Hamilton Tigers

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Hamilton Tigers
Hamilton Tigers logo
founding 1888
resolution 1925
history Quebec Bulldogs
1888- 1920
Hamilton Tigers
1920 - 1925
Stadion Barton Street Arena
Location Hamilton , Ontario
Team colors Black, gold, white
Stanley Cups no
Conference title no
Division title no

The Hamilton Tigers ( IPA : [ˌhæməltən ˈtaɪɡəs] ) were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL), which played in Hamilton , Ontario , Canada in the first half of the 1920s . The team originally played in the city of Quebec under the name Quebec Bulldogs .

history

Since the Quebec Bulldogs could not attract enough spectators, the team was sold to Percy Thompson of the Abso Pure Ice Company for the NHL season 1920/21 and played in Hamilton (Ontario) under the name Hamilton Tigers . At that time, Hamilton was the fifth largest city in Canada with just under 115,000 inhabitants. The games were played in the Barton Street Arena , which had approximately 4,500 seats and 3,000 standing room.

They had taken over the weak team from Québec and even if they could win the first game on December 22, 1920 5-0 against the Montréal Canadiens , it soon became apparent that the team was not competitive. By decision of the NHL, all teams gave players to the Tigers. In addition, Joe Malone was hired, a superstar of the time.

Even with the new players there was no upswing and in the first four years in Hamilton they were each last in the NHL, which consisted of only four teams at that time. For the 1922/23 season they brought in Art Ross as coach and tried to rebuild the team. Among other things, Joe Malone was delivered to Montreal.

However, success did not emerge until the 1924/25 season , when the team, under the new coach Jimmy Gardiner, made a furious start to the season. 10 of the first 15 games were won and by the middle of the season they had more victories than they had achieved in a whole season. Even if the team wasn't so successful in the second half of the season, it was enough to finish the season in first place.

It was hoped that since 1913 (at that time still in Québec) the team could again reach the finals of the Stanley Cup. While the Montréal Canadiens and the Toronto St. Patricks played off their opponents for the NHL final series in the semifinals, the Tigers' team demanded a back pay of $ 200 from their manager Percy Thompson because the NHL had changed the schedule from 24 to 30 games. NHL President Frank Calder was very angry about this. After the players threatened a strike, Calder threatened to ban all players. There was no agreement and so the NHL finals were canceled. As the winners of the semifinals, the Montréal Canadiens represented the NHL in the battle for the Stanley Cup and, with their defeat there against the Victoria Cougars , allowed the Stanley Cup not to go to an NHL team for the first and last time.

For the coming season, the NHL "Big Bill" Dwyer had promised an NHL license for the city of New York. The plan was actually to place a fifth team there. After the plans to build a new stadium in Hamilton also failed, the decision was made to move the Hamilton Tigers to New York. Thompson received $ 75,000 for his team and the players in New York received up to 200% more salaries.

Achievements and honors

Sporting successes

The greatest sporting success was the first place in the regular season 1924/25 . For greater success, you stood in your own way. The players went on strike and did not participate in the final round of the Stanley Cup.

NHL Awards

Award Surname season
Hart Memorial Trophy Billy Burch 1924/25

In the short history of the franchise , Billy Burch was the only player to win an award. No player was elected to an All-Star Team.

NHL seasonal statistics

Abbreviations: GP = games, W = wins, L = defeats, T = draws, OTL = defeats after overtime , SOL = defeats after shootout , Pts = points, GF = goals scored, GA = goals conceded, PIM = penalty minutes

season GP W. L. T OTL SOL Pts GF GA PIM space Playoffs
1920/21 24 6th 18th 0 - - 12 92 132 183 4th, NHL not qualified
1921/22 24 7th 17th 0 - - 14th 88 105 103 4th, NHL not qualified
1922/23 24 6th 18th 0 - - 12 81 110 188 4th, NHL not qualified
1923/24 24 9 15th 0 - - 18th 63 68 171 4th, NHL not qualified
1924/25 30th 19th 10 1 - - 39 90 60 335 1st, NHL Player strike
total 126 47 78 1 - - 95 414 475 980 no playoff participation

Hall of Famers

Web links

Commons : Hamilton Tigers  - Collection of images, videos and audio files