Toronto blueshirts
| Toronto blueshirts | |
|---|---|
|
|
| founding | 1911 |
| resolution | 1917 |
| Stadion | Mutual Street Arena |
| Location | Toronto , Ontario |
| league | National Hockey Association |
| owner | Edward J. Livingstone |
| Stanley Cups | 1914 |
The Toronto Blueshirts were a professional ice hockey team from Toronto , Ontario . The team, which was officially called the Toronto Hockey Club , was founded in 1911. The blueshirts often talked about the Torontos .
history
The Toronto Blueshirts team was founded in 1911 and played in the NHA together with the Montreal Canadiens , Montreal Wanderers , Ottawa Senators and Quebec Bulldogs , the four teams that later jointly founded the National Hockey League . With the Blueshirts, the Toronto Tecumsehs also came into the league as the second team in Toronto.
When it became apparent that the Mutual Street Arena in Toronto could not be completed in time for the upcoming season, the two teams were taken out of the league for the 1911/12 season. The Blushirts played their first game on December 25, 1912 in front of 4,000 spectators.
The team had some strong players like Hap Holmes and Frank Nighbor in their ranks. In the second season of the team, the team qualified for the final series of the Stanley Cup by beating the Montreal Canadiens in the NHA Finals and was able to win it against the Victoria Aristocrats from the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA).
The owner of the Blueshirts, Frank Robinson, a Montreal entrepreneur, joined the military in 1915 and left the team without a leader. Edward J. Livingstone , who already owned the Toronto Shamrocks in the NHA, now also bought the blueshirts. At the same time, the NHA was dismayed that the NHA was trying to bring Cyclone Taylor back from Vancouver. The PCHA was increased, and the new team in Seattle signed numerous players of the Blueshirts, including the two top scorers Wilson and Foyston as well as Hap Holmes, the team's goalkeeper. The only blueshirt was Harry Cameron. Livingstone increased the team with players of the Shamrocks and then wanted to sell the Shamrocks. After this failed, the team suspended a season.
Livingstone was at odds with many of the owners of the other teams, and conversations often ended in heated arguments. Especially when another team was stationed in Toronto with the 228th Battalion, the tempers boiled over. The 228th Battalion was called to war during the season, leaving the league with an odd number of teams. The owners of the teams met without Livingstone and decided to get back to an even number of teams by suspending the Blueshirts.
The next year the NHA was dissolved and the NHL was re-established. Again, Livingstone was not invited. A new team was founded with the Toronto Arenas . Most of the players came from the blueshirts. Livingstone was pushed out of the environment. The fans hardly noticed this change and the new team was often referred to as blueshirts. After the arenas were renamed St. Patricks, the primary team color was green. They only returned to the earlier blue when the St. Patricks became the Toronto Maple Leafs .