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 ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Renfrew Creamery Kings The Renfrew Hockey Club, also known as the Creamery Kings and the Millionaires, was a founding franchise in 1909 of the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the National Hockey League. The team was based in the founder Ambrose O'Brien's ...

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 ...

Arena Gardens An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

Lol Solman Lawrence "Lol" Solman (May 14, 1863 – March 24, 1931) was a prominent businessman in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Biography Born in Toronto, Solman was educated in public schools.Aemilius Jarvis, Joseph Kilgour, T.W. Horn, R.A. Smith, and Col. Carlson. There were two other directors from Montreal. W. J. Bellingham was the initial manager. The franchise which became the Toronto Hockey Club was bought by

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both ...

,

Percy Quinn John Purcell Quinn (January 9, 1876 – October 28, 1944) was a Canadian athlete, businessman, sports executive and politician. He was an owner and president of the Toronto Blueshirts, winners of the Stanley Cup in 1914. He was a member of the wor ...

and other investors for . Quinn was president of the

Dominion Lacrosse Association The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 Im ...

, a Canadian professional

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

league that had patterned itself after the NHA. The second Toronto franchise was awarded to a group affiliated with the Tecumseh Lacrosse Club of Toronto. The Tecumsehs bought a franchise from O'Brien, paying cash and promissory notes for Although the NHA franchise was bought from O'Brien, who had operated a team with it, no other assets came with the franchise. According to ''Coleman'', the franchise for the Torontos was that used by the Les Canadiens. Other books quote O'Brien as selling the Canadiens to George Kennedy, leaving the case of which franchise was sold to Robinson unresolved. In any case, the Toronto team was built from scratch and did not include any players from Les Canadiens. The first manager was Toronto native and former

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 ...

player Bruce Ridpath, who had intended to be a playing-coach but was no longer able to play due to an injury suffered when he was struck by an automobile the previous year. The schedule for the 1911–12 season was drawn up with two Toronto teams. As the Arena was not finished, no games were scheduled to be played in Toronto until the end of January, when the new arena was supposed to be ready. It soon became clear that construction of Arena Gardens would not be finished in time, and in mid-December it was announced that the two Toronto teams had been dropped from the schedule and the league would play with only four teams that season. The Torontos played their first game on December 25, 1912, before 4,000 fans at Arena Gardens. The Toronto Hockey Club was owned by Quinn, managed by Ridpath, and initially coached by Tom Humphrey who was soon replaced by player-coach

Jack Marshall Sir John Ross Marshall New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405 (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years ...

. The team Ridpath put on the ice included

Cully Wilson Carol William "Cully" Wilson (June 5, 1892 – July 7, 1962) was an Icelandic-Canadian professional ice hockey player. The right winger played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto St. Pats, Montreal Canadiens, Hamilton Tigers, a ...

and future hall-of-famers

Hap Holmes Harry George "Hap" Holmes (February 21, 1888 – June 27, 1941) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. As a professional, Holmes won the Stanley Cup four times, with four teams. He tied the record of his 1914 Stanley Cup winning T ...

, Harry Cameron,

Frank Foyston Frank Corbett "Flash" Foyston (February 2, 1891 – January 19, 1966) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Foyston was a member of Stanley Cup championship teams three times: with the Toronto Blueshirts in 1914, the Seattle M ...

, and

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 ...

. The Torontos finished the year in a tie for third place. Before the 1913–14 season, the club faced some upheaval. Ridpath resigned as manager in October 1913 and was replaced by Marshall. Ridpath would try out as a player but gave up his comeback attempt before the season started. Despite the changes, the Torontos won the Stanley Cup in 1914, defeating 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 ...

in a playoff to decide the NHA champion. After the season, the team then played a series with the

Victoria Aristocrats 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 ...

of the

Pacific Coast Hockey League The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed in several incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952. PCHL 1928–1931 The first ...

. A controversy erupted when a letter arrived from the Stanley Cup trustees on March 17, that the trustees would not let the Stanley Cup travel west, as they did not consider Victoria a proper challenger because they had not formally notified the trustees. However, on March 18, Trustee William Foran stated that it was a misunderstanding. PCHA president Frank Patrick had not filed a challenge, because he had expected

Emmett Quinn Thomas Emmett Quinn (September 10, 1877 – February 9, 1930) was a Canadian ice hockey executive, coach and referee. Quinn served as president of the National Hockey Association (NHA), the predecessor of today's National Hockey League (NHL). Hi ...

of the NHA to make all of the arrangements in his role as hockey commissioner, whereas the trustees thought they were being deliberately ignored. In any case, all arrangements had been ironed out and the Victoria challenge was accepted. Nevertheless, the Torontos defeated Victoria in a best-of-five series played in Toronto in three straight games.

The Livingstone era

Quinn left the team after the Stanley Cup win to return to business and his absence was felt. The next season, the team fell to fourth place in the six-team NHA with a record of 8 wins and 12 losses (down from 13 wins and 7 losses). Before the 1915–16 season, several events occurred that changed the NHA and the Blueshirts specifically. Robinson joined the Canadian military in 1915 and put the Blueshirts up for sale. Robinson received two offers for the club; the McNamara brothers and

Eddie Livingstone Edward James Livingstone (September 12, 1884 – September 11, 1945) was a Canadian sports team owner and manager. He was the principal owner of the Toronto Shamrocks and the Toronto Blueshirts professional ice hockey clubs of the National Hocke ...

, owner of the

Toronto Shamrocks Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Livingstone was from Toronto and offered more, and Robinson accepted his bid. At the same time, the

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 cons ...

—upset over the NHA's efforts to bring Cyclone Taylor back east—broke all ties with the NHA and conducted a player raid. The PCHA created a new team in

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 regio ...

and stocked it with the Torontos' two leading scorers in Wilson and Foyston, their goaltender, Hap Holmes, and two other key members of the Toronto team in

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The only regular Blueshirts' players to remain in Toronto were Cameron and

Roy McGiffin Francis Roy "Minnie" McGiffin, last name sometimes spelt McGiffen, (March 2, 1890 – August 30, 1918) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played for the Toronto Blueshirts of the Canadian National Hockey Association (NHA) from 1912 ...

. Livingstone announced he planned to sell the Shamrocks. After the dust settled, the Patricks had stocked their new team, conducted a raid on the NHA, Robinson was able to sell his team and Livingstone had the Toronto market to himself. Despite the raid, Livingstone did not retaliate against the PCHA and never did. According to authors Morey Holzman and Joseph Nieforth, this strongly suggested a deal had been made between Livingstone, Robinson and the Patricks. To make up for the players lost in the raid, Livingstone transferred Shamrocks players to the Blueshirts and allowed the Shamrock franchise to go dormant. The Torontos, composed mostly of former Shamrock players, skated to a record of 9 wins, 14 losses and 1 tie in the

1915–16 NHA season The 1915–16 NHA season was the seventh season of the National Hockey Association. Five teams played a 24 game schedule. Montreal Canadiens won the league championship and defeated the Portland Rosebuds to win their first ever Stanley Cup. Lea ...

, finishing in last place in the five-team league. Livingstone was frequently at odds with his fellow owners, particularly Sam Lichtenhein of 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 ...

. Tempers boiled over when the NHA added a second Toronto team in 1916–17, representing the 228th Battalion of the Canadian army. The 228th was forced to withdraw its team in mid-season when the unit was called overseas. That left the NHA with an odd number of teams. On February 12, the team owners—at a meeting that did not include Livingstone—decided to even-up the number of teams by suspending operations of the Torontos for the rest of the season. All players were given to other NHA teams for the rest of the season. At the time, the plan was to return the players to the Toronto franchise, but the other owners wanted Livingstone out. At the end of the season, Toronto was reinstated, with the condition that Livingstone sell the club within 60 days. However, Livingstone obtained a court order to prevent the sale.

1917–1919: Arena era

On November 22, the NHA owners announced that the league would suspend operations for the 1917–18 season. About two weeks later, all of the owners except Livingstone announced that they were creating a new league, 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 ...

. However, they did not invite Livingstone to join them, effectively leaving him in a one-team league. The NHA owners made this move as a work-around the NHA constitution, which barred them from expelling the Blueshirts even though they had long since lost patience with him. Despite having rid themselves of Livingstone, the other teams wished to keep a team in Toronto. They also needed a fourth team to balance the schedule due to the Quebec Bulldogs' decision to sit out the season. Accordingly, Livingstone's landlord, the Toronto Arena Company, was given a temporary Toronto franchise in the NHL and leased Livingstone's Torontos players for the inaugural

1917–18 NHL season The 1917–18 NHL season was the first season of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league was formed after the suspension of the National Hockey Association (NHA). Play was held in two halves, December 19 to February 4, and February 6 to Mar ...

. At the time,

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 ...

, the NHL president, was demanding that the Arena Company and Livingstone come to an agreement to transfer the franchise. To Toronto fans, it looked like little had changed on the ice. Although the team had no official name, it was made up mostly of former Blueshirts. As a result, the newspapers still called the team "the Blueshirts" or "the Torontos," as they always had. Additionally, the team wore a white sweater with a blue "T," the same uniform worn by the Blueshirts in the previous season. Led by general manager

Charlie Querrie Charles Laurens Querrie (July 25, 1877 – April 5, 1950) was the first General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, at the time called the Toronto Arenas (1917–20) and the Toronto St. Patricks (1920–27). Querrie was born in Markham, Ontario ...

and coach

Dick Carroll Richard Leo Carroll (April 28, 1885 – January 20, 1952) was a Canadian ice hockey coach. He led the Toronto team in the National Hockey League to the Stanley Cup championship in 1918 and the Toronto Canoe Club junior hockey team to the Memo ...

, the team won the Stanley Cup in 1918. In fitting fashion, no winner was engraved on the Stanley Cup. However, in 1947, the NHL added the name of the

Toronto Arenas The Toronto Arenas or Torontos were a professional men's ice hockey team that played in the first two seasons of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was operated by the owner of the Arena Gardens, the Toronto Arena Company. As the ownership of ...

for 1918. The Arena Company had originally promised to return the Toronto players to Livingstone if no transfer could be arranged. Instead, before the 1918–19 season, it formed a new club, the Toronto Arena Hockey Club. This new franchise was separated from the Arena Company because it was due money to Livingstone from the players and the Stanley Cup revenues (fixed later by court at $20,000). Additionally, it could exist separately from any legal action filed by Livingstone. On paper, the club was owned by Arena Company secretary-treasurer Hubert Vearncombe and Querrie, with Vearncombe as team president. The NHL readily admitted this new team as a member in good standing. Querrie remained as general manager. However, the team had a dismal five-win season and was forced to suspend operations in February, and blamed Livingstone for interference. By 1919, the NHA owners had established that there would be no revival of the NHA. However, the dispute with Livingstone forced the Arena Company into bankruptcy. The Arenas were sold to a group headed by Querrie, who renamed them the Toronto St. Patricks. This team became 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 ...

midway through the 1926–27 season. The NHA/NHL claimed the $5000 franchise fee from the 1919 St. Patricks was to 'buy' Livingstone's hockey club. By all accounts, however, the money instead went into Calder's pocket. Despite the ties to the Torontos, the Maple Leafs do not claim the Blueshirts' history as their own (unlike the Canadiens, the other NHL franchise with NHA roots). They do, however, claim the history of the "temporary" Toronto NHL franchise of 1917–18.

Players on the 1916–17 and 1917–18 teams

Toronto NHA banner and Harry Cameron artifacts at IHHOF

These players were the property of the Toronto Hockey Club in 1916–17 and returned to play for the Torontos of 1917–18. * Arthur Brooks * Harry Cameron – had played 228 games (NHA and NHL combined) * Jack Coughlin * Corb Denneny *

Reg Noble Edward Reginald Noble (June 23, 1896 – January 19, 1962) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and defenceman who played 17 professional seasons in the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto B ...

* Ken Randall *

Alf Skinner Alfred "Dutch" Skinner (January 26, 1894 – April 11, 1961) was a Canadian ice hockey right winger. During his career, which lasted from 1913 to 1930, he played for several teams in the National Hockey Association, National Hockey League, and Pa ...

Season-by-season record

For the full season-by-season history of the Toronto Hockey Club, see

List of Toronto Hockey Club seasons The Toronto Hockey Club, also known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts, were a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They were a member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The club was founded in 1911 and be ...

.

Notable players

The following former Torontos have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame: * Harry Cameron *

Cy Denneny Cyril Joseph Denneny (December 23, 1891 – September 10, 1970) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League and the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey As ...

*

Scotty Davidson Allan McLean "Scotty" Davidson (March 6, 1891 – June 16, 1915) was a Canadian ice hockey player and soldier. He was considered one of the top wingers of the game's early years. He led his Kingston junior team to two Ontario Hockey Associati ...

*

Frank Foyston Frank Corbett "Flash" Foyston (February 2, 1891 – January 19, 1966) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Foyston was a member of Stanley Cup championship teams three times: with the Toronto Blueshirts in 1914, the Seattle M ...

*

Hap Holmes Harry George "Hap" Holmes (February 21, 1888 – June 27, 1941) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. As a professional, Holmes won the Stanley Cup four times, with four teams. He tied the record of his 1914 Stanley Cup winning T ...

*

Duke Keats Gordon Blanchard "Duke, Iron Duke" Keats (March 1, 1895 – January 16, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played for the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association (NHA), Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Canada Hocke ...

*

Jack Marshall Sir John Ross Marshall New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405 (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years ...

*

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 ...

*

Reg Noble Edward Reginald Noble (June 23, 1896 – January 19, 1962) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and defenceman who played 17 professional seasons in the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto B ...

*

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 ...

Head coaches

* Bruce Ridpath (1912–13) *

Jack Marshall Sir John Ross Marshall New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405 (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years ...

(1913–15) *

Eddie Livingstone Edward James Livingstone (September 12, 1884 – September 11, 1945) was a Canadian sports team owner and manager. He was the principal owner of the Toronto Shamrocks and the Toronto Blueshirts professional ice hockey clubs of the National Hocke ...

(1915–17) * Tom Humphrey

References

* * ;Notes {{Toronto Hockey Club seasons Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada National Hockey Association teams Bl Ice hockey clubs established in 1912

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

Defunct National Hockey League teams 1912 establishments in Ontario 1917 disestablishments in Ontario Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1917

History

Founding to Cup winners

The Livingstone era

1917–1919: Arena era

Players on the 1916–17 and 1917–18 teams

Season-by-season record

Notable players

Head coaches

See also

References