Three Cheers: Men's hockey

Men's hockey

Origins at Mount Allison

Until hockey emerged at Mount Allison, there were no competitive sports played in winter. Rugby football was played in the autumn, and baseball and track and field competitions were staged in the spring.

In autumn 1893 the circular Tantramar Skating Rink was destroyed by fire [1] and two years later a new rink was built to replace it. Copp's Rink was officially opened on 6 January 1896.[2]  It was a rectangular rink located near the northeast corner of Weldon and Bridge streets. According to The Argosy (February 1896), "With the opening of the rink in Sackville came the advent of hockey at Mt. Allison." [3]

The male University students immediately put together a team and began practicing one hour per week. [4] The first game played by Mount Allison against an outside team occurred on 4 February 1896, and the Chignecto Post (6 February 1896) reported:

"A pretty lively game of hockey was played in Copp's rink Tuesday evening between the local and college teams resulting in a victory for the latter. The score stood 4 to 2. There was a large number of highly interested spectators present." [5]

Mount Allison Athletic Club takes over

In fall 1896 hockey was placed under the direction of the student-run Mount Allison Athletic Club. It increased practice time for the players at the new rink from one hour per week to four hours by January 1897. [6] All members of the Athletic Club were urged to play because hockey was considered to be the only sport that ensured a vigorous workout in the winter. [7] By February 1897 interclass competition at Mount Allison had also begun. [8]

Placing hockey under the umbrella of the Athletic Club made it easier to schedule games against outside teams and colleges. In February 1897 Mount Allison's first intercollegiate hockey match was played against Dalhousie which won 5-2. [9] Another game of note occurred on 27 February 1897 [10] when a team from Montreal [11] played Mount Allison and won. [12] The Montreal team which was touted by The Argosy (March 1897) as being one of the best in Canada [13] had been on a tour of the region, playing games in Saint John, Halifax, and Amherst. [14, 15, 16]

How the game was played

College and town hockey teams across the Maritime provinces in the late 1890s and early 1900s played two halves instead of three periods and skated seven players instead of six. As in other sports there were no substitutes; all players were on the ice for the duration of the game. Photographs of Mount Allison's teams show hockey gear was sparse. An unidentified writer reminisced in an anniversary edition of The Argosy (9 March 1940) on how hockey looked at Mount Allison at the turn of the century:

"Hockey was then played with a seven man team, a rover, behind the centre, making the seventh man. The defence men were named point and cover-point; they were usually bulky fellows and supposed to do a lot of hard checking. The game was marred in those days by a great deal of long lifting from one end of the rink to the other with the forwards on both sides loafing near their opponents' goal, instead of skating back and back-checking." [17]

Emotions run high

Until Mount Allison joined its first intercollegiate hockey league in December 1905 [18], the varsity team played a wide assortment of one-off games against college and town teams. For example, in 1903 the Mount Allison team went on a tour of Nova Scotia, playing against Canning and Windsor town teams, and Acadia University.[19] This was the first time Mount Allison met Acadia on the ice and Mount Allison won 4-0.[20] The president of Mount Allison, Dr. David Allison, was so happy upon hearing of his school's victory over Acadia that he declared a school holiday. [21]

However, the game against Acadia was also noteworthy because it was the first time Mount Allison hockey players had been accosted by unruly collegiate spectators. An unidentified player from the Mount Allison squad commented on this in The Argosy (March 1903):

"We very much regret that a Mt. Allison man struck an Acadia player in the game, even though provocation was great. At the same time we take serious exception to the action of the spectators, most of whom were Acadia students, in hissing that man. We are not in the habit of hearing collegians hiss nor of being hissed ourselves and think such action at least somewhat unsportsmanlike." [22]

Similar emotions among players and fans were also on display during games played by the Sackville hockey team which had been competing in the New Brunswick Hockey League since 1903. On 1 February 1906, the Sackville newspaper, The Tribune, reported:

"At recent hockey matches in Sackville we have noticed a tendency on the part of some of the spectators present to jeer at the mistakes and mishaps of members of the visiting team. If a visitor is tripped or accidentally falls, a rousing cheer resounds through the rink, while if the victim tries to get even with his opponent, cries of 'put him off the ice' are heard and hisses rend the air." [23]

The following week an editorial in The Tribune continued:

"... one is led to wonder whether these contests are friendly games for honor or whether they are prize fights on ice. The people of Canada hold up their hands in horror at the terrible cruelty of a Spanish bull fight, but these same people will go to a hockey match and urge on their favorite team by such frenzied words as 'Kill him,' 'Put him out of business,' and so on." [24]

Intercollegiate league formed

In December 1905 Mount Allison joined a four-team intercollegiate hockey league, which included the University of New Brunswick (UNB), Acadia University, and St. Francis Xavier (St. FX), in competition for the Hewson Trophy. Membership fees to Mount Allison's Amateur Athletic Association doubled to two dollars, apparently to help offset travel costs in the new league. In 1908 the intercollegiate league disbanded but reorganized the next year with Acadia, UNB, and Mount Allison competing for a new league trophy, the Sumner Cup.

In addition to intercollegiate competition, Mount Allison continued to arrange games against town teams. The Sackville Club, which won the New Brunswick provincial league title in February 1905, defeated Mount Allison's varsity team 10-0 in March of the same year. [25][26]

The sport was very popular among athletes and fans. In March 1907 more than 500 people watched a home game against Acadia which Mount Allison won 10-8. [27] On 23 February 1911 Mount Allison played in front of 900 spectators in Fredericton during a 6-4 loss to UNB. [28]

Hockey banned

Faculty at Mount Allison University and at other universities in the Maritime provinces did not display as much enthusiasm toward hockey as the students. Mount Allison's faculty led by newly installed president Byron Crane Borden singled out hockey for taking away too much study time from the students. On 12 December 1911 after discussion between the faculties of Mount Allison, Acadia, and UNB, President Borden issued the following decree in a night telegram message [see bottom right] to President George Barton Cutten of Acadia University:

"Mount Allison Faculty approves rules and agrees to abolish Hockey this winter." [29]

The president of Acadia followed Borden's message to the letter, banning both intercollegiate and interclass hockey and adding basketball. However, Mount Allison students continued to participate in interclass hockey and games with outside teams.  After some deliberation UNB opted not to participate in the ban. This caused confusion among students and staff of the respective universities. On 19 January 1912 President Cutten of Acadia wrote a letter to President Borden of Mount Allison explaining the dilemma at his school:

"Our boys are coming to me with the complaint that both Mt. Allison and U.N.B. are playing games with other teams than college teams. If this is so, of course they might as well play Intercollegiate Hockey. Will you kindly let me know concerning the matter?" [30]

Ban lifted

On 9 December 1912 President Cutten at Acadia again wrote to President Borden, this time to describe his reasons for resuming hockey at his university:

"... I think that owing to the fiasco of last year there will be no prohibition. I do not think it is possible to do much unless all the colleges agree and not only agree but carry it out... I think then there will probably be a reinstatement of hockey at Acadia this year." [31]

President Cutten remained wary of hockey's impact on his students' capacity for study.  When a schedule was drawn up by representatives of the universities with games to be played between 28 January and 28 February 1913, President Cutten disapproved. He wrote another letter to p President Borden on 26 December 1912 stating:

"While we gave permission for hockey at Acadia we did not give permission for our team to play six games. Personally I do not approve and would like to have your ideas in the matter... If this schedule does not meet your approval would you communicate with Dr. [Cecil Charles] Jones of U.N.B. about it and see if we cannot have it cut down at least half." [32]

Intercollegiate hockey returns

When intercollegiate hockey resumed in 1913, Mount Allison's varsity hockey team employed its first coach, Jack Twaddle, a respected hockey player from Amherst, Nova Scotia. [33] The varsity team captained by center William S. ("Bill") Godfrey went on to win the Sumner Cup in 1914. The same team also won the Brown Trophy in 1914 playing against Dalhousie, the top team from the Eastern Nova Scotia League. [34] The match for the Brown Trophy against Dalhousie was played in Oxford, Nova Scotia, and was watched by close to 1,000 people. [35]

Rules of the game continued to be modified. Beginning in 1914 hockey started being played in three periods rather than halves. A recommendation to eliminate the rover position and reduce the number of players to six was made by college representatives at a conference in Saint John on 22 December 1913 [36], and was adopted by Mount Allison athletes by March 1916. [37]

War years

In 1915 intercollegiate hockey continued, making it the only varsity sport played at Mount Allison during that year. By 1916 intercollegiate hockey stopped, although a varsity team was formed and interclass competition continued. Mount Allison faculty also got onto the ice. A game on 21 March 1916, described by The Argosy as the "most interesting game of the season," pitted the Seniors against the Science Faculty which featured former Mount Allison star athlete Harold Eugene Bigelow on defense. The faculty won the game 5-3.

For the duration of the war Mount Allison's varsity hockey team played outside teams and colleges for benefit and patriotic purposes only. Interclass hockey continued. The Academy engaged its first coach in 1917 and won the interclass cup in 1918.

Notes

[1] Mount Allison University Archives, Picture Collection folder 95 (“Campus Views, 1890s”). Back of photograph of Tantramar Skating Rink

[2] Chignecto Post, Jan. 9, 1896, "Local"

[3] Argosy, vol. XXV, no. 5, Feb. 1896, p. 13

[4] Argosy, vol. XXV, no. 5, Feb. 1896, p. 13

[5] Chignecto Post, Feb. 6, 1896, "Local News"

[6] Argosy, vol. XXVI, no. 4, Jan. 1897 [may say Jan. 1896], "Athletics"

[7] Argosy, vol. XXVI, no. 2, Nov. 1896, "The Field and the Gym," p. 19

[8] Argosy, vol. XXVI, no. 5, Feb. 1897, "Hockey," p. 17

[9] Argosy, vol. XXVI, no. 5, Feb. 1897, "Hockey," p. 18

[10] Montreal team had played Amherst on 26 February, and several other teams on consecutive days beforehand. Game against Sackville was played after Amherst match, but would not have been on a Sunday (the 28th)

[11] Identified only as the “Montrealers” in one source: [Saint John] Globe, Feb. 25, 1897, "People's Pastimes: Hockey," p. 1

[12] Argosy, vol. XXVI, no. 6, Mar. 1897, "Hockey," p. 15

[13] Argosy, vol. XXVI, no. 6, Mar. 1897, "Hockey," p. 15

[14] [Saint John] Globe, Feb. 25, 1897, "People's Pastimes: Hockey," p. 1

[15] [Saint John] Globe, Feb. 26, 1897, "People's Pastimes: Hockey," p. 1

[16] [Saint John] Globe, Feb. 27, 1897, "People's Pastimes: Hockey," p. 1

[17] Argosy, Mar. 9, 1940, "Forty Years Ago"

[18] Argosy, vol. XXXII, no. 3, Dec. 1905, "Athletics," p. 166

[19] Argosy, vol. XXIX, no. 6, Mar. 1903, "The Hockey Trip," pp. 179-80

[20] Argosy, vol. XXIX, no. 6, Mar. 1903, "The Hockey Trip," p. 180

[21] Mount Allison Record, vol. 37, summer 1954, "Know the Signposts," speech by Herbert F.S. Paisley at the Athletic Reunion, 10 May 1954, p. 76

[22] Argosy, vol. XXIX, no. 6, Mar. 1903, "The Hockey Trip," p. 180

[23] [Sackville] Tribune, Feb. 1, 1906, [Editorial] "Unsportsmanlike conduct"

[24] [Sackville] Tribune, Feb. 8, 1906, [Editorial] "Hockey Matters"

[25] [Sackville] Tribune, Dec. 17, 1903, "Hockey," p. 1

[26] [Sackville] Tribune, Mar. 6, 1905, "Hockey," p. 2

[27] Argosy, vol. XXXIII, no. 6, Mar. 1907, "Athletics," pp. 258-61

[28] [Saint John] Globe, Mar. 1, 1911, located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, 5501/6/1/12, p. 60

[29] Mount Allison University Archives, Mount Allison University - Office of the President fonds (Byron Crane Borden), accession 7508/2/1/4/7

[30] Mount Allison University Archives, Mount Allison University - Office of the President fonds (Byron Crane Borden), accession 7508/2/1/7/93

[31] Mount Allison University Archives, Mount Allison University - Office of the President fonds (Byron Crane Borden), accession 7508/2/1/7/98

[32] Mount Allison University Archives, Mount Allison University - Office of the President fonds (Byron Crane Borden), accession 7508/2/1/7/99

[33] “A Fitting Climax,” [newspaper unidentified], located in Mount Allison University Archives, Pickard, Dixon, Godfrey family fonds, accession 2000.1/12/6/7, “Old Sports Association, 1945-1976,” Some Records of the Mount Allison Hockey Team, 1914, published 1948 (16 pp.), p. 5

[34] “Mt. A. Wins Championship of Maritimes,” [newspaper unidentified], located in Mount Allison University Archives, Pickard, Dixon, Godfrey family fonds, accession 2000.1/12/6/7, “Old Sports Association, 1945-1976,” Some Records of the Mount Allison Hockey Team, 1914, published 1948 (16 pp.), p. 3

[35] Argosy, vol. XL, no. 6, Mar. 1914, "Dalhousie vs. Mt. A.," pp. 340-1

[36] Argosy, vol. XL, no. 4, Jan. 1914, "Athletics," pp. 231-2 (for date and rule change)

[37] Argosy, vol. XLII, no. 6, Mar. 1916, pp. 394-5