Calgary Tigers

The Calgary Tigers were an ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 1919 until 1927 as members of the Big Four League, Western Canada Hockey League and Prairie Hockey League. The Tigers were revived in 1932, playing for a short-lived four years in the North Western Hockey League. They played their games at the Victoria Arena.

Created ostensibly as an amateur team in hopes of competing for the Allan Cup, the Tigers helped form the Western Canada Hockey League in 1921 to become the first major professional team in Calgary. In 1924, after wining both the league and Western Canadian championships, the Tigers became the first Calgary based club to compete for the Stanley Cup.

After succumbing to financial pressures in 1927, the Tigers were briefly revived in the mid 1930s as a minor professional club. The Tigers competed a total of twelve seasons in four leagues, winning four championships during their existence. Five Tigers players would later gain election to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

History

Big Four League

In 1919, under the guidance of Alberta Amateur Hockey Association league president Allan McCaw, a new elite senior amateur league was established in Alberta with two teams each in Calgary and Edmonton.cite web |url=http://www.oilersheritage.com/history/early_leagues_big_4.html |title=The Big 4 League—Amateurs or Pros? |publisher=Edmonton Oilers Heritage |accessdate=2007-12-11] The league's intention was to compete for the Allan Cup, emblematic of Canada's national senior championship.Harvnb|Sandor|2005|p=21] The Tigers were created, along with the "Canadians" to represent Calgary, while the Edmonton Eskimos and Dominions represented Alberta's capital.cite web |url=http://www.oilersheritage.com/history/early_leagues_big_4.html |title=The Big 4 League—Amateurs or Pros? |publisher=Edmonton Oilers Heritage |accessdate=2007-12-11] The Calgary teams were hosted at the Victoria Arena, which had been converted into a hockey rink in 1918. [cite web |url=http://www.oilersheritage.com/history/early_teams_calgary_vics.html |title=Calgary Vics—A New Era Of Hockey In The South |publisher=Edmonton Oilers Heritage |accessdate=2007-12-13]

While the Big Four League billed itself as an amateur circuit, it became known as a notorious example of a "shamateur" league, as amateur teams secretly employed professional players in an attempt to gain an upper hand on their competition. When the Big Four announced their intention to compete in the Allan Cup playdowns, the Pacific Coast Hockey Association sent a letter of protest to the Canadian Hockey Association, demanding that the league be declared professional, thus ineligible to compete for the Allan Cup. The CHA agreed, and stripped the league of its amateur standing after only one season. [Harvnb|Sandor|2005|22]

The controversy continued to haunt the Big Four in its second season. Repeated accusations were made by teams against their opponent's star players, accusing them of being pros. [Harvnb|Cole|2006|p=299] Late in the season, the Calgary Canadians protested the use of goaltender Bill Tobin by the Edmonton Eskimos. A three-man panel denied the protest, leading the front-running Tigers to refuse to play any series against the second-place Eskimos for the league championship. [cite news |title=Disruption threatened in Alta. Big Four as result of the protest decision |date=February 22, 1921 |page=12 |publisher="Calgary Herald"] Efforts to reach a compromise failed as the Edmonton clubs refused to allow the protest to be reconsidered, resulting in the collapse of the league on February 24, 1921. [cite news |title=Big Four Hockey League has collapsed |date=February 25, 1921 |page=24 |publisher="Calgary Herald"]

The Tigers remained active despite the demise of the league, playing a series of exhibition games against the Saskatoon Crescents and a team from Moose Jaw. [cite news |title=Tigers have close call but manage to win out |date=March 12, 1921 |page=31 |publisher="Calgary Herald"] The Eskimos eventually agreed to face the Tigers without Tobin in an informal championship that was known as the "Intercity Championship". The Tigers claimed the title on total-goals as they defeated Edmonton 2–0 in the first game at Calgary before dropping the second 2–1 at Edmonton. [cite news |title=Tigers nose out Esks for Inter-City honours |date=March 19, 1921 |page=28 |publisher="Calgary Herald"] The Tigers ended their season with a 2–0 exhibition loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion Ottawa Senators, who were touring the country as they travelled west to defend their title against the PCHA champion Vancouver Millionaires. [cite news |title=Smooth system of Ottawa team brought out when stacked up against hard fighting Tigers |date=March 21, 1921 |publisher="Calgary Herald"]

Western Canada Hockey League

The former Big Four teams joined with the Saskatoon Sheiks in forming a new professional league in 1921 that intended to compete against the National Hockey League and Pacific Coast Hockey Association. In the Western Canada Hockey League, the Tigers were a consistent powerhouse, featuring a lineup that many considered a match to that of their NHL and PCHA rivals. The Tigers lineup featured five future Hockey Hall of Famers: Barney Stanley, Red Dutton, Rusty Crawford, Herb Gardiner and Harry Oliver.cite web |url=http://www.oilersheritage.com/history/early_teams_calgary_tigers.html |title=Calgary Tigers—A Team Of Legends |publisher=Edmonton Oilers Heritage |accessdate=2007-09-29]

Shortly before the inaugural season was set to begin, Calgary Canadians president Dr. C.E. Coleman and Tigers manager Eddie Poulin agreed amalgamate the two franchises under the Tigers name, allowing Calgary to present a unified front in the new league. [cite news |title=Calgary Pro. Hockey Clubs Join Forces |date=November 8, 1921 |page=19 |publisher="Calgary Herald"] The Tigers played the first professional hockey game in Calgary on December 19, 1921, defeating the Regina Capitals 3–2 before a crowd of 3.000 fans. [cite news |title=Easy shot glances off Laird's stick and Tigers beat Regina |date=December 12, 1921 |page=18 |publisher="Calgary Herald"]

Quote box
quote = Conquering Regina 2–0 in the most vicious hockey battle ever unfolded before a Calgary audience, the Tigers attained the premier seat in the Western Canada League last night, and today they proudly waive the championship ribbons in the face of the opposition that has fallen behind them on the track that has been sprinkled with red. Red it was, and blood red, for there was much gore spilled in last night's duel.
source = —The "Calgary Herald's" description of the Tigers 1924 WCHL championship victory. [cite news |title=Tigers Are Western Canada Hockey Champions |date=March 8, 1924 |page=20 |publisher="Calgary Herald"]
width = 38em
align = right

In 1923–24, the Tigers finished atop the league standings with 37 points. They met the Regina Capitals in the league championship in a two-game, total goals series. After battling Regina to a 2–2 draw in the Saskatchewan capital, the Tigers returned home to Calgary, capturing the championship on home ice in a 2–0 victory. [Harvnb|Sandor|2005|p=32] They then moved on to face the Vancouver Maroons of the PCHA in the best-of-three Western Canadian final. After dropping the first game in Vancouver, the Tigers came back to defeat the Maroons 6–3 at home, and again 3–1 at a neutral site game in Winnipeg, Manitoba.Harvnb|Sandor|2005|p=33] The victory earned the Tigers the right to play for the Stanley Cup, the first such opportunity for a Calgary based club.

Despite defeating the Maroons, the PCHA champions were not eliminated. Rather, the Tigers earned a bye into the finals, while Vancouver met the Montreal Canadiens in the semi-final.Harvnb|Zeman|1986|p=30] The "blue, blanc et rouge" swept Vancouver in two games, setting the matchup for the 1924 Stanley Cup Finals where the Canadiens easily handled the Tigers. In the first game, played at Mount Royal Arena in Montreal, Canadiens rookie Howie Morenz recorded a hat trick as Montreal won 6–1. Due to poor ice conditions, the second game was moved to the Ottawa Auditorium in Ottawa. Led by goaltender Georges Vezina, Montreal won 3–0 to sweep the series, and claim the Cup.

In 1924–25, the Tigers once again finished the regular season in first place. Led by Oliver's team leading 20 goals, [cite web |url=http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0027511925.html |title=1924–25 Calgary Tigers scoring |accessdate=2007-12-13] the Tigers earned a bye into the WCHL championship. Their opponent was the Victoria Cougars, who moved over to the WCHL following the collapse of the PCHA the previous summer. The Tigers were unable to earn a return trip to the Stanley Cup Finals, losing the two-game total-goals series 3–1. [Harvnb|Zeman|1986|p=31] The Cougars went on to become the last non-NHL team to win the Stanley Cup. [cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SilverwareTrophyWinner.jsp?tro=STC&year=1924-25 |title=1924–25 Stanley Cup winner |accessdate=2007-12-13]

By 1926, the financial pressures of trying to keep up with rapidly escalating salaries took its toll on the league, and the WCHL finally ceased operations, selling its best players to the NHL for $300,000. [Harvnb|Sandor|2005|p=35] The Tigers joined four other teams to form the Prairie Hockey League. The Tigers would last only one season in the new league before folding, but the franchise went out as champions, capturing the 1926–27 championship in controversial fashion. The Tigers defeated the Saskatoon Sheiks 2–1 in the opening game in Calgary, and then won the title by default after the Sheiks refused to play the second game due to their anger at the officiating in the first game. [Harvnb|Sandor|2005|p=36] The PrHL would last only one more season itself, as it folded following the 1927–28 season. [cite web |url=http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/prhl1927.html |title=Prairie Hockey League seasons |accessdate=2007-12-11] Following the demise of the Tigers, Calgary would have to wait nearly 50 years before major league hockey returned in 1975 with the Calgary Cowboys of the World Hockey Association.

North Western Hockey League

In 1932, the Tigers were revived as a charter franchise of a reformed, minor-professional, Western Canada Hockey League. The Tigers finished atop the league standings in the first season, but fell to their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Eskimos, in a championship marred by bad ice caused by unseasonably warm weather in both Calgary and Edmonton. [Harvnb|Sandor|2005|p=41] The league renamed itself the North Western Hockey League following the season after the Saskatchewan clubs dropped out. [Harvnb|Sandor|2005|p=42]

Calgary again won the regular season title in 1933–34, advancing to the league championship. Fearing a repeat of the previous season's playoff disaster, the league ordered Calgary to play their championship series against the Vancouver Lions in Seattle, Washington and Vancouver as both cities had arenas capable of making artificial ice. Despite the disadvantage, the Tigers captured the best-of-five championship with a 6–1 victory in the fifth and deciding game, held in Vancouver. [Harvnb|Sandor|2005|p=43]

The 1934 championship would prove to be the Tigers' last hurrah, as the team fell to the bottom of the NWHL standings in 1934–35, winning only three games. They once again finished in last place in 1935–36, in what would prove to be the Tigers final season. The Great Depression, and declining interest in professional hockey in favour of senior hockey ultimately led to the final demise of the Tigers in 1936 along with the North Western Hockey League itself. [Harvnb|Sandor|2005|p=45]

eason-by-season record

"Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against"

Hall of Famers

The WCHL's short and unstable existence was a result of salary escalation caused by having three leagues competing for top talent. As a result, by the mid 1920s, hockey players were among the highest paid athletes in North America, with top players able to demand even higher salaries than the top baseball stars of the time. [Harvnb|Sandor|2005|p=34] Though the WCHL lasted only five years, the Tigers boasted five future Hockey Hall of Famers on their roster during that time.

Barney Stanley, a former PCHA star, spent two seasons with the Tigers from 1920–22. Joining the Tigers in the last season of the Big Four League, he once again turned pro when the Tigers joined the WCHL. Stanley led the Tigers in scoring with 26 goals in 1921–22 before being traded to Regina. [cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p196221&type=Player&page=bio&list=#photo |title=Barney Stanley profile |publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame |accessdate=2007-09-30] Red Dutton, a World War I veteran who refused doctors orders to have his leg amputated after suffering a shrapnel wound, played 123 games with the Tigers before moving to the NHL where he played 449 more with the Montreal Maroons and New York Americans. [cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p195805&page=bio&list=#photo |title=Red Dutton profile |publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame |accessdate=2007-09-30] Rusty Crawford, a former standout in the National Hockey Association and National Hockey League before the war, spent three seasons in Calgary from 1922–25. Crawford recorded 19 goals in 64 games as a Tiger. [cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p196203&page=bio&list=#photo |title=Rusty Crawford profile |publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame |accessdate=2007-09-30]

Herb Gardiner began his professional career in Calgary in 1920, remaining with the Tigers until he was sold to the Montreal Canadiens in 1926, where he would go on to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL Most Valuable Player in 1927. [cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p195808&page=bio&list=#photo |title=Herb Gardiner profile |publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame |accessdate=2007-09-30] Harry Oliver also began his pro career in Calgary, playing with the Tigers from 1921–26 where he scored 90 goals before being sold to the Boston Bruins. Oliver would go on to play eleven seasons in the NHL with the Bruins and New York Americans. [cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p196703&page=bio&list=#photo |title=Harry Oliver profile |publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame |accessdate=2007-09-30]

ee also

*List of ice hockey teams in Alberta
*Ice hockey in Calgary
*Calgary Cowboys
*Calgary Flames

References

Footnotes

General

*Harvard reference|Surname=Cole|Given=Stephen|Authorlink=|Year=2006|Title=The Canadian Hockey Atlas|Place=|Publisher=|ID=ISBN 0-385-66093-6|URL=|
*Harvard reference|Surname=Sandor|Given=Steven|Authorlink=|Year=2005|Title=The Battle of Alberta: A Century of Hockey's Greatest Rivalry|Place=|Publisher=|ID=ISBN 1-894974-01-8|URL=|
*Harvard reference|Surname=Zeman|Given=Gary|Authorlink=|Year=1986|Title=Alberta on Ice|Place=|Publisher=|ID=ISBN 0969232004|URL=|
* [http://www.oilersheritage.com http://www.oilersheritage.com]
* [http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/teamseasons.php?tid=2751 1922–26 WCHL standings] at [http://www.hockeydb.com http://www.hockeydb.com]
* [http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/teamseasons.php?tid=1060 1926–27 PrHL standings] at [http://www.hockeydb.com http://www.hockeydb.com]
* [http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/teamseasons.php?tid=797 1932–33 WCHL standings] at [http://www.hockeydb.com http://www.hockeydb.com]
* [http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/teamseasons.php?tid=805 1933–36 NWHL standings] at [http://www.hockeydb.com http://www.hockeydb.com]