Hamilton Tigers facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hamilton Tigers
Founded	1878
History	Quebec Bulldogs 1878–1920 Hamilton Tigers 1920–1925
Home arena	Barton Street Arena
City	Hamilton, Ontario
Colours	Black, gold, white

The Hamilton Tigers were a professional ice hockey team from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for five seasons, from 1920 to 1925. The team started when the Quebec Bulldogs NHL team was sold and moved to Hamilton.

The Tigers had a tough time for most of their history. But in their last season (1924–25), they finished first in the league! However, a disagreement with players led to a strike before the playoffs. This caused the team to break up. The players were then sold to a new team in New York City, which became the New York Americans.

Team History

How the Team Started

The story of the Hamilton Tigers actually began with a much older team called the Quebec Hockey Club. This team started playing in 1878 as an amateur club. It became a professional team in 1909.

Quebec was one of the first teams in the NHL when the league began in 1917. But the team had money problems. It didn't play for a while until the 1919–20 season. That season was very bad for them. Even with a great player like Joe Malone, the team only won four games out of 24.

Moving to Hamilton

After the 1919–20 season, the NHL took back the Quebec team. They sold it to a company in Hamilton, Ontario. The team moved to Hamilton for the 1920–21 season. It was renamed the Hamilton Tigers. This move happened to stop a new rival hockey league from starting a team in Hamilton.

Hamilton was a big city in Canada at the time. It had about 114,200 people. This made it an important place for a hockey team. Percy Thompson, who helped own and manage the Barton Street Arena, became the team's manager. The team was called the Tigers, a popular nickname for many sports teams in the city.

Early Struggles

Moving to Hamilton didn't make the team much better at first. In their very first game on December 22, 1920, they won 5–0 against the Montreal Canadiens. This was the first time an NHL team ever had a shutout in its first game!

But after that, the Tigers struggled just like the Bulldogs. The NHL even told the other teams to give players to the Tigers to help them. Even with new players, Hamilton finished last in the league. They won only 6 games and lost 18. Joe Malone, who missed some early games, still scored 30 goals in 20 games.

The next three seasons were also very tough. The Tigers finished last every year. This meant they had five last-place finishes in a row (counting their last season as the Bulldogs). During these years, the Tigers tried to rebuild their team. After the 1921–22 NHL season, they hired Art Ross as their new coach. They also traded superstar Joe Malone to the Montreal Canadiens. Fans were upset about Malone leaving.

A Turnaround Season

After four years of losing, things started to get better in the 1923–24 NHL season. Percy LeSueur became the new head coach. The team got four new players from the Sudbury Wolves. These players included brothers Red and Shorty Green. They helped the team win nine games out of 24. This was their best record yet.

The Globe newspaper reporting on the players' strike.

Players Go on Strike

With a new coach, Jimmy Gardner, the Hamilton Tigers started the 1924–25 NHL season very well. They won 10 games, lost 4, and tied 1 in the first half. This was more wins than they had in any full season before! The team slowed down a bit in the second half. But they still finished first overall with 19 wins, 10 losses, and 1 tie. They were just ahead of the Toronto St. Patricks. It looked like the team might finally win the Stanley Cup.

But this didn't happen. After the last game of the season, the Tigers' players demanded more money. The NHL had increased the number of games that year from 24 to 30. But the players didn't get paid more for the extra six games. They asked their general manager, Percy Thompson, for $200 each. They said they wouldn't play in the playoffs if they didn't get it.

The Tigers' management refused to pay. They said the players' contracts covered the whole season, no matter how many games were played. This disagreement became the first players' strike in NHL history.

NHL President Frank Calder warned the players. He said if they didn't play, they would be suspended. He also said the fourth-place Ottawa team would take their spot. Calder also ordered that the players' back-pay be held. The strike continued while Toronto and Montreal played their semi-final games. Montreal won on March 13.

On March 14, after talking with the Tigers' management, Calder made the Canadiens the league champions. He also fined each Tigers player $200. The Canadiens then played for the Stanley Cup but lost to the Victoria Cougars. This was the last time an NHL team lost the Stanley Cup to a team from another league.

Moving to New York

A man named Thomas Duggan had options to create new NHL teams in the United States. He sold one option to Charles Adams, who started the Boston Bruins. He sold the second option to a New York businessman named "Big Bill" Dwyer. Dwyer wanted a team to play in New York.

At an NHL meeting on April 17, 1925, Dwyer was given permission to start a team in New York. For a short time, it seemed Hamilton might still have an NHL team. But a new arena was not built. So, Dwyer bought the rights to the Tigers' players from Percy Thompson for $75,000.

Dwyer was the owner of the new team, but his name wasn't publicly announced by the NHL at first. Instead, other people were named as officers. The new team was briefly called the "New York Hamilton Tigers." But this was soon changed to the New York Americans. A Hamilton team was still thought about for the 1925–26 season, but it never happened.

The last player from the Hamilton Tigers to play in the NHL was Billy Burch. He retired in 1933.

Other Hamilton Tigers Teams

The OHA Tigers

At the same time as the NHL Tigers, Hamilton had another popular hockey team. This team played in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) as an amateur team. The OHA Tigers wore the same black and gold colors as the NHL Tigers. When newspapers talked about "the Tigers," they usually meant the amateur team. The NHL team was often called "the Professionals."

The OHA Tigers continued playing into the 1950s. They won the OHA championship many times. They also won the Allan Cup in 1919.

Hamilton Tigers (CPHL)

In 1926–27, a new professional Tigers team was formed. This team played in the minor-pro Canadian Professional Hockey League. In 1929, this Tigers team and others left to form the International Hockey League.

In 1930, the Tigers moved to Syracuse, New York. They became the Syracuse Stars. This team later joined with another league to form the International-American Hockey League. This league is now known as today's American Hockey League. In 1940, the Stars moved again to Buffalo, New York, and became the Buffalo Bisons. They played until the NHL's Buffalo Sabres started in 1970.

Season-by-Season Record

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

Hall of Fame Players

• Billy Burch
• Babe Dye
• Shorty Green
• Joe Malone
• Source

Team Coaches

• 1920–21 None (Percy Thompson Owner/Manager)
• 1921–22 None (Joe Malone Player/Manager)
• 1922–23 Art Ross
• 1923–24 Percy LeSueur
• 1924–25 Jimmy Gardner
• Source

See Also

• History of the National Hockey League (1917–1942)
• List of defunct NHL teams
• List of Hamilton Tigers players