Ottawa City Hockey League

The Ottawa City Hockey League was an amateur ice hockey league with junior, intermediate and senior level men's teams in Ottawa, Canada dating from 1890. It is considered the second ice hockey league to form in Canada. The senior league operated until 1945 and the junior league operated until 1957. Today the district is administered by the Ottawa District Hockey Association (ODHA).

History

Founded in 1890, the City League was organized by the Ottawa Hockey Association (Ottawa HA) to organize play within the city of Ottawa. The first teams were the Ottawa Hockey Club (owned by the Ottawa HA), Rideau Skating Club, Dey's Rink, Ottawa College and Gladstone Rink. The first champion was the Ottawa Hockey Club. In 1894, the Ottawa Hockey Club resigned from the Ontario Hockey Association(OHA) and since that time Eastern Ontario has operated separately from the OHA which organizes amateur hockey for the rest of Ontario.

In the 1890s, a rival association appeared in Ottawa, the 'Capital Hockey Association' (Capital HA) which helped found the Central Canada Hockey Association (CCHA) league. Like the Ottawa HA, it placed a club in its own league. The Capital HA's intermediate champion, the Ottawa Capitals would challenge for Stanley Cup in 1897. The Capitals would lose the first game 15–2 to Montreal and abandon its challenge. Despite this setback, the Capital HA would in 1898, attempt to join the senior league of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC), which the Ottawa HC was part of, but instead the Ottawa HA, together with other Montreal teams left the AHAC and formed the Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL).^[1]

In 1914, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association(CAHA) was formed, and Ottawa's associations were placed under the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association. Attempts to form a separate organization from Quebec took several years. In 1919, in a ruling from the CAHA, the rival Capital HA's teams were forced to join the Ottawa City League, ending the feud that had caused the dissolution of the AHAC in 1898. The City League became the sole senior league for the district, ending the CCHA. In 1920, the Ottawa District Hockey Association (ODHA) was formed to oversee Ottawa hockey, and in 1921, was granted membership in the CAHA. The City League continued to exist as the senior league of Ottawa and district.

During World War II, the league admitted senior teams from the armed forces stationed at Ottawa. These teams, which had NHL players, were temporary, but would enter championship play and several won the Canadian Allan Cup amateur senior men's ice hockey championship. The famous 'Kraut Line' of the Boston Bruins played for the Ottawa RCAF Flyers and won the Allan Cup. This was the last hurrah of the City League, which folded after the war and league play was re-organized under the auspices of the ODHA.

Many famous players have graduated from, or played in the league, including Punch Broadbent, King Clancy, Bill Cowley, Syd Howe, Aurel Joliat, Frank McGee, Ken Reardon and Milt Schmidt.

Senior champions

1889–90 Ottawa HC
1895–96 Aberdeens
1917–18 Imperial Munitions
1918–19 St. Brigids
1919–20 Munitions
1920–21 Gunners
1921–22 Montagnards
1922–23 St. Patricks College
1923–24 Montagnards
1924–25 LaSalle College
1925–26 Gunners
1926–27 New Edinburgh
1927–28 Montagnards
1928–29 Shamrocks
1929–30 Shamrocks
1930–31 Rideaus
1931–32 Shamrocks
1932–33 Rideaus
1933–34 New Edinburgh
1934–35 Canadiens
1935–36 Brockville Magedomas
1936–37 Hull Volants
1937–38 Cornwall Flyers
1938–39 Hull Volants
1939–40 Hull Volants
1940–41 Hull Volants
1941–42 RCAF Flyers
1942–43 RCAF Flyers
1943–44 Hull Volants
1944–45 Hull Volants

Junior champions

1927–28 Gunners
1928–29 Shamrocks
1929–30 Rideaus
1930–31 Primrose
1931–32 Primrose
1932–33 Shamrocks
1933–34 Shamrocks
1934–35 Rideaus
1935–36 Univ. of Ottawa
1936–37 Rideaus
1937–38 Primrose
1938–39 Hull Volants
1939–40 New Edinburgh
1940–41 Canadiens
1941–42 Univ. of Ottawa
1942–43 New Edinburgh
1943–44 St. Patricks College
1944–45 Montagnards
1945–46 St. Patricks College
1946–47 St. Patricks College
1947–48 Senators
1948–49 St. Patricks College
1949–50 St. Patricks College
1950–51 Eastview-St. Charles
1951–52 Eastview-St. Charles
1952–53 Eastview-St. Charles
1953–54 Eastview-St. Charles
1954–55 Shamrocks
1955–56 Shamrocks
1956–57 Shamrocks

1938–39 Senior League

RCAF Flyers 8–7–3–19 57–51
LaSalle Academy 9–8–1–19 52–62
Hull Volants 9–9–0–18 56–58
Ottawa Montagnards 6–6–4–16 51–45

First Place Playoff (sudden death): LaSalle 5 RCAF 4

Semi Final (Best of 5)
Hull 5 RCAF 2
RCAF 3 Hull 2
RCAF 5 Hull 3
Hull 6 RCAF 5
Hull 5 RCAF 3

Hull won 3–2

Final (Best of 5)
Hull 1 LaSalle 0
LaSalle 8 Hull 2
Hull 5 LaSalle 0
Hull 4 LaSalle 3

Hull won 3–1

1938–39 Junior League

Hull Volants 6–2–0–12 34–24
LaSalle Academy 6–2–0–12 30–24
Gladstones 5–3–0–10 30–20
Woodroffe 2–6–0–4 20–28
Buckingham Indians 1–7–0–2 20–38
LaSalle won the coin toss for first place.


Semi Finals (2 games total goals)
LaSalle 2 Woodroffe 2 Hull 3 Gladstones 0
LaSalle 3 Woodroffe 1 Gladstones 2 Hull 1

LaSalle won 5–3 Hull won 4–2

Final (2 games total goals)
Hull 3 LaSalle 2
Hull 6 LaSalle 2

Hull won 9–4

Partial List of Clubs

• Hull Volants
• Ottawa Army
• Ottawa Capitals
• Ottawa Commandos
• Ottawa Emmetts
• Ottawa Gladstones
• Ottawa Gunners -- 1928 Memorial Cup finalist
• Ottawa New Edinburghs
• Ottawa Primroses -- 1931 Memorial Cup finalist
• Ottawa RCAF Flyers
• Ottawa Rideaus
• Ottawa Senators (juniors)
• Ottawa Shamrocks
• Ottawa St Brigid's
• Ottawa Transport

References

1. ^ "A Cataclysm in the Hockey World", The Ottawa Citizen: pg. 6, December 18, 1898 

External links

• Ottawa District Hockey Association web site