Montreal Hockey Club

The Montreal Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was a senior-level men's amateur ice hockey club, organized in 1884. They were affiliated with Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA) and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team was the first to win the Stanley Cup, in 1893, and subsequently refused the cup over a dispute with the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association. The club is variously known as 'Montreals', 'Montreal AAA' and 'Winged wheel' in literature.

The team played in several early ice hockey leagues, including the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada from 1886 until 1898, winning its championship seven times. The team competed in purely amateur leagues until 1906. After two seasons of playing with professionals, the club left its league, the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association to continue playing in amateur competition. It would go on to win the Allan Cup in 1930, the successor of the Stanley Cup as the trophy given to Canadian amateur hockey champions. In 1932, the club would leave the MAAA association and become the Montreal Royals, eventually becoming a 'semi-professional' team in the Quebec Senior Hockey League.

History

Prior to the Club's formal organization, a group of hockey enthusiasts from the 'Montreal Football Club' would play as the 'Montreal Hockey Club', as far back as 1877. The group was captained by James Creighton before he moved to Ottawa, and would play at the Victoria Skating Rink.

The Club was organized formally as an affiliate of the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association on November 28, 1884. The first president of the team was Thomas Fraser and the first team was composed of T. L. Paton in goal, Fred M. Larmonth, point; W. D. Aird, cover point; W. C. Hodgson, D. McIntyre, R. F. Smith and F. W Barlow, forwards. Several of the players were members of the Montreal Lacrosse Club. The team played its first game on January 20, 1885 against McGill University, winning 2–1.

The club would be a founding member of the Montreal-based Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) in 1886. The team held the Amateur Hockey Association title from 1888 until 1894. After the AHAC disbanded in 1898, the club continued in the Canadian Amateur Hockey League, winning the league title in 1902.

The Stanley Cup, as it would later be known, was to be presented to the Montreal Hockey Club on May 15, 1893, as its initial champions. At the time, the Montreal Hockey Club was in a dispute with its parent organization, the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA). The MAAA was split on whether to accept the trophy. The hockey club was adamant about refusing the trophy, while other arms of the MAAA accepted. Thus, the trophy was accepted by the MAAA, but with none of the hockey officials of the hockey club present.

After accepting the trophy, the hockey club remained adamant about returning the trophy that was presented to them. In the end, the MAAA investigated into why its hockey club wanted to refuse and return the trophy, even though such an action would damage the reputation of the MAAA. It was believed that the people who were in charge of running their team were, in fact, not representative of the team itself, and when the hockey club asked for a loan of $175 in start-up expenses for the 1894 season, it was flatly refused (the first time the MAAA refused anything to the hockey club). Inexplicably, the hockey club reversed its position, and the next few months saw a gradual schism between the MAAA and the club. The inscription on the Cup when it was successfully defended in 1894 only stated "Montreal". The MAAA, at one point, considered the hockey club to have seceded from the organization that bore them. The issue was resolved in later years, after various attempts at reconciliation.

The Club won Stanley Cup challenges in March 1894, March 1902 and February 1903. The 1902 team was known as the "Little Men of Iron" and its players became the core of the very successful Montreal Wanderers which was a ''professional'' club.

The team played two seasons with professional players, in 1907 and 1907–08, in the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association, and after that no longer competed for the Stanley Cup, which was for professional teams. The club then joined the Interprovincial Amateur Hockey Union, competing for the Allan Cup, the championship for senior amateur teams in Canada, and winning it in 1930. Between 1913 and 1924 the club played nine seasons in the Montreal City Hockey League.

On October 11, 1932, the directors of the MAAA announced the turning over of the hockey club in its entirety to E.S. Hamilton and Ogilvie at a meeting of the Province of Quebec Hockey Association. The club was to be renamed the Royal Hockey Club or Montreal Royals, independent of the association. The junior club operated by the M.A.A.A was also transferred.

Season-by-season record

Starting in 1908, the Montreal Hockey Club played in the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association and the Inter-provincial Amateur Hockey Union leagues.

Notable players

* William Cecil "Billy" Christmas (1899–1901), inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
* Tom Paton (1885–1893), early goaltender with the club
* James E. Norris (1898), later went on to be very successful in the grain, sports, entertainment and transportation industries, and founder of the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL, and adapted the MAAA logo for the Red Wings.
* Dickie Boon (1902), founded the Montreal Wanderers, inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame in 1952.
* Jimmy Gardner (1900–1903), Hockey Hall of Fame left winger
*Jack Marshall (1901–1903), Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman/center
* Tommy Phillips (1903), Hockey Hall of Fame left winger
* Ernie "Moose" Johnson (1903–1905), Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman
* Ernie Russell (1904–05), Hockey Hall of Fame center

See also

* List of Stanley Cup champions
* Montreal Junior Hockey Club

References

{{Defunct Quebec Sports

Amateur Hockey Association of Canada teams
Canadian Amateur Hockey League teams
Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada
Hoc
Ice hockey clubs established in 1884
1884 establishments in Quebec
1932 disestablishments in Canada
Sports clubs disestablished in 1932