The Timiskaming Professional Hockey League (TPHL) was a minor

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

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 ...

league based in the area of

Lake Timiskaming Lake Timiskaming or Lake Temiskaming (french: Lac Témiscamingue) is a large freshwater lake on the provincial boundary between Ontario and Quebec, Canada. The lake, which forms part of the Ottawa River, is in length and covers an area of ...

, Canada. Founded in 1906, the league is notable for providing teams and Ambrose O'Brien, a founder of the

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), officially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey Lea ...

and the founding owner of the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

History

The league was founded in the early 1900s in the mining towns of Northern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. Owned by wealthy mine owners, the league paid its players, one of the few leagues to do so at the time. The games between teams served as the basis for high-stakes gambling between the owners, players and the public. 'Ringers' from the southern

leagues would be paid to join the teams for a single game, hoping to garner large gambling profits for the team owners. Haileybury Hockey Club, 1908–09

In a 1909 game between Haileybury and Cobalt at Cobalt, over $10,000 dollars was in the pot in bets. Haileybury won 6–5 in overtime, with five of the six goals scored by Harry Smith who had been lured from the

Montreal Wanderers The Montreal Wanderers were an amateur, and later professional, ice hockey team based in Montreal. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL), the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA), the National Hockey Association ...

of the Eastern Canada Hockey Association. The use of 'ringers' had one negative effect on the league. The league challenged for the Stanley Cup twice in 1909 and was rejected twice by the Stanley Cup trustees because of the 'ineligible' players on Cobalt, the 1909 champion. The trustees implemented a rule that players had to be a member of the team at the start of season, set at January 2. Just before the 1910 season, the league dissolved so that two of its teams, Cobalt and Haileybury would help to form the National Hockey Association. The owner of the two teams Ambrose O'Brien, along with his family's money financed four teams in the NHA, including the Renfrew Millionaires and the

, then known as 'Les Canadiens'. In 1910, after their NHA franchises were dealt away, the TPHL resumed play and Cobalt and Haileybury returned to the league for the 1910–11 season before ending operations.

Teams

Cobalt Silver Kings The Cobalt Silver Kings of Cobalt, Ontario, were a professional ice hockey club established in 1906. The team is notable for being a founding member of the National Hockey Association, the predecessor to the National Hockey League. Established t ...

– 1906 – 1911 *

Haileybury Comets The Haileybury Hockey Club (also known as the ''Haileybury Comets'' or ''Haileybury Miners'') of Haileybury, Ontario, was a professional ice hockey club established in 1906. The team is notable for being a founding member of the National Hockey Ass ...

– 1906 – 1911 *

New Liskeard, Ontario Temiskaming Shores is a city in the Timiskaming District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It was created by the amalgamation of the town of New Liskeard, the town of Haileybury, and the township of Dymond in 2004. The city had a total population ...

– 1906–07 *

Latchford, Ontario Latchford is a Single-tier municipality town in Timiskaming District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is located on Bay Lake on the Montreal River near the town of Cobalt and the municipality of Temagami and is 20 kilometres (13 miles) from ...

– 1906–07 *

North Bay, Ontario North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing. North Bay developed as a railroad centre, and its airport was an important military ...

– 1910–11

Notable players

These may have been 'ringers' imported for single games: * Ed Decarie – Cobalt 1906-07 *

Newsy Lalonde Édouard Cyrille "Newsy" Lalonde (October 31, 1887 – November 21, 1970) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League (NHL) and a professional lacrosse player. Lalonde is regarded as one of hockey's and lacrosse's ...

– Cobalt 1906-07, Haileybury 1907-08 *

Bert Lindsay Leslie Bertrand Lindsay (July 23, 1881 – November 11, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey Association (NHA), Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), and National Hockey League (NHL). Born in West Gar ...

– Latchford 1906–07 *

Hugh Lehman Frederick Hugh "Old Eagle Eyes" Lehman (October 27, 1885 – April 12, 1961) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He started his ice hockey career playing for the Pembroke Lumber Kings and the Berlin Dutchmen. In 1911, Lehman joined ...

– Cobalt 1906-07 *

Didier Pitre Joseph George Didier "Cannonball" Pitre (September 1, 1883 – July 29, 1934) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Nicknamed "Cannonball," he was renown for having one of the hardest shots during his playing career. One of the first playe ...

– Cobalt 1906-07 * Bruce Ridpath – Cobalt 1906-07, 1908–09 * Bobby Rowe – Latchford 1906–07, Haileybury 1908–09 * Art Ross – Cobalt 1908–09 * Harry Smith – Haileybury 1908–09 * Tommy Smith – Haileybury 1908–09

References

Defunct ice hockey leagues in Ontario Pre–National Hockey League Defunct ice hockey leagues in Quebec {{icehockey-league-stub

History

Teams

Notable players

See also

References