring Western Canada Senior Hockey League (WCSHL), which played minor senior hockey on the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

prairies Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as t ...

, had also dwindled, to just three franchises. The three WCSHL franchises turned professional and joined the PCHL for 1951–1952. One year later, the PCHL renamed itself 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 ...

before the start of the 1952–1953 season. The PCHL championship trophy was the President's Cup.

Teams

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

(1951–1952) *

Edmonton Flyers The Edmonton Flyers are a defunct ice hockey team that was based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The team existed from 1940 until 1963. The Flyers played in the Edmonton Gardens. The Flyers were nominated by W. G. Hardy to represent Canada at the ...

(1951–1952) * Fresno Falcons (1946–1950) *

Hollywood Wolves The Hollywood Wolves were a Los Angeles-based minor-league hockey team that played in the Southern California Hockey League (1941–1944) and the Pacific Coast Hockey League (1944–1950). The team defeated the Boston Olympics in 1944 for the c ...

(1944–1947) *

Los Angeles Monarchs The Los Angeles Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team, active from 1944–1950, in the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL). The Monarchs are the first professional ice hockey team to win a league championship for the city of Los Angeles ...

(1944–1950) *

New Westminster Royals The New Westminster Royals was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in New Westminster, British Columbia, first established in 1911 for the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). Though nominally based in New Westminster, ...

(1945–1952) *

Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically: * Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955 *Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey t ...

(1944–1949) *Pasadena Panthers (1944–1945) *

Portland Eagles The Portland Eagles were a minor league professional hockey team located in Portland, Oregon. They were known as the Portland Penguins for one season. History The Eagles competed in the Pacific Coast Hockey League from 1944 until the team's final s ...

(1944–1949, 1950–1951) * Portland Penguins (1949–1950) * San Diego Skyhawks (1944–1950) *

San Francisco Shamrocks The San Francisco Shamrocks were a minor professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Hockey League (PHL) during the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons. Based in Daly City, California, the team played its home games in the Cow Pala ...

(1944–1950) * Saskatoon Quakers (1951–1952) *

Seattle Ironmen 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 (1952–1974), Western Hocke ...

(1944–1952) *Seattle Stars (1944–1945) *

Tacoma Rockets The Tacoma Rockets were a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1991 to 1995. They played at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The Rockets were granted as an expansion franchise, and were named after the defunct pr ...

(1946–1952) *Vancouver Vanguards (1944–1945)

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce ...

(1945–1952) *

Victoria Cougars The Victoria Cougars were a major league professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) from 1911 to 1924 under various names, and (after the PCHA's merger with the Western Canada Hockey League) in the W ...

(1949–1952)

Champions

1945: Seattle Ironmen
1946: Vancouver Canucks
1947: Los Angeles Monarchs
1948: Vancouver Canucks
1949: San Diego Skyhawks
1950: New Westminster Royals
1951: Victoria Cougars
1952: Saskatoon Quakers

References

Notes

External links

Hockey HockeyDB.com: Pacific Coast Hockey League

{{Pacific Coast Hockey League seasons Defunct ice hockey leagues in Canada Defunct ice hockey leagues in the United States Western Hockey League (1952–1974)

PCHL 1928–1931

Teams

Champions

PCHL 1936–1941

Teams

Champions

PCHL 1944–1952

Teams

Champions

See also

References

Notes

External links