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 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 h ...

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 and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay. Port Arthur had been the district seat o ...

, 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 population i ...

– 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 membe ...

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 id ...

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 = Winn ...

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 the ...

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 Itali ...

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...

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 Catholic ...

and 1939 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 champion Halifax Wolverines disbanded, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (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, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The Bearcats won the silver medal for Canada. The team remained on an exhibition tour in Europe after the Olympics and returned late to Canada. CAHA president E. A. Gilroy upheld the ruling by W. G. Hardy to exclude the team from the 1936 Allan Cup playoffs. The Bearcats were chosen to represent Canada at the 1940 Winter Olympics, 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 aft ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

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

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 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 ...

Notable players

1936 Olympic team roster

* Gus Saxberg * Maxwell Deacon * Hugh Farguharson * Kenneth Farmer-Horn * James Haggarty * Walter Kitchen * Raymond Milton * Francis Moore * Herman Murray * Arthur Nash * David Neville * Alexander Sinclair * 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 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 ...

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

Bill Brydge William Henry Beatty Brydge (October 23, 1898 – November 2, 1949) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 368 games in the National Hockey League between 1926 and 1936 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Cougars and the Ne ...

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 ...

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 Hockey A ...

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, Danny Cox, Jimmy Creighton,

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, Alex Gray, Jim Haggarty, Steve Hrymnak, James Jarvis, Dick Kotanen,

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 Ontari ...

, 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 Leag ...

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 Fo ...

, Albert Pudas, Charlie Sands, Red Spooner, 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, Gord Wilson, Steve Wojciechowski, 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